Gift from student; Keiko Whitlock

Thanks to Elaine!!

When she was knitting with the thread of this beautiful color, I told her that I loved this color,

Then guess what!

She brought this for me in the next class!!

with this beautiful color of bag!!

Thanks!!

21th Century Global Nuclear Challenges; Keiko Whitlock

I attended "21th Century Global Nuclear Challenges this Wednesday.

Obviously, everything was beyond my English capacity (lol) but I tried super hard to understand them!!

What I understand is that it was not about how we can reduce nuclear weapon, but about how we can keep or even further develop our nuclear weapon as a tool of deterrence. Well, only if I didn't misunderstand though..

Anyway food was great though!!

And I met a girl from Atomic Testing Museum and she told me a contact number of actual Hiroshima bombing survivors!! I mailed them if they can skipe us in the JAPAN class, but I haven't get replied yet.

I know it is a critical moment for them right now, because President Obama is visiting Hiroshima and made a historical speech.

I got the video and I will scrutinize every single word from it and share the feelings of Japanese people in the next JAPAN class.

Actually I wept though. 

I want to create the same feeling I had in your heart next week!!

Should Obama apologize in Hiroshima?; Keiko Whitlock

Well, I have been busy in my private life, and I haven't updated this blog...

Actually Spring semester has already finished and Summer semester will begin next week!!

As you may know, this semester, I planned to coordinate a very sensational classes with emotionaly heated discussions!!

So, the title this semester is

"Prayer for the world peace; one summer in 1945"

Yes!! One summer in 1945, America dropped an atomic bomb to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan!!

According tho Wikipedia,

"The two bombings, which killed at least 129.000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history."

"the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000-146.000 people in Hiroshima and 39.000-80.000 people in Nagasaki, roughly half of the deths in each city occurred on the first day. During the following month, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition.  In bothe cities, most of the dead were civilians"

Well, I know you might say that it was necessary to end the war, but why don't you just look at the same thing from Japanese side this summer?

Totally different thing things will emerge in your sight and mind.....

Coincidentaly, President Obama will visit Hiroshima next Friday for the first time as a sitting president of the United States!!

We will discuss whether President Obama should apologize or not in Hiroshima!!

Everybody, come along and let me hear your voice as American!!!

May 24th, Tuesday, 11:00 at 401

Geisha dance and Tea ceremony; Keiko Whitlock

We had an awesome Japanese event on April 6!!

Geisha dance was beautiful!

Some of our class attendees dressed in Kimono and joined Japanese dance!!

In the end everyone joined and had a great time!!

Tea Ceremony was awesome too.

The tea ceremony teacher explained the history, benefits, and all the other thing about Japanese green tea and the tea ceremony.

It was a solemn experience!

We also shared Japanese sweets with Japanese green tea.

I would like to say thank you to Carolyn and Dawn who let us use the biggest room 133 for this event.

Carolyn also brought this beautiful flowers for this event.

I didn't know that she was the master of Japanese flower arrangements!!

Thank you all who sacrificed your time and came and enjoy this event as well as all the staff who helped us make this event a success!!

Thank you all!!

Geisha are coming to OLLI! :Keiko Whitlock

As I announced.

We are going to have a great event this Wednesday on 6th!

We start Tea ceremony with Kimono women starting at 11:30,

then Geisha will dance and give us fun entertainment to join starting about 12:30 to 12:45.

It will be awesome! So please come along with your friends!!

The room will be 133, not the room we usually use.

It's a huge room ,located at the end of the 100 building.

I was going to sing between the two events, but it was cancelled.

But I will wear Kimono too.

You will see a lot of Japanese women in Kimono!

See you on Wednesday!!

Special event on April 6: Keiko Whitlock

Special Event at OLLI at UNLV!!

It will be amazing!!

We have a tea ceremony first,

and I will sing "Yoitomake no uta" and the Japanese anthem, Kimigayo a cappella as a half time show, and then we will have Geisha dance performance!!

Bunch of Geishas will visit OLLI on this day!!

I will wear Kimono too.

The following is "yoitomake no uta" and its lyrics.

This is an awesome song!!

Boy had a yoitomake mom, a construction worker. Bullied and ridiculed for being poor. Happens to see her working at the construction site, dripping sweat and enduring pain for the sake of family. Vows never to complain and work hard at school. Now remembers, as an adult, her, now dead, declaring she was the best in the world, nobody could compare with her, how he's proud of her, how he loves her. Makes me cry."

Makes me cry too. And I think Miwas voice is awesome! No wonder Mishima adored Miwa. Of course you need to check out the young Miwa to really understand. So stunning! Apparently Lovin is a huge fan and I'm sure he's not the only one.

"For the sake of my husband, heave-ho!"
"For the sake of my child, heave-ho!"
"One more time,heave-ho!"
"One more time,heave-ho!"

