Senri & Osaka International Schools of Kwansei Gakuin June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

TANGO Dancing with Words

EXTR

A

SIS Grade 12 Trip a Learning Experience by Mio Okuda

Photo courtesy of Mio Okudaourte-

SIS G12 went to Taiwan for our school trip over

spring vacation. For the SIS school trip, it is a tradition

that the school trip committee plan the itinerary. This

year we also followed the tradition. I was a member of

the committee for the school trip, and actually I was

the leader. When we planned the itinerary, there was

a lot of trouble in planning it. However, all the prob-

lems were solved because there was great coopera-

tion from members of the committee and all of SIS

Grade 12. I realized the importance of the wonderful

friendships in Grade12, so I was really proud of us.

The school trip was a precious event for me.

Anyway, there were 15 people who were members

and were full of enthusiasm on the school trip commit-

tee. So I felt a lot of pressure because of my position

as leader, and I tried to work hard. Unfortunately the

meetings that were held every week didn’t always

proceed well. For example, sometimes there were

arguments when people just contradicted each oth-

er’s ideas. Besides, the atmosphere on the committee

was obviously turning bad. I knew the reason for this

was that I did not get how to encourage good group

work and show leadership as the leader. I was just

having trouble with it. Then the sub-leader helped me

by discussing together with me how to make the

meetings progress better and things like that. Other

members also asked me “Can I support you?” Then

they supported me in many ways. One day, one of

members said me, “You can count on us.” Because of

the words, finally I

realized that I had

been doing most

things just by myself

and I had not tried to

understand the per-

sonalities of the other

14 members. On the

committee, there were

people who were

good at IT, trains, writ-

ing, debating, passing

conversations on to

others, drawing, con-

sidering others, creating new ideas and being “mood

makers”. I changed the way that I trusted them and

shared the jobs among 15 people. Then meetings

proceeded much better and we finished planning a

satisfactory itinerary. Of course, it could not have

done just by ourselves but also with the help of peo-

ple from a travel agency who came to the school and

supported us in planning the itinerary and teachers

who joined every meeting and supported us even

during the school trip. All these people gave us a

great deal of support.

At last it was the day to go to Taiwan. We enjoyed a

lot of programs there over 5 days. During the trip, we

could interact more with many different friends than

usual because there were many groups for every pro-

gram. Actually, the groups were decided by lot. In the

committee’s meetings, we had always talked about

how to narrow the sense of distance between people

who usually did not talk with each other and we decid-

ed to use lots for grouping. I thought it turned out to

be a good idea for us.

On the last night of the trip, there was a debriefing

session, another SIS tradition. We wanted to hold it in

a way that showed our individuality, so we gathered

photos which had been taken in Taiwan and used

them for the session in the form of a game. This for-

mat had never been used for a debriefing before. It

was the last activity as the school trip committee.

Then I was relieved but at the same time, I felt loneli-

ness. I had made many mistakes in the 5 days but

people said “thank you” to me. My heart was full be-

cause of their words.

To teachers and people who from the travel agency,

thank you for all of your support. I really thought that

we were able to make so many wonderful memories

and come back to Japan safely because of your sup-

port. In addition, I’d like to thank all SIS G12 who en-

joyed the trip and cooperated with us and of course

the members of the committee who supported me

and planed the trip together for half a year. Because

of the “class of 2017”, the 5 days became very special

ones.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I hope that the few days that we have left to spend

time together in SIS will be also special for us.

Photo courtesy of Akira Morioka

Photo courtesy of Mio Okuda

Tango Exclusive!

The All School Production 2017 will be...

Check Page 7 for details!

Photo courtesy of Mio Okuda

If you ask any of the OIS junior students, “What was

your favourite memory so far this school year?” A

majority will answer “Bali!” and if you’ve seen the tag

#balifam16, that’s what’s up.

Along with doing a lot of CAS activities, we were able

to create a stronger bond and become one big happy

family.

ABOUT STEP

During our trip we spent most of our nights at STEP

Ubud and accompanied by SMK. STEP is a training

hotel ran by the students at SMK, where not only

they are taught normal subjects such as English,

Maths and Science but are taught how to work and

manage a hotel.

Not only were we able to create some impact on

STEP but STEP gave us a lot to think about.

(Visit their website! → http://stepubud.org/)

SERVICE ACTIVITIES

During the 7 days journey we had three sessions

where we split into our service groups and I was in

the Marketing Development group with Corrine and

Kai. Our objective was to find ways to make STEP

accessible and earn more profit through through so-

cial media. We taught the students at SMK ways to

advertise STEP through facebook by showing the

world the fun side of staying at STEP as we all have

during our stay. This is an ongoing process as we

help STEP improve and strengthen connection be-

tween the different websites.

LEARNING THE BALINESE CULTURE

Out of all the words we learned in Bahasa, my fa-

vourite would have to be “Pisang Goreng”. The SMK

students taught us how how to speak in Bahasa,

make Balinese offerings and some balinese dance

moves. For a lot of us it was a great new experience

with different culture and as international, open mind-

ed students, the experience helped us become more

aware of what goes on around the world.

The biggest challenge might have been the differ-

ence in cuisine, but we all jumped in to take the risks

and fell in love with Balinese food.

To show our gratitude towards the students at SMK,

one of the service groups, (Cooking: Aiko, Manaka

and Sayaka) prepared a Japanese night. They

served Onigiri, Japanese Curry and Yakitori and set

up the dining tables in a way that represents the Jap-

anese Culture.

HOMESTAY

To help us understand the life of a student at SMK,

we had one night of homestay. I was paired up with

Airi and our host was Yulli, who was around the

same age as us. She lives in a house with no hot

water and little electricity but it was located in the

middle of a big farm owned by her family. I was

amazed at the fruits and vegetables that she had.

Oranges, cucumbers, guava, bananas, and so much

more! Our dinner was made with the ingredients from

her farm and they were absolutely delicious. Airi had

5 servings of Yulli’s Mi Goreng! (Fried noodles)

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Personally, the most memorable activity was the ear-

ly morning volcano climb. This was our last full day in

Bali and along with our friends from SMK we woke

up at 3AM in the morning to see the sunset from

mount Kintamani. This was an optional activity but

everyone participated. (Who would even think about

missing out such an opportunity?)

Other activities includes white water rafting, badmin-

ton, socializing/playing with kids and so more fun

stuff!

FUTURE GRADE 11s:

As a new student, I found that this trip was a great

opportunity to get to know everyone and we were

able to create fun memories together. Before the trip,

we were more focused on where we were going but

in the end, it’s more about what you do as a class to

make a difference. So, have fun and go make some

unforgettable memories!

Great Memories: OIS Junior Service Trip to Bali By Chie Sakano

Page 2 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Photo courtesy of Leona Benfield

Page 3 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Nicole Yoo Shoko Yamaji

Hana Gostelow

Anna Kim

Anna Kim

Shoko Yamaji

Mr. Elshout Shoko Yamaji

Shoko Yamaji

OIS

Photography

Camp

Montage

In grades 9 and 10, students are allowed to choose a

spring camp to attend. Choices include: Snowboarding,

Photography, Sailing, Yearbook, Ark and Kamagasaki

camp. Last year, I travelled to Ark each day to help out

with the animals in the facility. This year, I took another

step forward in community and service and went to

Kamagasaki, which is in down town Osaka.

Home to the tallest building in Kansai, Kamagasaki is a

city bustling with life. However, just a few kilometres

away in the same area is the largest population of

homeless citizens of Japan. All of the homeless were

not necessarily poor when they grew up. Many of them

are homeless because they are unable to find jobs and

do not have the means to be able to get a job after the

burst of the economic bubble in Japan.

Niki, Yuki, Mr Algie, Ms Endo and I spent three

days in Kamagasaki, helping out the homeless and the

children in the area. Many of the sights we saw were

disturbing, unexpected and hard to take in. My mum

grew up near the area and knowing that my family lived

so close to a place like kamagasaki is unreal to me. In

Japan, the difference between the rich and poor is so

little, you don’t see it often. This makes us forget that it

even exists. Knowing that the extremely minimal home-

less population in Japan

was so close to home

made the experience even

more touching.

As soon as we got to the

area where the majority of

the homeless resided, we

could see many street

corners where the home-

less tried to take their

space, make themselves a

home. Many of them were

very clean and hard work-

ing, doing all they could to

collect cans to sell and trying to make the most of

they’re lives. However, the cheapest beverages easily

accessible in the area are sake or Japanese rice wine.

This meant that many of the homeless were addicted to

alcohol or smoking, since they were easily accessible.

Nonetheless, the area was very clean for a population

with such little money. On the second morning, when

we helped with the making of the free food for the

homeless, all of the homeless were very grateful and

deliciously ate their food. Also, it was surprising to see

the homeless line up in such straight lines and wait so

patiently for food. Their actions really reflected the true

mannerisms of the Japanese people, no matter what

your position is, you always are as polite to people as

possible.

Although many activities such as visiting the red light

district, playing with the children in the area and helping

to recycle paper were interesting, in my opinion, nothing

was as hard hitting as Yomawari. Yomawari is an activi-

ty where volunteers give out onigiri (japanese rice balls)

to the homeless. Many of those who receive the food

are waiting on the street and come out when they know

they can receive the food. Some will even reject the

food, saying that others deserve it since they have al-

ready eaten for the day. We went around the area,

sometimes waking people up to give them warm rice

balls. Even if we woke them up mid sleep, many of the

homeless would take off their blankets, remove their

gloves and take a little bow whenever they received the

food. This was heart warming, since they were grateful

for the smallest things, even when they were expecting

it. However, the image that has lasted the longest was

seeing one of the homeless men, who I gave two rice

balls to, smile widely and press the rice balls to his face

since they were warm. This was absolutely heart warm-

ing and made the whole experience unforgettable.

The Kamagasaki camp definitely proved how those who

have less seem to be more generous and it opened my

eyes to how al of these people are no different from us

and I will continue to go to Yomawari when possible and

hope for them to be hired as soon as possible.

Page 4 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Onigiri Kairo by Mia Lewis

Preparing to serve soup (Photo by Mr. Algie)

Niki cleaning up after serving soup to homeless (Photo by Mia)

A park in Kamagasaki where homeless people congregate (Photo by Mia)

Mia and Niki helping to raise money to help homeless

Recycling paper to help raise money for homeless (Photo by Morishita san)

(Photo by Mr. Algie)

OIS Students Set Sail by Kaya Frese

Our school offers four Spring Camps

for high-school students each year;

the purpose to provide an opportunity

to experience something entirely

new. For the past two years, I’ve tak-

en part in Sailing Camp; offered by

SOIS parent and avid sailor, Mark

Smith. Why sailing? Most obvious,

the opportunity to go sailing in a pri-

vate group does not come often; es-

pecially with someone as experi-

enced as Mr. Smith. It’s a once in a

lifetime opportunity! Additionally, you

might have personal reasons for par-

ticipating. For myself, my family on

my father’s side enjoy sailing in the

summer; this learning experience will

hopefully able me to take more part

in sailing this summer.

What do we do?

The first day of sailing, has coincidently, in both years,

rained. As a result, this year we spent the first day of

Spring Camp learning about sailing in general before

being let out. We learned about the physics of sailing;

though not the most interesting part our camp, it did

come in handy. About a month or two later, in science,

we were taught about the Bernoulli effect which directly

correlates with the physics involved in sailing. While it

was a coincidence, I found it was easier to understand

the topic because of my experience during sailing

camp. The second and third day we drove out to Nishi-

nomiya Port Harbor. This year, Mr. Smith gave us the

option to sail in his Mini Transat (RG650); because it’s

a smaller boat, we could sail faster in smaller groups.

We broke into two groups of three: Mr. Bertman, Rigi,

and myself as the first group and Mrs. Cheney,

Masami, and Manon as the second. The first day,

weather was spectacular and the wind did most the

work for us. We each got a chance to drive the sailboat

under Mr. Smith’s supervision. Last year, because we

went in a larger group, I didn’t have the chance to steer;

so driving the sailboat this year was a new and exciting

experience! While I would love to explain my experi-

ence in words, sailing is one of those ‘you need to have

done it to understand it’ kind of things.

What was my favorite memory?

