Japanese Club and exchange students host foreign language festival

The Japanese Club and foreign exchange students from Ryukoku University are hosting the National Foreign Language Week Festival 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the College Center.

“It’s the biggest event we’ve hosted,” said Japanese Club president Corie Mallen.

The club will provide free food and drinks relevant to Japanese culture. Mallen said they have ordered 210 bottles of ramune, a Japanese carbonated soft drink. They will also serve mochi ice cream, BBQ pork buns, and various Japanese candies.

Several tables will be set up as origami workshop areas, where the club members and exchange students will help MHCC students make origami art pieces.

A demonstration will show Japanese flower arrangements, or ikebana, ran by Nana Bellrud, who teaches a Japanese culture class at MHCC, and exchange student Motonari Koike.

Another demonstration of calligraphy will be held. Exchange student Tomoka Uratani will do a demonstration of Japanese calligraphy and then will assist people who are interested in trying it out.

Several Japanese exchange students will help in writing people’s names in katakana, one form of Japanese writing, to make bookmarks for them.

Mallen also said that they will display Japanese cultural items that will be borrowed from the Japanese Consulate General of Portland.

They will also display pictures of damaged regions of Japan from last year’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown to show the damage and progress within the last year.

Last year the Japanese club raised over $2,000 in humanitarian aid, which was sent to help Japan.

Advocate Staff