Happy Father’s Day

Hello, Friends.

Click here to go to our webpages for a better experience with attached videos.

Attendance is dwindling or falling off at our Zoom meetings. I hope this is a good sign that you are out and about. I know a few of you are moving this month and July. Be sure to let me know your new address! Be sure to keep in touch! You can Zoom over after you get settled; watch the time zone.

And speaking of keeping in touch, Jon sent us an letter to update us on what is going on in Japan and his adaptation to life there. You can find it at the end of this update.

Sunday, June 21, is Father’s Day. Dad’s do so much for us. Dad’s make us laugh and never do things quite like mom, but maybe it’s a little more efficient! Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. Especially Gaga's husband! Welcome to the world Levi! What a great way to celebrate.

English
The Carmel Clay Library is open. Hours may be limited, so be sure to check.

There are so many great books to read over the summer:

Made in America: An Informal History of the English language in the United States by Bill Bryson
Please, please, please, pay attention to your capitalization...The cover of this paperback is all about catching attention, but the inside page is correct! Aside from teaching you more about American English, you can learn about American humor. By the way, staff, this is your required summer reading!

Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America by Linda Furiya
This book was on the Carmel Clay Library community read several years ago. The author grew up in central Indiana and it is a "food memoir" complete with recipes to enjoy along with each chapter. This book is so relatable to all of us who love our food and love each other's food, too! This is a great coming of age book that would be a fun read with your older children.

My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
This great memoir is the story of award winning chef and businesswoman and personality on PBS. Lidia is an asylum seeker that made and amazing life in New York and beyond. While there aren't recipes in this book, you can watch and learn cooking and a little Italian visiting her kitchen! Here is the link! Lidia Bastianich!

Virtual Visits and New Projects
The Virginia Quilter's Museum is... You can take tours of their exhibits. They also have projects and quilt alongs. Find some fun sewing projects here to expand beyond mask making!

COVID-19
Have you been out to the doctor or dentist for maintenance? Have you been to a hairdresser or barber? Would you risk a massage?

Office protocol may vary but the following is at Dr. Sang Kim's Retna Institute P.C.:

1. All the doors are kept open for less contact.
2. All patients' temperatures are taken before they are allowed into the office.
3. All the seats are separated six feet apart for people to sit at ocial distance.
4. If there are not enough seats, people have to wait out in the building lobby or in their car until they are called when they are ready to be seen.
5. Everyone (staff and patient) has to wear the mask all the times inside of the office.
6. Everything in the office gets disinfected between the patients' visit.
7. A glass divider is installed for check in/out to avoid close contact.

I hope this information helps people to feel more comfortable and be aware of what to do when they visit the doctor's office. ~ Sally Kim

Playgrounds
Don’t forget the basics of how the virus is spread as you get out. Loosened restrictions puts the responsibility on us to look out for each other by being proactive to protect others. CNN had a good article about things to keep in mind at the playground:

• Density: How many people are in the area? Choose your space wisely.
• Distance: Can you keep the six foot (two meter) distance? With children, this can be hard.
• Duration: How long are you interacting with someone or something? Some studies say ten minutes of casual interaction is safe with a maximum of thirty minutes.
• Degree of Activity: There is some discussion about moving around vs. being stationary. Imagine pushing your child on a swing six feet from another parent. Who has more exposure? The kids swinging or the parents?

Finally, there is dirt. Be sure to wash your hands. Use your water bottle to rinse off visible dirt before putting on hand sanitizer if soap and water for thorough hand washing isn't available.

My cousin in Montreal Canada shared this Zoom/You Tube spoof of For the Longest Time!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30, Zoom.
Jesus tells a story with a morale in the Parable of the Tenants (given the responsibility to run the vineyard) in Mark 12: 1-12. We had a great discussion regarding abuses of responsibility and leadership including beating and murdering those given the authority to assure the enforcement by the owner. "What then will the owner...do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." Jesus then quoted Psalm 118, which most of the people were familiar with. The synogog leaders left, fearful of the people and what could happen to them.

June 23: We will meet to talk about Mark 12: 13-17. Current events should be pretty interesting...lately the lessons have been so apt. Jesus is questioned about paying taxes and for what is owed.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30, Zoom.
I am keeping the room open. Come in and say hi. What are you up to?

English with Children


Letter from Jon Howe

To Carolyn and all the teachers and students at International Friends,

Hello from Japan!  I hope you are having a good summer, and that you have been safe.  I know you had to finish the school year online, hopefully everyone was able to learn some useful English skills, despite not being able to meet in person.

I have been in Japan for three months now.  The schools were closed for part of April and all of May, so I have not done very much teaching.  Because of this, I was able to take my time learning how to live here - where to buy things, how to pay bills, how to use my bank account and send money from the USA, and also how to use the Japanese skills I had learned.  My Japanese has improved a lot already.

Japan is very beautiful.  I live in western Honshu, near Hiroshima, and there is a pond in this town, surrounded by cherry blossom trees.  It has been raining a lot, and I love rain.  Everyone here is very kind and considerate, I don't think I have seen one person be rude since I got here.  I work at a junior high school and an elementary school; the teachers are wonderful people, and very skilled at working with the children.

Some things are still difficult for me.  I am a picky eater, so the school lunches are sometimes difficult to eat, and when I go to the grocery store, it can be hard to find food that I want to buy.  Driving on the left side of the road is very strange, and when I am driving, I have to be very careful and not get distracted.

However, these things are improving, and I am very happy that I moved to Japan, and being a teacher is a fun, rewarding job.  Thank you all for supporting me in my efforts to move to Japan!  Some days, I have to close my eyes for a moment, then open them to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Jonathan Howie

despite - something could not stop it ("we played baseball despite the heat")
take my time - do something at a slower pace ("he was early, so he took his time walking to school")
improve - get better ("I have been sick, but today it's improved")
surrounded - something is on all sides ("Japan is surrounded by water")
considerate - thinks about how others feel ("it was very considerate of you to give me that gift")
picky eater - dislikes many foods
get distracted - stop thinking about something ("the party distracted me from tomorrow's test")