There was one memory that immediately came to mind

when I asked myself that question. This memory was

special to this year’s camp and it was something I

shared with the members of my sailing group. When

you’re sailing, depending on how the driver handles the

situation, the sailboat can tip rather extreme to one

side. While Rigi and I had experienced this the previous

year, Mr. Bertman had not. On numerous occasions the

sailboat did just that and Mr. Bertman wouldn’t fail to

ask, “Are we okay?” Mr. Smith made Mr. Bertman’s

panic into a joke that lasted to the third day. Reassur-

ingly, when we asked, Mr. Smith said the sailboat could

literally not tip over. Additionally, during this time, Mr.

Bertman would ask a lot of questions about the physics

behind sailing in terms of angles in upwind/downwind

sailing. Rigi and I would often joke about how the next

investigation topic Mr. Bertman chooses would be

along the lines of What angle in sailing produces opti-

mum speed?

Would you do it again? While I agree other camps

may seem more exciting or educational at first glance,

sailing was a thrilling camp that everyone should expe-

rience; whether at school or on vacation; I highly rec-

ommend taking part in next year’s sailing camp.

Special thanks to Mrs. Cheney, Mr. Bertman, and espe-

cially Mr. Smith for giving us this opportunity.

Page 5 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Mr. Bertman sailed over the horizon and was never

seen again.

Farewell OIS Seniors!

Editorial-Senior Sayonara by Mona Lamug — Tango President

Moving from place to place and school to school was nothing more than a routine.

By the time I moved to OIS, you could say I was a ‘pro’ at it- making new friends,

familiarizing myself with the culture, learning the language, etc. To me, it was just

picking up my life and continuing whatever I was doing. The only thing that

changed in my life was the country/place I was in. Like a plant, I was repotted into

new soil and a different pot, but was still the same plant.

However, plants are repotted not so that they can stay the same, plants are repot-

ted so that they may flourish and grow into a bigger or even better plant. It was not

until I moved to Japan that I had realized I would not be able to continue the life I

set up in previous schools. It was difficult for me to understand that I couldn’t be the

same person I was then. Truthfully, I was holding onto staying the same because I

couldn’t face that moving was a life changing moment. Moving meant a new envi-

ronment, a new culture, a new adventure, and a new opportunity for me to discover

more about the world and my place in it. I just could not grasp or accept the gravity

of change.

It was when I pursued the same interests and extracurricular activities, I encoun-

tered that I no longer fit in the life I had made for myself. I did my best to continue to

play volleyball and do heart rate training, to express my artistic capabilities in year-

book, and practice my leadership skills in student council

& in Tango. I just didn’t have the same opportunities that

I wanted, and in other cases, I simply did not take pleas-

ure in these ‘interests’. I still forced myself to pursue my

interests the same way and beat myself up when I could-

n’t. With all my stubborn attempts, I was faced with

countless roadblocks that pointed out to me- I had

changed.

A couple years passed since and I admit that I still

struggle with truly accepting that I am afraid of change. Yes, there are times when I

am full of frustration that I didn’t do this or that like I did before. But I did not let that

define me and keep me from uncovering who I really am. I still pursued my inter-

ests and developed my skills, but with an open mind that I may learn where my

limits lie and where I thrive.

We all experience our fair share of repotting and being exposed to new environ-

ments and experiences. It can be harsh and difficult to adapt. But we survive- even

in the hardest situations we may lose all our leaves, but our fallen leaves only gives

way to the nourishment of another plant.

Microsoft Clip art

At this time of year we say goodbye to the OIS Grade

12s, who are graduating. We wish them all the very

best. A big thank you to them for all they have contribut-

ed to the SOIS community through their time here.

We’d especially like to say thank you and farewell to

three Tango members who have given so much to the

newspaper and the club.

Mona Lamug has been our Tango president this year

and done a really great job. Her

enthusiasm and efforts have

helped make Tango feel like it’s

moving forward. Mona has been

a keen Tango writer since her

arrival here nearly three years

ago. In fact, it was Mona who

interviewed me as a new teacher here at school. She

has written several great articles over those three years,

and her editorials this year have been fun to read, a mix-

ture of warm humor, sincere reflection, breezy positivity

and real wisdom.

Emily Yamanaka has been a stalwart member of Tango

for many years. She has very faithfully written the major-

ity of sports articles for as long as I have been here, and

before that, as well. Her writing on sports is more than

just reviewing seasons and cataloguing scorecards. Ra-

ther, she has come to be

able to write about what it

means to be a Saber, all

the ups and downs, re-

wards and challenges.

Emily has also written other

articles on a range of topics other than sports and she

has served as Vice President of Tango this past year,

helping out in many ways.

Sawako Tachibana has had a rela-

tively short but very productive

time in Tango. Sawako is an SIS

student who has completed the IB

course alongside OIS students.

She has had a trailblazing role in

this regard, and this has made her

an insightful writer for Tango over

this past year.

Thanks again, to Mona, Emily and Sawako for all their

contributions. Good luck and best wishes in the future.

And a fond farewell to all OIS graduating seniors. We

wish you well.

A Warm Goodbye to OIS Seniors (And Tango Seniors in particular)

by Dave Algie

Ima

ge

co

urt

esy o

f A

i K

ano

“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where

it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different

would be you.”

I came across this quote whilst reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger during

my sophomore year. Back then, I remember disliking the novel due to its overly cynical

take on life and society but I actually enjoy it a lot now after revisiting the novel recently.

Funny how time may change people.

Despite how much I’d like to think that each and everyone of us will stay as close to

each other as we are now, the old familiarity is bound to change. We don’t see each

other everyday, don’t have classes together anymore, and can’t even do simply greet-

ings across the hall. It’s true that we can still ‘keep in touch’ through social medias by a

press of the ‘like’ button or two-taps on the screen for a ‘heart’, nothing will ever be the

same again.

What will remain, hopefully, are the wonderful memories we’ve created and shared to-

gether. I sincerely wish that every time I visit the school, the past memories will flood

over me and I’ll get to experience everything over again as I know that each has ‘stayed

right where it was’ like the objects in that museum.

For every beginning there is an ending, with every ending there is a new beginning.

Although the seniors are ending a crucial chapter of our lives, it leads to another new

start. I'm not sure about the others, but I'll definitely take along with me what I've

learned from everyone at SOIS. On behalf of everyone in Class of 2016, I'd like to thank

you all for the memories you've helped me create.

OIS has enabled me to take on various roles and

positions and through the process definitely molded

me into a more positive individual. I hope that

I contributed to making this school a lively, energetic

environment for the current students and the ones to

come.

A Tango Vice President Signs Out....

by Emily Yamanaka

“Little Shop of Horrors” Will be the All School Production 2017!

A special report from Yuki Sutton

Page 7 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Show-Tens! Yuki recommends 10 of her favourite show tunes. Check them out and get in the mood for ASP 2017!

1. The Night They Invented Champagne - Gigi (Company)

2. Cross The Line - Bring It On (Company)

3. There She Goes/Fame - Fame (Lorraine Velez)

4. Under Attack - Mamma Mia (Lisa Stokke)

5. If Only You Would Listen - School of Rock (Company)

6. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd - Sweeney Todd (Company)

7. Suddenly Seymour - Little Shop of Horrors (Company)

8. Pinball Wizard - The Who's Tommy (Ensemble)

9. Being Alive - Company (Raul Esparza)

10. Beautiful City - Godspell (Hunter Parrish)

The time has come fellow theatre geeks, for the big announcement about what this

year’s all school production is going to be and I’m sure most of you are going to be very

happy about it (or you’re not going to know what it is so you’re just going to sit there and

be really confused but, fear not children because you sure are lucky to have me to tell

you what it’s about).

This musical, written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman whose works in musical thea-

tre include “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” is a horror come-

dy rock musical with cool tunes in the style of 60s rock and roll, doo-wop and a little bit

of motown. It premiered worldwide in 1982, first off-off-Broadway then made it’s way to

off-Broadway, performing at the Orpheum Theatre (currently showing STOMP) in Man-

hattan for 5 years. It came back to New York in 2003, making its Broadway debut at the

August Wilson Theatre (currently showing Jersey Boys) with a 10-month-long run. It is

similar to a production that the school put on a couple of years ago, “Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, because of its funky tunes and the fact that it is nar-

rated by three females. It is about a hopeless orphan named Seymour who works at

Mushnik’s, a flower shop in Skid Row where he constantly gets in trouble with Mr Mush-

nik. One day, he discovers a plant that feeds off of human skin and blood and names it

Audrey II after his co-worker, Audrey who he has a crush on. Soon the Audrey II becomes

difficult to control. If you haven’t figured it out yet (or you simply don’t have a single

brain cell of knowledge about musicals), this year’s

All School Production is Little Shop of Horrors!

I can definitely see us all having fun with this pro-

duction mostly because of the music and the eccen-

tric characters. I am excited to see what kind of set

Mr Myers has in store for us and how he is going to

make Audrey II, the giant, man-eating plant.

If you are interested in this musical, I recommend

that you listen to Prologue/Little Shop of Horrors,

Skid Row (Downtown) and Suddenly Seymour.

Until next time,

So long farewell.

Image source: British Theatre.Com. http://britishtheatre.com/little-shop-of-horrors-uk-tour/

"Little shop, little shoppa horrors. Little shop, little shoppa terror.

Call a cop. Little shoppa horrors. No, oh, oh, no-oh!"

-Prologue/Little Shop of Horrors, Little Shop of Horrors

Page 8 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Q: Before you came to OIS, where did you live and what did you do?

Before I came to SOIS, I was in Kenya for the last 6 years at the International School of

Kenya. I was their MS Band and Choir Director as well as doing Jazz Band, Drumline

and other things. I enjoyed Kenya very much--one of the best countries in Africa!

Q: How is SOIS different from other schools you've taught at?

The combination of the two schools is a new idea. As well teaching PYP is a new expe-

rience for me, one that I like. The other thing is that students love to stay in school and

this is a dancing school--never seen that before.

Q: What's one thing you really like about Japan?

Ease of life here. It is something that is surprising to me continually--everything is here,

you are not struggling for anything, everything is safe, it is uber clean everywhere

Q: Do you speak any Japanese?

Just learning now, but I have been able to get by so far!

Q: Did you always want to become a music teacher?

No, I wanted to be an artist and a conductor when I was younger, but teaching has be-

come my passion in life so I would not trade it for anything now. I have done many jobs

in my life--baker, private lesson teacher, playing for a country club, working in a mental

hospital teaching music and art therapy, first grade teacher, librarian, and college coun-

selor!

Q: What's your favorite song?

LOL as a music teacher I don’t have one. Depends upon the genre--I like everything

from electronic to soul, classical to jazz, country to heavy metal and rap.

Q: What’s your favorite food?

That's hard since I like all kinds of food from spicy to subtle. I love Egusi soup--Nigerian

dish, the pickled plums here,anything miso, grilled meat of any kind (Japan knows how

to do that well), high quality food with complex layering of tastes--it is hard to answer

this question! Japanese food I guess is quickly becoming my favorite.

Q: What do you like to do on the weekends?

Ride my bicylce to Hattori Ryochuchi park, work out...love nature and being outside in

the sun! I do like to go somewhere each weekend downtown and around Osaka--there

are so many things to see for free here and a rich culture to enjoy.

Q: If you were to be an animal, what would you be and why?

An elephant. Not because of the size, but because they are super intelligent and aren't

afraid of anything. They go for what they want, keep their life simple.

Q: If you were reborn in a new life, who/what would you want to be?

Why be reborn? I like the one I am living now! True I have had ups and downs in life--

but it is the journey I am enjoying. I believe I am ordinary guy trying to live an extraordi-

nary life--make each moment count!

Q: Message for the SOIS community?

Don’t be scared of diversity--embrace the world around you--try new things, take risks in

life, explore all that life and learning has to offer. Be passionate about life--it might sur-

prise you with some great things that you never thought of. I certainly never thought I

would be here living in Japan. I am truly happy to share my musical passions with you!

Q&A Interview with Mr.Ligon by Airi Wakasa

Who knew that it could only take 12 out of 365 days to impact someone’s life greatly?

Once a month, a few of my friends and I visit the children’s hospital at Nishinomiya to

spend time with some of the patients there, doing some arts and crafts and other activi-

ties. The kids’ ages range from around 6-18 and they suffer from either a major or minor

mental illness. Nonetheless, although our visiting time only lasts for approximately two

hours, this event never fails to put a smile on your face. During my first experience, I

was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to interact with the children well due to the lan-

guage barrier, however, I was proven wrong as the kids have such friendly personalities

and warm souls. The second time volunteering at the hospital had the biggest impact

on me. This was due to having the kids running towards me and screaming my name

when I entered the room. It was then that I realized how much they appreciate you giv-

ing up a little bit of your time to play with them. Although spending just a few hours of

your day with them might seem quite short, not a single second of that goes to waste.

