// Natsu no rakuen

Posted by Chany Peguero Thursday, June 28, 2012 0 comments Labels: Community Service, Crossroads for Kids, Japan

On Monday, we did a community service with Harwich Conservation Trust! During Staff training we like to give back to the community and we took our time to help Harwich Conservation Trust to remove Japanese Knotweed, which was taking over the Conservation in Harwich! The Japanese Knotweed is an invasive root system it's strong growth can damage foundations, buildings, roads, and paving. It can also reduce the capacity of channels in flood defenses to carry water.

We loved working with Harwich Conservation Trust and feel accomplished of what we did!

Before

After

Help Change a Campers Life

Posted by Chany Peguero Monday, June 18, 2012 0 comments Labels: Crossroads for Kids, Donation, Japan

Help Change a Campers Life

Donate $10 to a Great Organization!
Sorry I've been super busy getting everything ready for my trip and for camp (3 more Days!!!). Please take the minute to check out this nice video of my campers I had during the school year!

Camper Riley Playing in the Sand :)

Woodblock Painting // 木版画

Posted by Chany Peguero Thursday, June 14, 2012 0 comments Labels: Arts and Craft, CIEE, Crossroads for Kids, Gilman, Japan, Scholarships, Woodblock Painting

Woodblock Painting // 木版画

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by: Hokusai

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake // イチゴのショートケーキ

Posted by Chany Peguero Tuesday, June 12, 2012 0 comments Labels: CIEE, Crossroads for Kids, Gilman, Scholarships, Shortcake, Strawberry

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake // イチゴのショートケーキ

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake RecipeI decided for the summer to make a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake. Unlike the American version of the strawberry shortcake (sweet biscuits/scones topped with strawberries and whipped cream),a Japanese strawberry shortcake is a layered sponge cake (おいしい// Oishii// yummy!) with strawberries and whipped cream filling, AND whipped cream frosting! This cake is a favorite japanese choice for birthdays and Christmas, and in fact is often called a Christmas Cake. I know it’s not Christmastime, but I've been dying to try this recipe out! Which I borrowed from Fuji Mama, check her blog out for other Japanese recipes.

Japanese Doll Festival // ひなまつい

Posted by Chany Peguero Wednesday, June 6, 2012 0 comments Labels: Crossroads for Kids, Doll Festival, Gilman, Girls Day, Hinamatsuri, Scholarships

Japanese Doll Festival // ひなまつい

Happy Hinamatsuri! //うれしいひなまつり!

Click Image to Enlarge

Japanese Carp Kites // こいのぼり

Posted by Chany Peguero 0 comments Labels: Boys Day, Children's day, Crossroads for Kids, Gilman, Japan, Kodomo no Hi, Koi Nobori, Scholarships

Japanese Carp Kites // こいのぼり

Children's Day// こどもの日

On May 5th in Japan, Children's Day is celebrated pronounced Kodomo no Hi(こどもの日). This special day used to be known as Boy's Day, is now a national holiday celebrating both boys and girls. Parents pray for their children's happiness, health, and future. However, for most people, they still follow old traditions and continue to celebrate May 5th as a day only to pray for the health and happiness of their sons.

Great News! // すばらしいニュース!

Posted by Chany Peguero Monday, June 4, 2012 1 comments Labels: CCI, Crossroads for Kids, Gilman, Japan, Scholarships, Thank you

Great News! // すばらしいニュース!

Great News!

I want to say I am really sorry for disappearing but school became really stressful with exams and papers but IM BACK with great news!

News # 1

While I was MIA I had time to go to the last CCI event! During my time there I finalized a list of projects to do. For the first three weeks I have at camp before I leave!

For example:

During Creative Art:

Write Campers names in Japanese on Fans.
Create Japanese Dolls
Create Paper Carp
Martial Arts (with the help of a Karate School, Fingers Crossed!)
Haiku
Woodblock Painting
Geisha and Oni Mask
And of course, Origami!

For Discovery Day

Make a Bento
Bake a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Watch a Movie by Hayao Miyazaki

In addition to planning for the summer I tested out one of my projects during Counselors Choice I decided to write the campers name in Hiragana; since they were the youngest group. (I know I should of use Katakana, I forgot completely). In the summer the campers will write their own name in Katakana depending on their age group.

The Difference between Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji

Hiragana: Words you don't know the kanji for, grammatical parts, and a few words that are just rarely seen in kanji.
Katakana: Foreign words and non-Japanese names.
Kanji: Everything else! Verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives...

Example: 私の名前はカトリーナです。
私 and 名前 are kanji. They stand for "I" and "name", respectively.
カトリーナ is katakana and is "Katrina", which is a foreign name.
の, は, and です are in hiragana. の is a possessive particle making "I" into "my", は is a particle that denotes the subject of the sentence (name), and です is a polite sentence ender.

Here are some great pictures of my campers and their names! ツ