Still, this song's coming to me, Yoitomake no Uta",
Day laborer song, that's my lullaby song.
In the lunch time at the construction site,
When I smoke with my eyes closed,
This song comes up to my mind, Yoitomake no Uta,
Day laborer's song, that's for poor workers.

When I went to an elementary school, 　　
Everybody says "Hey you! day laborer's son of bitch".
I was always bullied and teased terribly.
In my mortification with tears,
I run away from the classroom.
Being crying on my way home,
I saw my mother working hard.
I saw my mother working hard.

With a towel around head, covered with mud,
Deeply tanned, in the sweat of her brow,
Together with laborers, she was pulling a rope,
Looking upwards and singing repeatedly
In tune at the top of her lungs.
I saw my mother working hard.
I saw my mother working hard.

I was running to my house in a hurry,
Wishing to be cheered up and hugged by my mother,
But when I saw my mother working hard,
I gave up weeping and forgot all the bullying.
Then I went back to school.
Mumbling away to myself "I swear Mam to study hard".
Mumbling away to myself "I swear Mam to study hard".

How many years has it been passed since then?
I graduated at high school and finished university, too.
Nowadays, it's an age of machinery.
Further, I've become an IT engineer.
Look at me! Mam, who died after many hard works.
Look at my job, Mam! my brave figure, Mam!

I was sometimes on the verge of going astray,
But finally I stayed on the right track.
Than any other beautiful songs,
Than any other beautiful voices,
My mother's song was more encouraging and consoled me.
My mother's song is certainly the best in the world.
My mother's song is indeed the best in the world.

Now this song reminds me of that Yoitomake no Uta,
Day laborer song, that's my lullaby song.
"For the sake of my husband, heave-ho!"
"For the sake of my child, heave-ho!"
"One more time,heave-ho!"
"One more time,heave-ho!"

Geisha dance and tea ceremony: Keiko Whitlock

Last Saturday I, Hidemi, and her husband went to see Geisha dance which we asked Tendo-ryu Las Vegas branch to perform for our special event on March 6.

It was so beautiful and amusing!!

I liked it!!

We also visited Tea Ceremony master's house and were treated wouderful tea and Japanese sweets.

This is what Tea Ceremony Master bought in Kyoto, Japan and froze.  It tasted a supreme delicacy!!

They will also come and demonstrate the tea ceremony for us on March 6th.

Mark your calender!!

OLLI's coordinators' meeting; Keiko Whitlock

There was a coordinators' meeting at OLLI this morning!

I will be ready with a new syllabus at the Open House on the 23rd!

I also will be wearing Kimono so that you may be interested!

Anyway I enjoyed talking to lots of OLLI coordinators after a long holiday break as well as the continental breakfast especially these pastries.

they were great!! I wonder where I can get those...

Well.... I'd better not know though.. I'm not confident at all that I can control my appetite...

I've been busy working as a background actor in a certain Hollywood movie being filmed somewhere in Las Vegas and I cannot take the powerpoint class at OLLI...

The class was what I was really looking forward to take, but the acting job is also what I ha

d been wanting since I immigrated to America...

But to me it seems a plan from God that I happened to have break today for this meeting and 23rd for the Open House!!

I will enjoy working hard with full of gratitude for the movie and OLLI!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas, Every one!!

Thank you for attending our class, "Japan!"!

It was our first class in this country in English, a foreign language to us...

How scared were we in the first class!!(LOL)

We made lots of mistakes, but learned even more!!

I was so moved by such a warm love of the class members!!

Thank you very much for forgiving our mistakes, heavy accents, and rude comments....

Thank you very much for helping us trying to understand this different culture and even talking to us in slower and simpler English for us...

I really appreciate that you encouraged us when in trouble...

Thank you very much..

Our next class, "Japan!2" will be Wednesday at 11;00 in the Spring Semester with 2 movie days and a special event of Geisha dance and tea ceremony demonstration.

With the experiences from which we have learned a lot last semester, and our highly motivated heart encouraged by class members' love, we will make our best to provide better classes in the next semester.

Hope to see you in February in our class!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

OLLI's end-of-the-semester luncheon; Keiko Whitlock

Oh...I liked this tart very much..

There was OLLI's end-of-the-semester luncheon last Saturday at Gold Cost.

It was a very nice setting and I enjoyed greeting and talking to wonderful OLLI members!!

I liked this salmon too.

The food was nice, and the classic concert was beautiful too.

Thank you OLLI!!

Oh, last but not least!!

I have to give great thanks to Sachiko!!

I asked her for a ride because I thought it was on her way, but she moved to a totally opposite direction!!

But she didn't tell me that and she gave me a ride!!

Thank you, Sachiko!!