Being able to witness the joy these children feel is a priceless experience. If ever you’re

interested in accompanying us at the hospital ask me any questions! I’ll be more than

glad to take you with us during our next volunteering session.

Volunteering At A Children’s Hospital by Masami Nagasaka

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This photo by David Meyers. All others by Dave Algie

THE GREEK BLOG MAY 2016

AN INSIGHT INTO ‘THE ODYSSEY’

Hi everyone! Thank you for joining me again on The Greek Blog! You know how this blog gathers all lovers of Greek cuisine, film and literature~ Well, today, I’m going to be talking

about Homer’s “The Odyssey” because… why not? I usually don't read things from 8000 B.C.E, but I can’t be a lover of all Greek things and not have read this classic right? So I decid-

ed that I would do a bit of an interesting review. Instead of giving a boring old outline of the plot and characters, I thought I’d talk about aspects of this crazily ancient book that we

can relate to (yes, even millennials). Let’s get into it!

Page 10 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

FUN FACT:

MANY OF THE STO-RIES IN THE ODYSSEY WERE PASSED DOWN FOR HUNDREDS OF

YEARS BEFORE HOMER WROTE THEM

DOWN

LIFE IS A TURBULENT ODYSSEY

This may be my favourite universal theme in the ancient work of literature. Maybe I’m being too dramatic? This one was prominent throughout the book and I’m not one to

enjoy stories involving strange creatures like a Cyclops, but this relatable message made it somewhat worthwhile. Basically, Odysseus spends the entire book recounting his

experience on the rough seas. He’s always so close to making it home but an angry god or mythical creature provokes massive turbulence and it always seems like the end of

the world…but it isn’t. This is basically a metaphor for life (to put it simply). You know the feeling when you feel like you’re so close to where you want to be or where you

need to be? It’s like a soup of emotions: anguish, frustration, hope and uncertainty. Then next thing you know, someone is angry with you, you’re angry with someone, you

don’t have time or there’s a sudden change of events and your well devised plan needs a complete do-over. It feels like the end of the world sometimes, doesn’t it? If you’ve

ever read The Odyssey or plan to, you’ll see that Odysseus’ hubris is a major disadvantage (I mean, when is excessive pride ever good?). But even with colossal confidence,

life’s obstacles still get to him. I appreciated the fact that Homer was basically saying, “Hey. Here’s heroic and almost perfect Odysseus. You can’t beat a Cyclops or a crazy

whirlpool like he can, but he’s had it rough too.” Life is tough on all of us—not in the same way and not always at the same time…but you have to keep putting one foot in

front of the other!

Blogging the Odyssey with Manon Raby

The Grade 10 Language and Literature Class have been studying The Odyssey by Homer. They’ve been investigating how some themes are very specific to a time and place while others are universal.

At the same time they have been looking at blogs as a text type and exploring the way that blogs use point of view, colloquial language, intertextuality, layout, a perceived relationship with the audi-

ence and many other stylistic features. The students were challenged to come up with a blog entry/ blog design of their own that explored universal themes in The Odyssey. Below is an excerpt

from Manon’s blog. Some of Manon’s original formatting has been changed to fit Tango’s format.

Image sources clockwise from top left

1. "Zen Pirate Legend Page." Zen Pirate Legend Page. Web. 07 June 2016. 2. Ancient Greece." For Kids: Homer's Odyssey. Web. 07 June 2016.

3. "Walk Through of The Odyssey." Chris Legg LPC. 2014. Web. 07 June 2016 4. "Odysseus." Greek Mythology Wiki. Web. 07 June 2016.

II. YOU’RE NOT SUPERIOR TO ANYONE

Okay, so, I feel like I need to ANNOUNCE this to the world. Kind of like a wakeup call or something. I’m glad

Homer didn’t portray Odysseus as a 100% perfect god-like mortal because I would’ve closed that book FAST. He

makes it clear that his over-confidence is not a quality. I think that for as long as humans have and continue to

exist, hubris will never be a desirable feature in someone. I’m sure you guys can totally understand, right? I mean,

who can ever stand someone who thinks they’re better than everybody else? Those people need to be told! Any-

way, I saw this theme reoccur throughout the book. Every time Odysseus was like “I’m so awesome. I’m better

than everybody.” (Not his exact words) the universe would punish him…and harshly. It’s pretty amusing. And he

doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes very quickly, too. So, if you’re like me, and you kind of love it when the

almighty and heroic protagonist is not so picture-perfect, then you’ll understand why this message was worth

acknowledging!

On May 15th, the International Theater Company London (ITCL) performed William

Shakespeare’s, The Tempest in front of a packed theater at SOIS. This year marks

the 400th year after Shakespeare’s death, and to commemorate, students were wel-

comed to watch one of his last works. Students from almost every grade level left the

theater entertained by the theater company’s fantastic production.

The Tempest is a play that begins with a storm that hits the King of Naples and his

companions, on board a ship from Tunis, Africa. They end up washed away on an

island. There, love is found,

various revolutionary plots are

conspired, and magical acts

are performed. The play is

comical, entangled, and slightly

vulgar.

This year’s production was the

second year that the ITCL has

performed at SOIS. The perfor-

mance was free to attend this

year, so tickets for the produc-

tion sold out quickly. An hour

before the play began, the ITCL also held an acting workshop, in which SOIS stu-

dents were able to learn about the techniques and skills that went into performing

drama. The company grouped up students, and challenged them to become a table

or act out starvation. The workshop served as a chance for students to become more

confident in front of crowds, and collaborate well with other students.

At the end of the workshop, participants were asked to summarize the previous hour

in one word. Some used the word, hamburger, while others described it as being

joyful. The workshop forced students to step outside of their comfort zone, and

engage in tasks that they wouldn’t normally undergo.

On the Thursday before the performance, a seminar on The Tempest was also held,

providing insight and background about the play.

This year’s performance was met with rave reviews from audience members and

faculty alike. We would like to thank the ITCL for putting on The Tempest at SOIS,

and for all faculty members who made this event possible.

The Tempest Hits SOIS

By Tyus Sheriff

Page 11 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG TANGO SOISLIFE Volume 9 Number

Photo by Tara Cheney

The Halls Are Alive With The Sound of Music

By Dave Algie

A special thanks to the music teachers and students for the wonderful

music we have been hearing over the past few weeks, from the ele-

mentary school concert to the wind and brass concerts in the theater

to another rousing concert at Maple Hall. Well done Mr. Elshout, Mr.

Villapando, Mr. Ligon, Mr. Marica and everyone else who supports

young SOIS musicians by nurturing and developing their talents.

Photos l-r by Dave Algie

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Unless you have been living under a rock you’ve most

likely heard about the Refugee Crisis in Europe/

Germany - and although Trump and Hillary have been

taking over social media these last few weeks/months,

you will still find some news articles here and there

talking about it. But I feel like the more I read the more

I don’t understand about this whole situation. One side

is telling me that these thousands of people are just

like you and me and need shelter and care. Other

sources tell me that they are ruining Germany and that

no woman will ever be able to walk outside as a result

of the threat posed by all the immigrants. Some say

that Merkel is a hero, and some blame all problems on

her. I have heard many people say that the anti-

immigration Germans are coming dangerously close to

developing patterns similar to anti-semitism in Nazi

Germany. What am I even supposed to think? I have-

n’t been in Germany for 3 years now, and therefore

most of what I know about this whole crisis comes

from the media. For me it’s basically impossible to

form a reasonable opinion.

Being in an international environment I’m used to

being around people that are completely different than

me. I am definitely the odd one in a crowd of Japanese

people - and am still learning to deal with being stared

at and desperately trying to figure out what could be

going on inside the people’s heads as they won’t stop

looking at me. Also, my family on both sides were

once refugees as a result of WW2, so I feel like it

would be incredibly selfish to deny others the opportu-

nities my grandparents had had. My natural instinct

would therefore be to accept anyone into my country,

no matter his/her ethnicity/culture.

However, I feel like my

opinion could be very very differ-

ent if I was still living in Germany

right now. Not only would I have

a much better sense of the gen-

eral public’s feelings towards this

situation, but the whole issue

would relate to me so much

more. I would potentially be the

one that’s scared of going outside

by myself - I mean there was the

incident on New Year’s in Co-

logne where there were hundreds

of sexual assaults on women,

many carried out by refugees.

Living in one of the countries that has been affected by

the refugee crisis probably evokes many feelings of

fear and panic as the media is flooded with millions of

refugees coming in.

When I Skype my grandparents and we talk

about all of this, they say they barely even see refu-

gees. Listening to them is most likely not the most reli-

able source, but from what I get from them the media

makes things seem way worse than what they actually

are. I experienced the same in 3/11 when I was living

in Tokyo. German media was panicking, while Japa-

nese media shut down any information regarding the

nuclear accident.

I think it is difficult to say that the more right-wing

Germans who are seriously afraid of the refugees are

pure evil. Wanting to maintain one’s culture seems

natural, and it is difficult not to get affected by all the

negative representation of the refugees in the media.

Also, although there have been some extremist indi-

viduals, one should refrain from calling them Neo-

Nazis, which is probably the most disrespectful and

accusing thing you could say to any German ever,

given the country’s history.

I really wonder how Germany will look like in the

next few years. It is a possibility that it will become

more and more right, as there is a new political party

on the rise called “Alternative For Germany”. It con-

demns Merkel’s gentle and lenient attitude toward the

refugees. Basically, what is happening with Trump in

the US is also occurring in Germany. If this new party

will win the next elections I am honestly worried, since

it will polarise the whole political system in Germany.

For now I will hope that Germany’s history will

not repeat itself and instead a good solution for this

whole crisis will be found. A solution that provides

safety for all people - the refugees as well as the peo-

ple welcoming them in.

Neo-Nazis on the Rise? by Sophia Grabowski

Page 12 TANGO INTERNATIONAL

In today’s extremely globalized world, learning a foreign language only has benefits. Alt-

hough it will take definitely take you tremendous amount of effort and time, its benefits

are abundant. In this article, I will explain what benefits you can expect from learning a

foreign language.

First of all, learning a foreign language will open you up with new opportunities; job op-

portunities, travel and leisure, studying or living overseas, meeting new people, discover-

ing a new culture, and on and on. Studies have shown that people who speak two or

more languages are much more likely to be employed and they also earn more bonuses

compared to their monolingual colleagues. It will also connect you with new people—

some of them who may become your life-long friends—whom you would not meet if you

did not study the language. People around you will definitely be impressed by your

unique skill as well.

The biggest benefit of learning a foreign language is the effects on your brain. Many

physiological studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of learning a foreign

language to our brains and they have found that speaking two or more languages

strengthens the cognitive process. Here are some examples of studies:

Improves your decision-making skills--A study from the University of Chicago has

found that people who speak two or more languages tend to make more rational deci-

sions. (1)

You become smarter--The York University in Toronto has revealed that students who

study foreign languages tend to score better on standardized tests than their monolin-

gual peers, particularly in math, reading and vocabulary. (1)

Improves your memory--The University of New Brunswick has found that people who

speak two or more languages are better at memorization. This is because learning a

language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary, which strengthened their memori-

zation skills. (2)

Learning a foreign language also staves off brain diseases, such as the Alzheimer’s. It is

widely known that people who speak two or more languages have better functioning

brains and acquire brain diseases several years later compared to monolingual people.

Today, people live much longer than they used to, however, this means that more peo-

ple are likely to acquire brain diseases than before. Hence, if you want to decrease the

odds of acquiring brain diseases in the future, learning a foreign language might be a

good way.

As learning a foreign language opens up new opportunities, enhances the cognitive pro-

cess and also helps protect our brains from horrifying brain diseases, it is crystal-clear

that it is to learn a foreign language; it is totally different from just a hobby, where it is

just for fun. Besides, learning a language is a lot of fun.

Citations:

"Ten Amazing Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language - Lingholic." Lingholic. N.p., 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 23

May 2016. <http://www.lingholic.com/ten-amazing-reasons-learn-foreign-language/>.

Merritt, Anne. "Why Learn a Foreign Language? Benefits of Bilingualism." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d.

Web. 25 May 2016.<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a-foreign-

language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html>.

"9 Big Advantages of Learning a Foreign Language." FluentU Language Learning Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2016.

