Siebold University English Camp (Aug 6-8)

I got back earlier this afternoon from the Siebold University English Camp. There were about 30 people in all who participated, including 6 professors, 6 ALTs and about 20 or so students. It was loads of fun!

The first part took place at the university, where the students put on presentations about different aspects of Japanese culture (ex: historical figures, sumo, instruments, etc.). The students had been preparing these presentations for the last month, and it showed that a lot of effort had gone into their work.

They also orgazined a short performance by the university's Japanese instrumental group. The band was made up of Shamisen (5 string guitar), Koto and Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) players.

This was followed by a live taiko performance by a group who will be leaving soon to tour around Canada.



When the performance was over, we were invited to go on stage to have a go at the drums. I had taken some taiko lessons last year with one of the teachers at Bunko, I'd like to take up regular lessons.

After the performances were done, we climbed into a couple of buses and went to Nagasaki Shimin Heights, a beautiful camp ground at the top of a mountain surrounded by gorgeous landscape, where we spent the next 2 days.

The highlight of the camp was a talent show that was done on the second night. They were very impressive! Especially considering the short amount of time we had to work on them.

There were a lot of recreational activities such as ultimate Frisbee in the hot hot weather…man oh man. We all got a little sunburned…

The camp facilities included a karaoke room. When the program was over, we had a karaoke party, everyone tried to sing a song in their non-native language.

On the last day, we headed back to the city where we split into different groups to go sight seeing. I hadn’t been to Dejima yet, so it was a nice chance to see a little more of the city.

The Dejima group had lunch together before parting ways. The whole event ended by 4pm.