October 31st is Halloween. Do you know what a jack-o-lantern is? It's a traditional Halloween decoration which is made from a pumpkin. Here is how to make one:

-First you get a pumpkin, and you cut a circle out of the top of the pumpkin and take out the round piece.

-Then you take the seeds and pulp out of the pumpkin, and scrape the inside with a spoon to make it smooth.

-Next, you cut the eyes, nose, and mouth. You can make any kind of face you like--a happy face, a sad face, a scary face, or an angry face. It's fun to make different kinds of faces.

-Finally, you put a candle inside the pumpkin and light it, so the jack-o-lantern will glow.

In the U.S. large orange pumpkins are used to make jack-o-lanterns. Many years ago in Japan when my two daughters were small I wanted to teach them how to carve a jack-o-lantern. But I couldn't find large orange American pumpkins in Japan. So I carved a jack-o-lantern for my daughters using a Japanese kabocha.

Recently in some of my classes I have been showing students how to carve a jack-o-lantern. Here is a photo of two that we carved. Japanese kabochas are very thick and hard, but they make excellent jack-o-lanterns. We had a lot of fun carving them!

The black and white photo is of me. It was taken when I was eight years old. In those years my dad always carved our jack-o-lanterns, and my sisters and brother and I would help. That year, as you can see, we had five jack-o-lanterns: one large scary one, and four small happy ones.

If you would like to try carving a jack-o-lantern, please come to the Keiai University Festival on Saturday, November 8th. Murakawa Sensei and the Agri-Club students will be carving some jack-o-lanterns that day, using authentic American pumpkins. Anyone can participate, and it will be a lot of fun!

☆☆☆11月8日(土)敬愛フェスティバルにて、アグリクラブ主催のジャック・オー・ランタンの実演があります。
午後1時開始を予定していますので、是非ご参加ください。☆☆

Happy Halloween!
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--Jayne Ikeshima

Recently, Mr. Ikeshima and I made a trip to the city of Shirakawa in Fukushima Prefecture. Shirakawa is known for Darumas, so while I was there I bought some Darumas in a Daruma shop.

Have you ever had a Daruma? When you set a goal for yourself, having a little Daruma doll can help you achieve your goal. A Daruma is weighted at the bottom so that it always rights itself if it is knocked over. The Daruma is determined to stand up again and keep trying!--just as we humans must do to achieve a goal.

Darumas are blind when you buy them--that is, they have no eyes, but only white spots where the eyes should be. When you decide your goal, you paint one of the Daruma's eyes. When you finally reach your goal, you paint the other eye.

I have sometimes bought Darumas as gifts for my friends, but this time I bought six of the very tiny ones to use for myself. Each one is about 4.5 centimeters high. I bought them in different colors: red, white, green, lavender, yellow, and blue.

SIX Darumas. "Why so many?" you may wonder. I will not tell you the reason, but I will give you some hints. See if you can guess what my goal is!

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Hint #1:
I am trying to accomplish something which is very difficult, and especially difficult for a foreigner.

Hint #2:
Each of the six Darumas represents a part of my total goal.

Hint #3:
I have already accomplished part of my goal, and I have painted both eyes of the first Daruma. I have also painted one eye of the second Daruma. (The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Darumas are still completely blind.)

Hint #4:
The number 1006.
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Can you guess what my goal is? I will not write the answer here, but if you see me at school and would like to ask me, please do not hesitate to do so. I will be happy to tell you!

To anyone reading this, and especially to Keiai students: Whatever your dreams are, I hope they come true. And whatever your goals, may you achieve them!

「目なしだるま」は、単なる置物ではありません。「勝利」「病気の平癒」といった何らかの願掛けをするためのものです。日本の選挙では、政治家が当選を果たすと、だるまに「目」を書き込んでいますね。

さて、可愛らしい6色のミニだるまに、イケシマ先生はどんな願いを込めたのでしょうか。あなたもぜひ推理してみてください。

「目なしだるま」の産地として知られる福島県白河市の白河だるまについては、次のウェブサイトを参照ください。
→　白河だるま

I take a walk every day that I can, and this spring I have been enjoying the plum blossoms and cherry blossoms I see everywhere. Generally, plum trees bloom earlier than cherry trees?February/early March is considered plum blossom season?but there are hundreds of varieties of both plum and cherry trees, and some of the blooming times overlap. For this reason, you may see cherry trees and plum trees in bloom at the same time.
Do you know how to tell cherry trees from plum trees by the blossoms? I took me a long time to learn to do this. One of the keys is that plum blossoms sit right on the branch of the tree, as though they have been fastened there. Cherry blossoms do not. Think of cherries, the fruit. They have long stems, don’t they? Well, so do the blossoms of the cherry trees, whether they be the fruit-bearing variety, or the ornamental variety. Separated from the branches by the long stems, cherry blossoms flutter slightly in the breeze, giving the tree a sense of lightness and movement that plum trees don’t have. Both are lovely to look at, but cherry blossoms seem to be like frilly, flighty, teenage girls. Plum blossoms are more like their mothers?still pink, and lovely to see, but firmer and more settled.

In Japan, the new school year begins around cherry blossom time. Our entrance ceremony was this past week, and our classes begin on April 9th. I am looking forward to getting back to teaching and meeting new students. Welcome to Keiai (for new students), and welcome BACK to Keiai (for returning students! Let's have a great year--the best one yet!