<http://www.fluentu.com/blog/advantages-of-learning-a-foreign-language/>.

Why Should We Learn a Foreign Language? By Sho Sakura

PHOTO: SASCHA SCHUERMANN/GETTY IMAGES sourced from International Business Times

Q&A continued…..

1. It’s frigid cold. Not just cold. It’s

FRIGID cold. When I was just a baby,

my family moved to Beijing for my aunt

and uncle to go to an international school

and get a better education. After spend-

ing almost 5-6 years in Beijing and then

coming back (our first winter in Mongolia

since we came back) the radiators in our

house froze. It was -40 Celsius and our heaters froze. We could put hot soup on the coun-

ter and it would freeze in five minutes or less. You know it’s cold when your snot freezes to

your nose hairs. You know it’s cold when your eyelashes get so many ice crystals you can’t

see anymore. And you know it’s cold when you’re wearing seven layers and you’re still

cold. Winter of 2010 was the worst. The nomadic families living in the countryside were

forced to come to the city because of the cold. Their sheep, cattle and horses were frozen

dead. Over 1 million livestock were frozen solid. However, times are changing and the

Mongolian winters have gotten warmer and warmer with every year. If you want to have a

foreigner’s view on it, check out this article written by an American man who moved from

Seattle to Mongolia to volunteer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8509143.stm

2. There are skyscrapers, cars and roads.

It’s not all mountains and steppes. One of

the most common questions I get asked

whenever I travel is that if I get on a horse

as soon as I step out of the plane to go

home. And I’m bewildered and stuck on how

to exactly answer these type of questions.

So instead of answering with words, I’ll an-

swer with a simple photo. But what people

think are mostly right, the country is ¾ coun-

tryside with few small towns and cities. It’s

an undiscovered beauty, not a desolate

wasteland. Yes, Mongolia doesn’t have a lot

of people. And, yes, Mongolia isn’t well known. Yet, Mongolia still has SO much to offer.

There is a sea of rolling steppes where you can watch the shadows of clouds roll over the

land for miles. In the north, there is beautiful Lake Khovsgol, where mountains, forests, and

plains collide. In the west, towering, snow-capped mountains. And in the south, there is the

Gobi Desert with towering sand dunes and springing tumbleweeds. Part of me loves that

Mongolia is so little known. Part of me hopes it’ll stay that way forever, because it is charm-

ing with its endless empty beauty.

3. Chinggis Khan is our hero, not a warlord

or a villain. He came to power by uniting

many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia

and establishing the largest empire in the

world, exceeded only by the British Empire in

the 19th century. Imagine, an army with only

horses, in a span of just 25 years, Chinggis

Khan’s horsemen conquered an area larger

and greater in population than the Romans did

in four centuries combined. When mentioned, foreigners usually think he was a ruthless

killing machine that slayed whoever and whatever got in his way. Well… That is true, how-

ever, he was only like that to his opponents and very loving and caring to his people. In-

deed he was a great leader and he himself managed to raise the biggest empire in history

just because men from another tribe killed his father and Chinggis Khan sought revenge.

4. We are known for our hospitality. In a country where distances are far and communi-

cation can be difficult, it is important to maintain a sense of community. People living in the

Mongolian countryside will always have a bowl of warm, salty milk tea ready for visitors.

Every household will always have extra roll-up mattresses and blankets for surprise visi-

tors. This type of hospitality is so common and traditional that recently they made a reality

TV show called, “I’ll Be Sleeping in Your House!” (Loosely translated by me). The host

chooses a random neighborhood and starts knocking on people’s doors to have dinner

there and spend the night while they talk and get to know each other. Hospitality, discipline

and manners are very important in the Mongolian culture and I’m proud to say it.

5. Ulaanbaatar was a nomadic city. Our capital

city, Ulaanbaatar (OO-LAN-BAH-TAR) used to

move three times a year. The city was founded in

1639 as a movable monastery and changed loca-

tions 28 times before it was settled permanently at

its present location, sandwiched between moun-

tains and rivers in 1778. To the South, you’ll see

the chain of Bogd Khan Mountains which have Chinggis Khan’s face and Mongolian script

writing inscripted into the side of the mountain.

6. Mongolia is so high. …Not that one! Mongolia stands an average of 1,800 meters

above sea level! Despite its landlocked status, Mongolia has many salt lakes. You could fit

the Netherlands into Mongolia thirty-seven times! Gobi Desert used to be a sea, which ex-

plains the marine fossils. Tourists pick up actual dinosaur fossils as souvenirs

7. Chinggis Khan could not read or write. But he com-

missioned the first Mongolian writing system - the Mon-

golian script. Since the Soviet period, Mongolians have

used the Cyrillic script. In Mongolian the verb comes last.

If you want to know whether a Mongolian loves or hates

you, you have to wait till the end of the sentence! Have a

go at writing your name in Mongolian cyrillic script.

8. Mongolian Wildlife. I cannot even begin to write

about the amazing wildlife in Mongolia. This entire topic

needs a whole section to itself. But just to give you an

idea of the variety and beauty of animals in Mongolia,

here’s a few interesting facts. Some nomads keep eagles

as pets, the Kazakh minority in the West hunt with

them. The two-humped camel comes from Gobi

desert and survives temperatures from minus to

plus fifty degrees Celsius! Gerbils run around as

wild animals in Mongolia. If you count carefully,

you will notice slightly more horses than people.

The Mongolian Takhi horse is the last wild horse

in the world. Mongolian lakes and rivers contain

more than fifty unique fish species.

9. Speaking of Wildlife… While the rest of the world obsesses over Donald Trump and

Beyonce’s Lemonade, Mongolia broke the world record for the biggest camel race with

over 1108 participants thundering across the desert - almost doubling the previous record

which was 555. The race was just over 15 km long with the fastest camel finishing in 35

min and 12 seconds. The race was organised with the purpose of increasing the population

and usage of domestic camels in Mongolia

10. And lastly…

Enough said!

The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Mongolia By Yuroo Achit

Page 13 TANGO INTERNATIONAL

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Image courtesy of Yuroo Achit

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http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26969150

The voice. It was so familiar. I looked up to see the pendant

hanging from her neck. The millions of delicate lines etched

with such care into the silver circle. The swirls that formed

countless shapes that never appeared twice. Tracing one

line to see where it would go was impossible. In the very

center was a small piece of stone that was barely visible.

Most people wouldn’t notice it, but when the light hit it, it

would give of a magnificent turquoise light that sent a rush

to my head. The impossibly thin ring of gold circling the

stone brought out the stone’s color. What a marvelous

piece of jewelry.

I remember the first time I saw it on her. Oh, how right it

looked, almost as if they belonged together. Hey black eyes

flashed at me as she turned around with a sweep of her

hair. Under the moonlight, the ginger strands seemed like a

waterfall of copper.

“Hurry,” she mouthed with a beckoning hand.

I nodded and stumbled after her. I got to the door later than

her and by then, the door was open. She opened it just a

crack; large enough for both of us to get through. As I

slipped through the door, I felt an unnatural heat coming off

of the lock and turned to have a closer look. The residues

of soot drifted away as a strong hand reached over and

yanked me by my wrists. They were inhumanly cold against

my warm skin. Just like the water dripping down my chin.

Wait. What?

I blinked. Once, twice. “You’re doing that thing again,” she

said. “If you stay there too long you’ll get lost there.”

“Oh and let me guess. I’m never going to get back here if I

do get lost,” I retorted sarcastically. I didn’t mean to be so

scornful but when you’ve lost as much as I have, thats just

how it goes. And being splashed in the face with ice cold

water didn’t help with my cranky, sleep deprived mood.

She scrunched together the bridge of her nose as if she

smelled something revolting and turned towards the door.

“This place is wrapped in such a foul smell. Lets go.”

It wasn’t a question, but a command. From the queen to

her henchman. It was always like this. She wasn’t the

bossy type of person, but she was so sure that everyone

would go her way that she never asked for their opinions. I

respected the power she held in her words.

As I turned to follow her, Declan caught my eye and wig-

gled his eyebrows. “I see you’ve found a way to release the

tension from the case, boss,” he said putting emphasis on

the word “boss”. How ironic.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I said. “Don’t think about it too

much.” I felt the heat rushing to my face as I said it. I

walked away shaking my head.

Minutes later, we were walking down a shady side street

that actually smelled decent. The reddish brown walls of

the buildings seemed to be leaning in, as if it would tip over

if a larger bird landed on it. The doors seemed fragile

enough that a gentle gust of wind could blow it down. I

looked up and shielded my eyes against the sun. The win-

dows are

“Slightly crooked. Yes, I get it. Now can we please walk

faster?”

I froze for a second; surprised by the voice that stole my

words. For some reason, the fact that she was here just

slipped my mind. Her presence was very faint, as if she

was barely rooted to this world.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“Magic,” she said with a wave from her arms. She had that

peculiar grin that would always appear before she took a

big risk that lead us to trouble.

We stopped outside of a shabby cafe decorated with pieces

of green cloth that fluttered pathetically in the wind. But

when she stepped under them, they turned into majestic

flags flying proudly for their queen.

“Ahhh. Welcome back,” a voice projected from behind the

counter. Seconds later, an incredibly short man popped up

from behind the counter. And when I call someone short,

trust me, they are short. His rumpled, dull grey shirt was the

most colorful thing about him. Unlike the shop, which was

blinding me with it’s clash of bright colors, he was very dull

and out of place. His absence of color seemed to create a

void that sucked in the varying hues around him. We

stayed like that for a while until he broke the silence.

“I see that you’ve brought a friend, Sandy,” his scathed

voice carried through the cafe.

“You won’t mind him,” her smooth honey-like voice sang.

“Humph, fine,” he retorted grumpily as he turned to pick up

a serving plate loaded with food and drinks.

Lysandra, who seemed to have gained yet another nick-

name, gestured to the table in the corner farthest away

from the door. “Please, sit,” she said so casually that al-

most everyone would have seen it as an innocent gesture.

But I knew she had picked it out with careful thought.

The chair creaked when I hoisted myself up onto it. I gave it

an experimental wiggle. Fun. I looked, waiting for her to

talk. But she stayed silent; almost as if she were waiting for

something to happen. The short man scurried over and

shakily transferred the contents from the plate to the table,

then slowly inched away like a prey escaping the predator.

“May I ask why we are here?” I asked curiously.

“It’s about the Midnight Writer,” she said with a sigh.

“The what?”

“The man.”

“What man?” I started to get annoyed with this conversation

that was going nowhere.

“The Midnight Writer. He’s a man,” she said chuckling.

Probably at my confused face.

“Oh. So who is he?”

“He’s the murderer that killed Perlouse. And Alessia. And

Caden.”

“Okay I get it!” I exclaimed. “How do you know of them?

The media hasn’t reported any of this to the public.”

“I have my ways,” she said flashing her mysterious smile.

Her eyes flitted out the window next to her just in time to

see a body hit the floor with a thud. “Something’s happen-

ing.” And with that, she was gone.

How She Walked Back In by Pansy

This is the continuation of Pansy’s mystery story How We Used To Be in the previous edition of Tango (So check

it out!). But even if you haven’t read that one, you can still enjoy this mysterious and atmospheric short story.

Page 14 TANGO STUDENT WRITING

So probably everyone, one time in your life, has thought

how a word came about. Of course I do as well, and quite

often. That is why I'd like to talk about origins of some

words, and one origin of a name. To me many of these

are surprising and very interesting, so let's begin!

The first word on my list here is nightmare (Yes, we start

with the scary one). This word is compounded by night

and mare. Night is English, however, mare is from Old

English and means incubus. It is referred as a demon who

suffocates you in your sleep. At first nightmare was how

you feel suffocation in your sleep, and now it is just a plain

scary dream ("25 Interesting And Somewhat Strange

Word Origins.").

Now let us move on to the next word which will be very

unexpected, nice. Probably many of you will think that

nice didn't change much, maybe only a little small change.

But that is way off! This is one of some words that

changed dramatically, and in my opinion the best one.

The origin of this word is from Old French, nice, and Latin,

nescius, and it meant ignorant (Online Etymology Diction-

ary). Yes, ignorant. You could use other synonyms, for

example; weak, clumsy, simple, stupid, not knowing, etc.,

but technically it has the opposite meaning of nice. This

meaning started in the 12 century and during the years it

turned from not knowing to knowing, and started to be

used as a positive word, as we know today. Hopefully, this

was a surprise to you as it was for me. But there are still a

few more words left so to the next one!

