It’s been an exciting week at ISAK!
The weather veered from a high of 15 degrees one day to a high of 2 degrees the next — wow! And by now you’ve surely heard that on Wednesday, we received our first snowfall of the year! The students were delighted and took full advantage of it. Much of the snow was gone within 24 hours, but the weather has been cool enough that there’s still a little here and there, and it snowed for a short time yesterday. It’s not supposed to snow again right away, but we know that it will soon be a regular part of our lives.
Also this week we received the first of two mini-buses that will enhance the quality of life for our community. Already our students have taken advantage of the increased access the mini-bus provides. A big thank you as well to Mr. Iwata for selflessly taking on the driving duties!
Earlier this week Ms. Hiroko Kobayashi invited our students to help a local community center make soba (buckwheat) noodles “from scratch.” It was a lot of work to turn the flour into dough and then into noodles! And it was a great opportunity to learn this Japanese tradition and interact with members of the local community.
On Thursday we celebrated a U.S. tradition, Thanksgiving dinner. The students used this as an opportunity to request a special meal from Cezar’s Kitchen (served on special plates!) and to dress up and give thanks.
Also this morning we had a visit from one of four “bear dogs” in Japan (two of these dogs live in Karuizawa). These dogs are specially trained to help keep bears away from humans. Nanuk, the dog that visited ISAK, was born in Montana, USA and was brought to Karuizawa to help Picchio, a local nature and wildlife organization, manage human-bear interactions in the area. Nanuk was very friendly and relaxed!
Click through this photo slider to see photos of the fresh snow, noodle making, Nanuk, and more!
– Ms. Murabayashi, ISAK Assistant Head of School
