Our World Today

Our World Today
On March 10 at the Bunka Kaikan, UFRA Secretary
Meme Ise presented part 1 of UFRA’s 2008 Our
World Today. Called “Oyako English,” it was a fun
and unique way for parents and children to learn
English together. Altogether 25 parent and child pairs
took part in two separate 45-minute sessions. The
theme of Oyako English was 'Let's Enjoy English,'
and the classes covered ABC's, colors, numbers, and
greetings with games, exercises, and story-telling.
Meme reports that parents and children had so much
fun that the time in each session flew by.

The second part of Our World Today consisted of
an English lecture, presented by UFRA member
Edward Venz, who talked about being “A Foreign
Father in Japan,” an interesting and relevant topic for
many of us raising a family here. With 50 seats
reserved in advance along with a few others joining in
at the last moment, the hall was full. We saw old
friends as well as several new faces in the audience,
and it appeared that several businessmen came
straight from work. They had learned about the
lecture through the local City News (English) or the
KOHO (Japanese). The get-together afterwards was
lively, and Eddie was kept busy answering questions
and talking to people.

Thank you Eddie for such an interesting talk.
Thanks, too, to the City Hall International Affairs
staff and manager Mr. Sakuma (Local Network
Section) for their support and presence on the day.