The next word I will like to present is corridor. Have you

ever been told to not run in the corridor before by teachers

or parents? Well then there is a big irony there because

originally corridor meant to run. In Italian, corridore meant

a runner and correre meant to run (“9 Interesting Word

Facts You Didn't Know”). We know that the meaning has

changed, however, after knowing the etymology, we feel

that it is okay to run in the corridor, and there are probably

many people who do (Note: don't run you'll get in trouble).

So now we will find the origin of the final word which is,

last but not least, origin. I am not joking, this is the last

word before the name. This word was first born in Old

French as origine which meant race. Then, it turned into

Latin as originem then, oriri which meant to arise and birth

(Online Etymology Dictionary). From the four words I've

given this is probably the most plain, but many words

have only a slight change, and are still interesting

(hopefully I am not the only one who thinks so).

Finally, I will present the name. The name I chose was a

quite popular name, Ethan. This is a name for a boy and

in Hebrew this name means solid and enduring

(“Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Ethan."). This

name was not that popular until quite recently. This name

was a name for a wise man in the Old Testament, a He-

brew bible we should call it. At this time the name was

only common and only became popular after a revolution-

ary, Ethan Allen. That will be all the words I wanted to

introduce. To everyone I hope that it was interesting as it

was for me.

Citations:

“Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Ethan." Behind the Name. N.p., n.d. Web. 24

May 2016.

"9 Interesting Word Facts You Didn't Know | OxfordWords Blog." OxfordWords Blog. N.p.,

10 Dec. 2014. Web. 24 May 2016.

"Online Etymology Dictionary." Online Etymology Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2016.

"25 Interesting And Somewhat Strange Word Origins." List25. N.p., 15 May 2014. Web. 24

May 2016.

Origins of Words by Keri Howard

The Hotaru-Maru 25 years out of Sapporo swung

around the nameless, lifeless planet at approxi-

mately nine tenths of the speed of light and head-

ed into open space. It was on the final leg of its

journey to KB1842, a planet just three light

months away, one that had been picked out al-

most three decades before as possibly inhabita-

ble. At the heart of the ship, in a dimly lit cabin, a

circle of suspension pods, like the petals of a dai-

sy, contained the 20 members of the crew.

Through the misted glass of their lids, one could

just make out the sleeping features of the astro-

nauts, who had lain like this for the past quarter of

a century. If all went well, and if, as the scientists

had predicted, life had evolved on the planet to-

wards which they now headed, they would be the

first humans to encounter extraterrestrial life.

***

The visitors were coming. The Sentience

had known at once - as soon as the craft had

changed trajectory and started to head towards

their planet. The Sentience were pleased, the

could tell, even at this distance, that the craft bore

life, though the distance was too great for them to

be able to tell of what sort. The Sentience loved

life, all kinds of life. They had been visited before,

though not for a very long time. Indeed, it had

been before they had evolved into their present

form. Millions of years ago. But they had good

memories of the encounter.

***

‘All set for landing?’

‘Yes, sir. We will be entering the atmosphere in 42

hours’

‘And how does it look?’

‘The spectrometer is showing more or less what

the boffins said it would. Still no visible signs of

life. The atmosphere is consistent with organic

carbon-based life but there are no traces of civili-

sation - not of the terrestrial kind, at least.’

‘Good. Either there is no intelligent life or it is

passed the stage of messing up its own planet.’

***

The Sentience reached out; their welcoming

thoughts rushed upwards, focusing on the rapidly

approaching craft . But they encountered nothing;

no reply. All they could feel was the hardness of

inorganic matter and a confused sense of some-

thing alive but senseless: a blind, deaf, mute form

of life. Perhaps it was something to do with the

craft itself, perhaps that was why they could not

communicate. Perhaps it was night with these

creatures.

***

The ship had landed. The crew stepped

down onto the wide circle of blackened grass the

landing had created. After a few final tests for air

born bacteria, the captain gave the all-clear and

the crew removed their helmets.

‘Is it just because I have spent the last 25

years in space, or is this the most pure air I have

ever breathed?’

‘I know what you mean.’

‘The bad news is that’s probably because

there seems to be no animal life here.’

***

The Sentience screamed. First there had

been the fire and the smoke, suffocating and de-

stroying. The Sentience had never experienced

such a thing before. This was an absolute end to

existence such as they had never known. The

creatures had emerged from their craft now, but

still their thoughts, if they had any, were hidden.

There was no way to get through. And the crea-

tures continued to crush them under their weight,

and to tear them from the ground each time they

moved. The sentience was helpless. What kind of

life was this?

***

‘Listen.’

The crew stood in silence on the vast grass-

land.

‘Nothing.’

‘Absolutely nothing. Did you ever hear such

silence.’

And it was true. There was no sound, but for

the faint whisper of the wind in the grass.

First Contact by Freya Kirwan Freya was a member of Tango before moving to the UK.

She visited over the spring break and agreed to write

and send us a story for Tango. Here it is:

Page 15 TANGO STUDENT WRITING

Twenty One Pilots are more than just the two guys who made “Stressed Out.”

They're Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun, members of a band from Ohio who inter-

acts with the Skeleton Clique, their fans, in any way possible, a band who wants

people to keep staying alive because it's worth it, a band who makes it incredibly

hard for me to not cry, and a band who

kicks each other out of it every once in a

while.

The concert was on a Monday, and right

after school my mom drove my cousin and

I to the venue. The wait was long, and

there were many people, but since we

were lucky and were the twenty-eighth and

ninth people to go in, we were able to go to

the front. And after waiting for what felt like

forever, I got to see the two guys who

helped me so much. I cried. I started bawl-

ing my eyes out while Tyler sang because

I was so close to him. They were also su-

per interactive with the crowd, including

playing drums on top of the audience and

climbing on top of people. My favorite part

of the concert? Every single second of it, even if it got too rowdy. I spent so long

just watching their concert videos on YouTube, and on March 7th, I was breath-

ing the same air as them. I am at a loss for words right now trying to explain just

how amazing this concert was. There was not one second during the hour and a

half performance that I was not having the time of my life. I'll definitely be going

back next time.

“I started bawling my eyes out…” Attending a

Twenty One Pilots Concert by Sarah Kitamura

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Page 16 TANGO HEALTH & WELLBEING

In 2016, the World Happiness Report revealed that Denmark was the “happiest country”

in the world, whilst Burundi was the least. There is no correct way to define happiness,

so how was global happiness quantified in this survey? They simply asked people to

evaluate their lives on a ladder scale of zero to 10. Moreover, it was reported that peo-

ple are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. I am in no

position to say how happiness should be measured, but I’d like to share my insight on

the concept of individual happiness. After all, the inequality of happiness in society de-

pends solely on the collection of individual happiness.

Are you happy? And how do you know you are? Understanding happiness, like many

abstract ideas, is really a matter of perspective and the individual’s situation. So, I’ll fo-

cus instead on what makes most people less happy than what will make you happy.

Caring so much about every little aspect in your day-to-day life:

Overthinking is the thief of psychological and emotional peace, and happiness can’t be

felt rightly when you’re deprived of inner peace. Does your mind need to be over-

whelmed by what did not necessarily go your way today? That assignment you may not

have done the best on won’t matter as much as you think it will in the future. You can

be happy without perfection.

You don't have everything you want and that’s okay:

I’ve discovered upon observing those who are close to me that they aren’t as happy as

they can be because they focus so much on what they do not have. It’s part of human

nature to want more than what we have—even if we almost have it all. But what really is

the use? Complaining might feel okay for a brief moment…but nothing was ever

achieved that way. Why not focus on what you do have? Gratefulness is the water,

which helps the flower of happiness grow.

Health is beyond just physical activity and diet:

You can’t really call yourself healthy if don’t exercise your mind and/or explore your

emotional well-being. Physical activity may help in making a person more optimistic, but

it won’t necessarily help you understand what that sinking feeling in your chest is at the

end of the day. Run as many miles as you want, but you can’t run away from whatever

it is that’s eating at you. Accept that you can be emotional and you’re already on your

way to improving your emotional health. Exercising your mind is just as important, too.

Are you indulging yourself in activities that make you think?

Settling for less than you deserve:

Now, this may seem to contradict the second point, but it doesn’t. It’s difficult to say

what we “deserve” because there isn’t and shouldn’t be a “scale of worthiness”. One

thing we certainly do deserve is happiness. That friend who criticizes you more than

they encourage you shouldn’t really be your friend. That person who leaves you feeling

less good every time you meet doesn’t have to keep having that effect on you. We out-

grow people and that is okay. The world keeps spinning and we keep living!

You’re not living for others and their expectations:

It really is difficult to not act accordingly to peer pressure, but it’s so necessary. If you’re

living your life based on the thought of whether people will like it or not, you’re not living

at all. You were not born into this glorious world to meet other people’s expectations

and to please everybody. This is your life and the only one you’ll get. Everybody has

his/her own and yours is just as precious as anybody else’s. Are you living it the way

you want to?

This list could really go on for ages, but I tried to focus on some points that I believe are

common areas of concern for anybody (regardless of their socioeconomic background,

age or gender). I have no special certificate that says that what I write is correct, but I

hope this encourages introspection and the willingness to change what can and should

be changed for the better. Happiness is free and sometimes it comes if you simply allow

it to.

Pursuing Happiness by Facing Unhappiness by Manon Raby

Last summer, my parents told me to wear sunscreen. Later, I decided to wear sun-

screen, because I knew that sun burn isn’t really a good thing for our health. Yesterday,

I was told the same thing again, but I couldn’t see the point of wearing sunscreen in this

calm and warm spring weather. Well, since then I have done some research on ultravio-

let light, and I know why we should wear sunscreen.

It is common knowledge that the sun gives off ultraviolet light which causes skin dam-

age as ultraviolet light from the sun is strong enough to pierce through our skin cells.

When this happens, it causes a chemical reaction with DNA molecules. This results in

the weakness or death of the cell. If this process is repeated so often that the cell can-

not keep up with regenerating, it can lead to abnormally old looking skin and possible

skin cancer. Also, ultraviolet light is known for damaging our eyes; as it penetrates

through the cornea for a long period of time, resulting in cloudy vision.

Let’s put all these warnings aside and think about how we can prevent this from hap-

pening. We all know that we get sun burnt on sunny days (especially if you are wearing

short sleeves) but not many people know that we are most exposed to ultraviolet light in

late spring, which is now! This fact has probably confused you, but the tendency that we

are eager to wear sunscreen ONLY during sunny days perhaps explains this fact. Alt-

hough we definitely need a small amount of ultraviolet light to form essential nutrition

such as vitamin D, we have to protect our skin from getting burnt too much.

President: Mona Lamug

Vice Presidents: Mio Okuda

Emily Yamanaka

Editor: Dave Algie

Layout Advisor: Paul Sommer

The Tango team:

Sophia Grabowski Airi Wakasa

Mia Lewis Sawako Tachibana

Manon Raby Tyus Sheriff

Anna Kim Chie Sakano

Shoko Yamaji Aimi Mizuno

Noah Izumi Kaya Frese

Keri Howard Yuroo Achit

Rigi Tay Masami Nagasaka

Yuki Sutton Pansy

Taizo Heimer Skye Inada

Meg Hoffman Sarah Kitamura

Tasuku Azuma Sho Sakura

The “Tapdance” Team:

Rena Kawasaki Mary Yang

Miina Ozaki Tomoka Matsushima

Special contributions were made to this edition by:

Hisaya Takahashi Freya Kirwin Mai Tomaguchi

Tara Cheney Mark Elshout Misaki Imayoshi

Nicole Yoo Hana Gostelow Moe Hayashi

Kota Kawasaki Akira Morioka David Meyers

And the artists of KA

Special thanks to:

Melissa Lamug Peter Heimer Jonathan Kwok

Wakaba Mori Daniel Ligon David Myers

Reverend Tabuchi Derek Entwhistle Nadia Kralovec

Frances Namba Kevin Bertman Mike McGill

Yuko Iida

Jennifer Henbest de Calvillo

Tango Team

Ultraviole(n)t

by Tasuku Azuma

British pancakes are like a mix of an American pancake and a French crepe. Traditional-

ly topped with lemon juice and sugar, these pancakes are the best breakfast on any day

of the week and so simple to make!

Ingredients: (2 servings)

75 grams whole wheat flour

75 grams all purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar of choice

2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

300 ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

lemons and sugar for toppings! (or anything else you would like to use)

Method:

Sift ALL of the dry ingredients through a sieve

Add wet ingredients

Whisk well

Grease a medium-hot pan with olive oil

Add about one-ladle full of batter to the pan. The thickness should be in-between an

American fluffy pancake and a crepe.

Once the surface is 90% matt and bubbly, flip!

Cook until golden brown

Be traditional and

enjoy with some

lemon juice and

sugar, with a tiny

bit of vegan butter.

Enjoy!

Run by Amber Liu and Scott Kim, What The Pineapple is a hilarious channel to watch

whenever you want. Their content is very volgger style, but also down to earth. Amber is

also known for the girl group, f(x) which debuted in 2009. Aside from her work as an idol,

Amber spends time on this channel to interact with a different audience and create videos

for fun. It is interesting to see a real person behind the perfect performances that f(x) do

for a change. If you want a laugh, learn about Korean food and sneakers, check out What

The Pineapple!

Recipe by Mia Lewis

Genus: Rosa

Flower Word: Love, beauty

As the frosty winds of winter pass, spring returns, bearing

with it the warmth of new life. Roses have started to bloom

as it gets steadily warmer, producing an abundance of viv-

id buds. Although roses may seem as a hard plant to nur-

ture, for its pricks and tendency of attracting bugs, there’s

nothing to it if you know a few pointers.

Pests/Diseases

Roses are easily struck by pests and diseases, however

this can be countered by using sprays that are for prevent-

ing and treating these complications. By giving a spray 1~2

times a month, it can prevent roses from becoming a host

of numerous bugs and diseases. Especially this season,

where bugs too come to life, it is most important to elimi-

nate any aphids that glue onto the stems.

Cutting

Once the flower has ended, cutting the flower and a few

inches of the stem is required. Although it may seem as if

cutting a chunk of the stem is detrimental to the roses’

health, it actually promises a new set of buds in the next

season, and allows new branches to grow without getting

all tangled.

Type of Support

When choosing a support to let

the rose flourish upon, you

wouldn't think that there’s a

difference between fences and

stands. However, this can have

an enormous impact on how

the rose end up blooming.

There are roses with thick

stems and thin stems, which

affect the type of support they prefer. For roses with thick

stems, they tend to not bend that much and spread in a

wide area, making it fit for fences. On the other hand, ros-

es with thin stems are able to bend easily, making it best

for stands that require the rose to twist and turn upon.

Ways to Enjoy

Most species of roses tend not to last for more than a week

and a half, yet there are ways to make them last. In order

to make these blossoms last, one easy way that anybody

can do is to dry them, make them into dry flowers. The

best way to do this is to cut the blossom that you wish to

dry before it completely blooms. The older the blossom,

the worse it looks. It is important that the cut blossom is

hung in the shadows, somewhere with a soft breeze. This

method will allow the flower to last many months, alt-

hough it will require

sacrificing its for-

mer beauty.

YouTube Review by Mia Lewis

Noah’s Garden with Noah Izumi P

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Page 17 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

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After receiving a new computer for my birthday, I was opened up to a whole pletho-

ra of realistic graphic-intensive games I would never have been able to play if I was

on my old laptop. Being a big fan of survival, sandbox, and realistic games, this

made me realize how much I liked and enjoyed this genre. However, there were

some issues here and there which I hadn’t read about in the reviews, which made

me think. So here I am, providing to you Skye’s Ultimate Video Game Review, ex-

clusive only to TANGO. I’ll be going through a whole list of some of the most popu-

lar games that fit the sandbox/survival genre, and go through the pros and cons of

each individual game.

Note: Most of these games are very graphic-intensive and might require a more

beefy computer to run them. In my next article I might go over some more consum-

er-friendly options. The majority of these games are still in development and what I

am reviewing is the alpha-build. This means that the game’s end product might be

drastically different to what I’ve written about here so you might want to take that

into consideration. I also must remind you that these are all my own opinions, so

feel free to disagree.

The Forest

Equally terrifying and beautiful, The Forest is a survival/horror game where you, the

main character, are stranded on an exotic island filled with a barbaric society of

ruthless, mutated cannibals after a bad plane crash where you and your son are

the only survivors. Your son is taken by one of the tribes and the goal of the game

is to retrieve him from them before it’s too late. However, as it is still in develop-

ment, the story hasn’t evolved into something that’s really worthwhile. Don’t take

this lightly, this game is terrifying. I’ve played for less than 5 minutes total so far,

and even after watching the trailer I’m too scared to continue alone. Luckily, the

game has a co-op mode, even though it’s severely underdeveloped. If you’re a

wuss like me, I wouldn't recommend playing this alone. Seriously.

However, for those who want to try the game out but don’t have a good enough

computer to handle it, I would strongly advise you not to get this game. The game

is ¥1,480, and if you want to enjoy it with its hyper-realistic graphics and supremely

well done design (which is definitely up to par considering the price), you would

almost 100% need a better computer. Honestly. If you’re running games like this on

your school iMac laptop, chances are your machine is just going to melt, turning

everything inside into magma, and die.

Minecraft

Indisputably the most popular game on this list, for only ¥3,000 you can get a game

that will last you many years before you grow out of it, and some never do. I have

to say I got sick of the game after a while simply due to the fact that I played it so

much and to be honest, there isn’t much to complain about this game. Besides the

normal game modes of survival and creative where you are allowed to influence

the blocky world around you as you choose, a whole new level of customization

exists in this game. Mods: adding new blocks, items, biomes, and realms into the

game. Servers: Amazing well-crafted mini games and game modes available at

your fingertips. Resource packs: Detailed new textures and sounds you can add to

your game to give it anything from a rustic to a fantastical feel. The list goes on and

on. I have to be honest, Minecraft is probably the most customizable game out

there, with some real geniuses out there in the community. I swear there is proba-

bly nothing that you can’t do or build in this game. I could go on and on about all of

the good parts of this game, but I do have some issues.

Despite the incredible amount of praise I have for this game, there is one main is-

sue I do have, despite it being very minor. Like every big game, there are those

that many people might find distasteful, or in my case, just a little bit cringey (who

am I to judge, I’m writing an article on games). Everywhere I went there were just

little 7-9 year olds being themselves, which I have no issue with, but if I’m trying to

have a good time, these people just ruin it. Plus, what’s the fun in playing with kids

over 5 years younger than you?

But for those looking for the most consumer friendly option, Minecraft is the choice

for you. I wouldn’t recommend playing it at school though, because kids will flock to

you like moths to a flame. Maybe not the most fun for some. However, at home,

Minecraft is engaging, and all in all a very, very good game.

Stranded Deep

In this game which you can pick up for a worthy price of ¥1,480, you play the role

of another plane crash survivor (are we seeing a theme here?). That said, instead

of being surrounded by a society of cannibalistic mutants, you are greeted by a

lovely archipelago of beautiful atolls and islands. The game is set in the Pacific

ocean, with no real enemies except nature itself (besides the occasional shark,

which are way too aggressive). You need to explore underwater wrecks to collect

valuable resources and establish a base on the islands you are given to work with.

The graphics are stunning, and I would highly recommend straying away from your

coconut collecting to have a look at the sunsets, which are just awesome. No joke.

That said, the game is singleplayer and might get a bit tedious after a while. After

Video Game Reviews By Skye Inada

Page 18 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Image source: http://survivetheforest.com/screenshots/

Image source: http://azminecraft.info/sildurs-shaders-mod-minecraft/

Image source: http://absolutehell.net/stranded-deep-early-access-review/

The Street of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms by Gail Sukiyama

Reviewed by Aimi Mizuno

It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two

orphaned brothers are growing up with their loving grandparents,

who inspire them to dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition.

The older boy, Hiroshi, shows unusual skill at the national obses-

sion of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of cre-

ating hard-carved masks for actors in the Noh Theater.

In an exquisitely moving story that spans almost thirty years, Gail

Tsukiyama draws us irresistibly into the world of the brothers and

the women who love them. It is a world of tradition and change, of heartbreaking loss

and surprising hope, and of the impact of events beyond their control on ordinary, de-

cent men and women. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a masterpiece about love

and family from a glorious storyteller at the height of her powers." (Goodreads)

This book has a variety of events and stories that makes you think of what is war, peace,

and your family to you. I also liked how the author places events throughout the story.

I will recommend this book to people who like Japanese historical fiction and Japanese

culture.

Also, because this novel has a very large time span, readers will be able to enjoy how

the main character in this book grow, fell in love, their life after they have become adults,

and more. During this time span, there is the World War two and the how these two

characters, Kenji and Hiroshi, try encourage Japan by showing the national arts and

traditional sports that Japan has. But many obstacles await them. Because of these

kinds of elements, I also do recommend this book to people who like characters who

never give up and try to achieve their goals.

The Right Hand of the Sun by Anita Mason

Reviewed by Dave Algie

There are books teachers can borrow in the faculty lounge, and

I chose this one, The Right Hand of the Sun because it looks

interesting. In a way, I suppose the book is quite interesting, but

it still could have been a lot better, in my view.

In the novel, set in Central America (mostly Mexico) in 1519, a

Spanish man who has been shipwrecked and enslaved by the

Mayans is rescued by Hernan Cortes, the conquistador who will (spoiler alert!) bring

down the Aztec empire. The novel details the Aztec downfall, paying attention in particu-

lar to the characters Hernan Cortes and Moctezuma, the teotl (god/emperor like figure)

of the Aztecs. The characterizations of these two men are fairly well done, as is the de-

piction of the relationship between them, though it is a little frustrating that we don’t get

to see what is going on in Moctezuma’s mind. We really only see through the eyes of the

Spanish outsiders.

My other reservation is that the narrator, the escaped slave, isn’t really a very interesting

character. It’s hard to see what his goals or motivations are. He seems a bit passive and

dull to me.

These characters are all based on real life individuals. In reality, the narrator, the es-

caped slave left a fellow Spanish captive behind because the other man was happier

where he was than wanting to join the Spanish. That man, Gonzalo, then went on to

lead a fight on behalf of his adoptive native American tribe against his Spanish country-

man. He is only briefly mentioned in The Right Hand of the Sun. I think his story would

have been more of an interesting tale than this one, and so to me, this novel is a bit of a

wasted opportunity.

However, if you’re into historical fiction that closely follows the events of what actually

seems to have happened, and if the story of the conquistadors takes your fancy, this

could be a book worth reading.

Book Reviews

all, there is no end goal, which naturally would be to get rescued, which would

likely come in the future as (once again), the game is still early access and in

development.

Despite its tendency to get boring after a while, Stranded Deep is beautiful, and

is way more manageable to run on a not-so-strong computer. In fact, I was get-

ting it to run at a reasonable framerate on my old iMac laptop. If you’re looking

to have a game you can play with decent graphics while still getting a reasona-

ble framerate on a consumer device, this is the game for you. Though once

again, it might get extremely boring and aggravating after a while because like

in real life, there is no respawning.

Subnautica

After being stuck down by a “mysterious energy pulse”, your sci-fi intergalactic

spaceship crashes into the ocean with you (you guessed it) being the sole-

survivor. This planet you crashed on seems to be an infinite ocean, host to a

whole new branch of life you’ve never seen before. Much like Stranded Deep,

you need to gather resources to survive in this very wet, and very much filled

with water world, alone. That’s right. Just like Stranded Deep, which it shares

many similarities with, you will need to do this all alone as there is (annoyingly),

no multiplayer or co-op options available. Little story is in the game as well,

which I would like to see added, and it seems approach like the developers are

planning to do so, according to their Dev. blog.

The game strays away from the typical “realism” path and instead focuses their

game design on this very specific look unique to them, and is instantly recog-

nizable. The game has a very plastic-like look to it, which I can’t say I necessari-

ly hate. However, I would have preferred a much more realistic approach but

with the setting being an alien planet, I can understand their reasoning. The

game is frustratingly simple yet doesn't perform well at all on a consumer grade

PC. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have an okay computer but

if you have, say, an above average computer, this game should run fine. I really

hope they add a multiplayer aspect to the game because I see this game be-

coming real fun in the future. For those thinking of buying this game, it might be

wise to wait 6 months or so for the game to improve and develop, as Subnauti-

ca certainly has a bright future and lots of potential.

So, how did you think of my picks and thoughts on some of the survival/

sandbox genre’s most prominent games? I’ll be doing reviews like this for every

edition of TANGO so be sure to stay tuned!

Page 19 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Image source: http://www.gamerevolution.com/screen/subnautica#/slide/3

The faculty here at SOIS has recently had the dreaded

“health check”. A medical team comes in and checks how

well we are doing, health-wise.

I’M DOWN TO 80 KGS! Woohoo! Such great news. Last

year I was a kg or two higher than that. It’s a wonderful

sign that those kgs are just dropping off me. I really must

be getting healthy.

But wait.

Is weight the best measurement for determining one’s

health? Well yes, in a way, and to a degree. How much a

person weighs might give a good idea about how healthy

they are. Not always. For me, as a diabetic, my blood sug-

ar level is the important thing to know. The doctor at my

health check asked me what my blood sugar levels were.

But I didn’t know. Or, I knew, but I had forgotten. He was

annoyed with me and scolded me. Blood sugar levels are

really the important information for a diabetic. Even more

so than weight.

This real life situation raises a knowledge question: When

making evaluations or judgments, how do we ascertain

what measurements provide the important information we

need? The interesting thing about this knowledge question

is that it applies across all Areas of Knowledge (subjects

and disciplines) you can think of.

In the sciences, scientists are telling us that the world is

getting warmer. People who deny climate change might

suggest that the temperatures in their area are not in-

creasing. Scientists would counter that the important

measurement in regard to climate change is the average

global temperature (“Climate Change: How Do We

Know?”).

Historians are often discussing who “won” and who “lost”

wars. Now, who won or lost a war might seem cut and

dried, but not necessarily so. The New Zealand Wars

were fought in the 1870s between Maori tribes and the

crown. When I was studying New Zealand history as a

student, we were taught that the Maori tribes had fought

bravely but lost the war. However, New Zealand’s leading

historian, James Belich has convincingly argued that it

was not casualties, or battles won or lost that are the best

measurement of who won the war, but rather which side

achieved their objectives. Belich suggests that the govern-

ment did not achieve their goals through the war, but the

Maori tribes who fought did.

We’ve been discussing economics in my TOK class re-

cently, and my students tell me that a nation’s success is

partly judged by GDP or Gross Domestic Product. I am no

economist, so I must speak cautiously about this. But my

understanding is that there would be other ways to meas-

ure a nation’s economic success. Of course, some people

would argue that economic power isn’t necessarily a good

measurement of a nation’s success at all. Bhutan claims

to be successful because it is the happiest country in the

world. Of course this raises a related knowledge question.

How do we measure things like happiness? Or even GDP

or other supposedly more concrete measurements? My

own view is that the only way to measure a nation’s suc-

cess is by how many Rugby World Cups it has won

( Combining men’s and women’s cups, New Zealand has

won 7. Australia has won 2).

In the arts, we might make judgments about many de-

scriptive words or phrases appear in a piece of narrative

writing (I do this, to a degree, when grading assignments).

Or we might judge an artwork by its use of perspective,

balance, or color. All of these involve some form of meas-

urement, even if it is informal or intuitive. Even judging the

originality of an artwork is a form of measurement. When

you judge how original a piece of work is, you are measur-

ing it for how it differs from all the other works of art you

have seen. Originality is indeed often a criterion of meas-

urement in judging art. Again it brings us back to the ques-

tion, how do we ascertain what measurements are im-

portant when evaluating or judging things? Why should

originality be considered, and “measured” when we look at

art?

How do mathematicians decide what do measure when

they go to solve a problem in say, geometry? I think that

different mathematicians will approach problems in differ-

ent ways. But I get a sense that then something different

happens than in the other Areas of Knowledge. If you

came up with the wrong answer, you either took the wrong

measurement into consideration, or you made a mistake

in applying that measurement. It seems to me that meas-

urement in math may genuinely work differently than in

other areas of knowledge. This is what true TOK enthusi-

asts get very interested in: how knowledge works in differ-

ent ways under different circumstances.

The problem is that I am now well out of my depth. Dis-

cussing math is not really my area of expertise. In the spir-

it of inquiry, I will ask a couple of my math teacher friends,

Mr. Bertman and Mr. Dupont about how math differs from

other Areas of Knowledge and get back to you in a future

issue.

Works Cited

Belich, James. The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpreta-

tion of Racial Conflict Auckland: Auckland University Press. 1986

Print.

“Climate Change: How Do We Know?” NASA Global Climate

Change. Vital Signs of the Planet. n.d. Web. Accessed 2016/06/09.

Dear Abby…

I have a friend who I have been good buddies with since we were in middle school together. We had so much fun then, and he helped me a lot when I moved here from another

school. He really made an effort to help me fit in. We had a lot of fun in those days and I have lots of good memories of our times together. But over the past year our friendship

has turned really negative. He criticizes everything I do, and makes fun of any small mistakes I make in class. I don’t really know why he has turned against me like this, and I

don’t remember ever doing anything to make him dislike me. This has been going on for about a year now. It makes me really sad to think our friendship has turned almost

180%, but we now almost never have a pleasant word for each other. What should I do?

Melancholy in Minoh

Dear Melancholy

I am sad to hear about the negative turn in your friendship! Transitioning to a new school is never easy, and what a big help it is that there was someone who reached

out and helped you. One good friend is all it takes, and you are fortunate to have had him there for you at that time. I can imagine how hurtful it is to have things

change and to feel that he has turned against you! Friendships can be complicated and we sometimes become most sensitive to people who are closest to us. So,

though you don’t know if you have done anything, there may have been something that, to you, was insignificant, that may have turned this relationship around. Or it

may also be that there is something going on in his life too, that is making him this way, and that it is entirely not your fault. If it is possible, it would be good to talk to

him to say you are hurt by his criticisms, and how he sometimes makes fun of you, and to ask if there was something that you have done that has offended him. I un-

derstand that this may be awkward to do, and the discussion needs to be done carefully, and proper timing and venue (not on social media!) is key. You may be the

one that needs to reach out this time, and you may find out that he may be doing that because he is hurting as well. You will also need to listen, be ready for what he

may say, and not react defensively.

But if that opportunity does not happen, if it feels too awkward to do, or if it feels like you have grown apart, and the relationship is too damaged to save, it may also be

best to step back and seek other friendships. We do change, and sometimes our needs change as well. Get involved in school activities that will allow you to develop

other friendships with people who you have common interests with. But, be grateful and treasure those good memories that you did have, and not dwell on the hurt,

but appreciate it for what it was when it was good.

I hope this is helpful. Wishing you well,

Ganbatte!

Abby

Talking TOK with Dave Algie

Page 20 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

SOIS Art Exhibition 2016

Page 21 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

By Moe Hayashi OIS Grade 11

By Kota Kawasaki OIS KB

By Mai Tomaguchi SIS Grade 10

By Misaki Imayoshi OIS Grade 11

Picasso inspired shape art by KA students

The SOIS Art Exhibition over the past three weeks has

been a great success. An array of excellent artwork pro-

duced by students from KA to Grade 12 has been on dis-

play throughout the school. Full credit must go to SOIS

students for their talent and creativity. A very special

thank you must go to all the art teachers for their teach-

ing and for working so hard on preparing the exhibition.

Many parents also generously gave of their time and this

was greatly appreciated. The art teachers would also like

to thank faculty, staff and administration for their support.

Interview with Rev. Tabuchi, Chancellor of Kwansei

Gakuin and Supervisor for the educational programs

at the Senri Campus (SOIS)

I interviewed Rev. Tabuchi, Chancellor of Kwansei

Gakuin and the Supervisor of SOIS . The content of

this interview was about SOIS.

Question 1: What kind of schools would you like SOIS

to be?

Rev. Tabuchi: I would like to see them interact with

each other as SIS and OIS and also interact with

other Kwansei Gakuin schools.

Question 2: What are the good things about SOIS?

Rev. Tabuchi: At SOIS people change languages nat-

urally and not artificially. Also many people who have

different cultures and backgrounds are working to-

gether.

Question 3: Is there anything SOIS should be improv-

ing?

Rev. Tabuchi: There are so many wonderful things

going on at SOIS. It would be nice to see more inter-

actions with other KG schools to share ideas and

learn from each other.

I learned a lot from Rev. Tabuchi.

Thank you very much for taking your time, Rev. Tabu-

chi.

(Interview date: May 26, 2016)

We found out that there is a famous taiyaki shop in

Naniwa (Osaka). Even the famous musician, Steven

Taylor comes to the shop whenever he comes to

Japan..We reported this shop to learn why it has

been such a success. We interviewed the man who

ran that shop, Murakami san. He was so busy we

hardly had time to interview him! This was how our

interview went:

Q.1 Why did you want to start this shop?

A. I was studying how to make red bean paste in

Tokyo. After years of training, my teacher said that I

was on my own now. I thought starting a shop was-

n’t a bad idea so I started this shop.

Q.2 What do you care about most in all the prod-

ucts that you sell?

A. Red bean paste.

Q.3 Why do you make so many products?

A. To make the customers happy.

Q.4 How did you feel when Steven Taylor came?

A. I was very surprised!

Q.5 Why do you change the shaved ice menu

sometimes?

A. To make the customers happy!

Q. Are you happy with this shop?

A. No. I am want to make the shop bigger. So there

will be more room.

Q. Why do you want to make the shop bigger?

A. To make the customers happy!

We found out that the Naniwa taiyaki shop is fa-

mous because the owner`s caring heart!

Where: 〒530-0016 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka 北区

中崎１丁目９−２１

天五中崎通り商店街

Phone number: 06-6371-187

Mr. Ligon and the Japanese Department organized a won-

derful concert by the SOIS elementary students, called

Anthems of our Earth, Students from KA through to Grade

5 performed musical numbers about how we need to care

for the planet. The show was warmly received. Well done,

elementary students!

Tapdance Elementary News Shop Report:

Naniwaya

By Rena Kawasaki

Interview with

Reverend Tabuchi

by Tomoka Matsushima

Page 22 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

Tapdance Manga

By Mary Yang

Hey

worker!

How dare

you?! I’m

your boss!

Your

name is

Worker!

Oh!

Anthems of our

Earth Concert

By Dave Algie

Help Wanted:

Are you an elementary student who would like

to write or draw something extra, to go into

Tapdance Elementary News? If you are,

please contact Rena Kawasaki, or come and

see Mr. Algie in Room 336.

Page 23 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG June 2016 Volume 9 Number 3

By Peter Heimer, Activities Director

Athletic awards celebration: sabers.senri.ed.jp/awards

On Friday, June 3, 2016, we held our annual Sabers high school athletic awards

celebration. Players and coaches reminisced about the year with photos and vide-

os and with speeches from players of all girls and boys varsity teams. We honored

our high school student-athletes with two kinds of awards: 1) three team awards:

most improved player (MIP), most valuable player (MVP), and Sabers Spirit Award

(SSA), chosen by each team’s coaches; and 2) two school awards: Sabers Out-

standing Athlete of the Year and Dr. Fukuda Scholar Athlete, chosen by coaches

and school administrators.

Outstanding Athletes of the Year: Akane Imai, Shutaro Hisamatsu, Aki Shig-

eyama

This award is presented to Sabers student-athletes, female and male, who have

shown high levels of athletic skill, team leadership, and personal determination as

a member of at least two varsity teams. Recipients of this award are positive role

models and good representatives of SOIS. Akane Imai (SIS grade 12), Shutaro

Hisamatsu (SIS grade 12), and Aki Shigeyama (OIS grade 11) were all very de-

serving recipients: all were captains, MVPs, all-AISA, and/or all-WJAA players in

their respective sports.

Dr. Fukuda Scholar Athletes: Ai Kano, Kento Moriguchi

This award is presented to Sabers student-athletes who have achieved high aca-

demic levels and have played active roles in school and community service while a

member of at least two varsity teams. The winners of this top award show that one

can maintain high academic standards and contribute to the school community

while participating in sports. The coaches and administrators were very proud to

present the Dr. Fukuda Scholar Athlete awards to Ai Kano (OIS grade 12) and

Kento Moriguchi (OIS grade 11), both of who are top Sabers athletes and maintain

very high grades.

Sabers Spirit: Akane, Shutaro, Aki, Ai, and Kento all epitomize what we expect our

Sabers student-athletes to be. We congratulate and thank all Sabers players,

coaches, administrators, and parents.

http://sabers.senri.ed.jp/spirit-sportsmanship.html

Dr. Fukuda Scholar Athlete – female

AI KANO

2 varsity sports, high GPA, student council

volleyball: starter

soccer: all-AISA

basketball: played up to grade 11

student council; MUN; Saber TV

volunteer coach

OIS grade 12 (class of 2016)

Dr. Fukuda Scholar Athlete – male

KENTO MORIGUCHI

2 varsity sports, high GPA, volunteer coach

volleyball: MIP, all-AISA

soccer: captain, MVP, all-AISA

volunteer coach; MUN; video editor par excellence

wind ensemble trumpet

OIS grade 11 (class of 2017)

Sabers Athlete of the Year – female

AKANE IMAI

3 varsity sports, energetic, key member of 3 teams

volleyball: Sabers Spirit Award

basketball: starter

softball: captain, MVP, all-WJAA

school festival booth leader

wind ensemble saxophone

SIS grades 11-12 (class of 2017)

Sabers Athlete of the Year – male (co-winner)

AKI SHIGEYAMA

2 varsity sports, leader, superior athleticism

volleyball: captain, MVP, all-AISA

basketball: captain, MVP

superior athleticism, commitment, leadership

OIS grade 11 (class of 2017)

Sabers Athlete of the Year – male (co-winner)

SHUTARO HISAMATSU

2 varsity sports, effort, diverse skills

soccer: all-AISA

baseball: MVP, star pitcher

grade trip committee

SIS grades 11-12 (class of 2017)

SHOUT OUTS

To Coach Datta: “Once a Saber, always a Saber.” Best wishes.

To new SSCers Shuri, Chisato, Nanako, Akiho: welcome aboard.

To Sabers MCs (Leona, Ruka, Tokine) and to the SSC on your Sabers awards celebra-

tion work: thank you, thank you, thank you – prepared, poised, professional.

To Coach Frater, Sabers Coach of the Year: For a hundred years after it was first

coined in England by English people, soccer was an uncontroversial alternative

to football, used in formal speech and writing throughout England. In the late twentieth

century some speakers of British English began to deprecate soccer for reasons that

remain unclear; it is possible they mistook it for an Americanism. Anyway, go Sabers

association football teams!

To Hamlet: You should have followed the motto of your favorite footwear – Just do it.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well, as someone once said. No, wait…

SABERS ATHLETIC AWARDS CELEBRATION 2016

The SOIS Table Tennis Team participated in two big competitions this year.

Firstly, on April 24th, the SOIS HS & MS Table Tennis team participated in a competi-

tion against 3 public junior high school (MS) at Sayou Junior High School in Hyogo

prefecture. It’s worth pointing out that the Sports Activities season lasts throughout

each school year at most of the usual schools in Japan. However, the SOIS Sports

Activities season last only 2 months or less.

The participating teams consisted of 6 teams including both boys and girls. All the

games were held in the group style in the following format:

1st : singles, 2nd : singles, 3rd : doubles, 4th : singles, 5th : singles

For SOIS, Asaki Okamura(SIS Senior, Girl, Strongest), Kentaro Kubo(SIS Senior,

Boy), Sakyo Hara(SIS Senior, Boy), Eishiro Ando(SIS Senior, Boy), Keita Morimoto

(SIS Senior, Boy), Hiroto Ogoshi(SIS Senior, Boy), and Tsukasa Murayama(SIS 8th

grader, Boy) all participated.

1st game : against the girls from Sayou Junior High School

SOIS won with a score of 3 to 2!

2nd game : against boys from Sayou Junior High School

SOIS won with a score of 3 to 2!

3rd game : against girls from Chikusa Junior High School

SOIS lost with a score of 0 to 5…..

4th game : against boys from Chikusa Junior High School

SOIS lost with a score of 1 to 4…..

5th game : against boys from Haga Junior High School

SOIS lost with a score of 1 to 4…..

:

I think that both boys and girls in Sayou Junior High School consist of skillfully devel-

oping students

The girls’ team from Chikusa Junior High School is the strongest of the 6 teams and

they have even participated in the big competition in which there are representative

players from all over Japan.

In any case, I am individually very satisfied with the result as SOIS Table tennis play-

ers were able to get 2 wins out of 5 games against the other schools’ players who are

able to do Table Tennis practice throughout the year.

Asaki Okamura & Eishiro Ando were MVPs in this competition for SOIS (although no

certificate was issued to them).

Asaki was very skillful and the strongest SOIS student and she was able to win most

of her games. Eishiro did not give up during each game and was able to win 2

games in very close matches.

I think that it was a very good experience for SOIS players!

I was very much looking forward to the final Table Tennis competition held on May

21st (Sat) at Harima Kohgen Higashi Junior High School (near Sayou Junior High

School )!!!

On May 21st, SOIS HS & MS team participated in the Table Tennis competition

against 3 public junior high school(MS) at Harima Kohgen Higashi Junior High

School in Hyogo prefecture. Again, I’d point out that the Sports Activities season

lasts throughout each school year at the most schools in Japan. However, the SOIS

Sports Activities season lasts only 2 months or less.

The teams participating in this competition consisted of 6 teams including both boys

and girls. All the games were held in the group style as follows.

Sabers

Sports SOIS Table Tennis Players Impress by H. Takahashi

Sabers

Sports

1st : singles, 2nd : singles, 3rd : doubles, 4th : singles, 5th : singles

In each competition with 5 players, the player could win if he/she was the first to win 3

games. Each game was the first to 11 points.

For SOIS, Asaki Okamura(SIS Senior, Girl, Strongest), Kentaro Kubo(SIS Senior,

Boy), Sakyo Hara(SIS Senior, Boy), Eishiro Ando(SIS Senior, Boy), Mio Okuda(SIS

Senior, Girl), Liel Yujin Tanaka(SIS 9th Grader, Boy), and Hotaka Yamamoto(SIS 8th

grader, Boy) participated in the competition.

:

(1) 1st game : Against girls from Harima Kohgen Higashi Junior High School

SOIS lost with a score of 1 to 4

(2) 2nd game : Against girls from Akoh Higashi Junior High School

SOIS lost with a score of 2 to 3 (These were very close games!!!)!

(3) 3rd game : Against boys from Ichinomiya Kita Junior High School

SOIS lost this one also with a score of 1 to 4…..

The girls’ team from Harima Kohgen Higashi Junior High School were the strongest

amongst the 6 teams. They are expected to proceed to second and third preliminary

competition in Hyogo prefecture. All of them were very strong!!!

The girls’ team from Akoh Higashi Junior High School consisted of many skillfully de-

veloping players. SOIS was narrowly defeated by them but most of the games were

very close.

The boys from Ichinomiya Kita Junior High School also consisted of many skillfully

developing players. But from SOIS only Asaki Okamoto could win against them.

Anyway, I am individually very satisfied with the result as SOIS TT players could do

play their best against the other schools players who are able to do Table Tennis prac-

tice throughout a year. I am very proud of them!!!

Asaki Okamura was MVP in this competition for SOIS side( although no certificate

was issued to her She only lost 2 games!!! She obviously deserves the reputation as

the strongest Table Tennis girl’s player in SOIS history!

The SOIS TT Team finished at 6th place out of 6 teams.

Once again, I think that was a very good experience for SOIS players!

Sabers Baseball Goes From Strength to Strength

By Dave Algie

The Sabers High School baseball teams had a season to remember this year.

For the first time in a long time, we were able to field an A team and a B team. This was

because of the large number of high school boys trying out for baseball this season. It’s

good to see baseball becoming so popular with SOIS students.

Sabers baseball is geared towards preparing for the WJAA tournament in Nagoya.

The Sabers B team was well led by Kazuma who was also pitcher. Sharing pitching du-

ties, and making a good all round contribution was Kristof, who also played catcher dur-

ing some games. Tomoya also took on the role of catcher in some games and acquitted

himself well. While the Sabers B team didn’t come away with any wins in the tourna-

ment, they had some very good moments and there is definitely some talent coming

through.

The Sabers A team had a great tournament, going through unbeaten. They were ably

led by Allen, the captain, in his final season of Sabers baseball. Team veterans like Akira

and EJ also made excellent contributions. In addition, newcomers to the team

Matsukaze and Taishin really had a big impact. The return of Shutaro to the team after

spending a year in Canada also added to the Sabers’ strength. The team were repeated-

ly praised by other players and coaches for their pitching depth. Having Shutaro, Taishin

and Mark all pitching well really made the teams’ overall job easier.

As assistant coach, I really enjoyed this season. To be honest, the embarrassment of

riches we had actually made me feel uneasy at times. Then team was so brimful of tal-

ent, I felt we had to win WJAA, or we would regret it. I felt the pressure of the team I was

associated with being burdened as favorites. Fortunately, neither Coach Sagara nor the

boys seemed to be stressed out by this. They were just mentally stronger than I was! As

it worked out, the team won the WJAA tournament in Nagoya for the third year in a row.

Full credit to the team, and Coach Sagara for this great Sabers achievement.

For me it’s great to watch Sagara sensei in action as coach. He knows all the technicali-

ties of the game, and can communicate them really effectively in Japanese or English.

He has high expectations of the players but he is also patient and supportive, and al-

ways ready to laugh.

The team really owes a lot to its two managers over the past two years, Ayana Nakamu-

ra and Asami Matsui. Thank you both for your support and help.

We now look ahead to the best baseball season. Thank you to the senior players who

have done so much for the team, and best of luck in the future. And to players returning

next year, let’s look forward to another fun season of Sabers baseball.

There’s something about the

art of losing. Whether it’s los-

ing an athletic game, getting a

bad grade on an assignment,

failing an exam or just feeling

like you’re not good enough

for something.

The high school girls softball

team went to Marist over the

weekend for WJAA, and the

varsity team came in third with

the JV team coming in last.

Despite the fact that we had

started pre-season in early

February, practiced every

week, and even attended an

overnight softball camp, over-

all, it was definitely not one of our best tournaments. As a member of the team, it

was frustrating to see us continuously lose. We had the skills and we had the right

players, so, why weren’t we able to perform better?

This is where the significance of this article’s title comes in. Allow me to walk you

through the steps of losing. There are four main steps to the process of losing. De-

feat, frustration, strive, and repeat.

1. Defeat - Whether you lose a game by one point or by 20 points, losing is losing

and it feels horrible. Based on first hand experience, it feels even more worse when

you lose at something you’ve put so much effort into. You feel like you didn’t deserve

to lose because you’ve been working so hard, you feel like you could’ve done better

if you had one more chance or a little more time. This is what leads to number two,

frustration.

2. Frustration - Ah, frustration. Something we’ve experienced since we were toddlers

when we weren’t given our favorite toy, or as teens when our parents restrict us from

doing something. It’s a feeling we all know too well. When it comes to losing, you

think “Why? Why why why?; What could I have done better? Would we have won if

we had hit the ball a little harder or ran the bases a little faster? Would I have gotten

a better grade if I had stayed up just a little more? Frustration is close to self-

reproach, but after a good time of being frustrated it leads to striving.

3.

Strive - Once you’re here there’s no going back. You’ve accepted the fact that you’ve

lost, you’ve comprehended that you could’ve done better but weren’t able to at the

time, and now you’re motivated, focused, galvanized to work harder and be better.

They say “practice makes perfect”, so, what do you do? You’re going to practice!

Play catch any free time that you have. Stay up a little later to study more. Wake up

a little earlier to train. All of these small steps seem so insignificant at first but it adds

up, and in the end you will be better than you were before.

4. Repeat - After step three (and lots of it) you’ll be feeling confident. You’ll feel tran-

quil when your next game comes up or you’re about to take your next test. If you’ve

really worked hard then you might win or get a better score, but life can be unfair and

you might lose again. Heck, you might even do worse than your first attempt, but one

thing for sure is that you’ll be emotionally stronger. You’ll soon start to realize that

these steps will always repeat themselves, and you’ll be much more composed when

you encounter a frustrating loss.

Overall, the tournament was exhilarating, and although we made mistakes, we now

know what we need to do in order to avoid making those errors again. We may not

have come in first however our teamwork, passion, and dedication to the sport was

undeniable. If you’ve lost in something, and you’ve felt frustrated, try reminding your-

self about these four steps. Losing is a piece of artwork that is and will never be com-

pleted. It’s a process that includes trial and error, hitting and missing, and research-

ing and developing. In the wise words of Paulo Coelho, “You are not defeated when

you lose. You are defeated when you quit”

Sabers

Sports The Art of Losing: Defeat. Frustration. Strive.

Repeat by Meg Hoffman

Photo courtesy of Marist Brothers International School, Kobe