Vol. 6Mar. 2023

Tie-Dye Workshop

Family Trivia Night

Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival Vietnamese New Year

Saijo International Exchange Association
to all your support, SIEA was able to celebrate its 3rd year as a2023 (Reiwa 5)’s Thanks
non-profit organization. Our next general meeting will be on May 20,
and we will have a special guest lecture right after the meeting.
Feel free to join!

General Meeting& Guest Lecture

May 20, 2023 (Sat.)
General Meeting: 1:00 p.m. ~ 1:50 p.m.; Members-only
Guest Lecture: 2:00 p.m. ~ 3:30 p.m.; Open to the publicLocation: City Hall, Main Building 5F, Room 502
Lecturer: Saki Oishi
JI CA Shikoku
E h i m e P r e f e c t u r e I n t ’ l C o o p e r a t i o n Ag e n c y

Topic: Building a Multicultural Society Starting With
International Exchange

Contact Info：SAIJO BASE 2F, SIEA Office・Language Classes (ZH/EN/KO/VI)・African Cooking Class (8/7)
・Tie-Dye Workshop (8/24-25)
・Family Trivia Night (10/1)
・Viet. Mid-Autumn Festival (10/8)
・Halloween Party (１０/29)
・Vietnamese New Year (1/22)
・Easy Japanese Seminar (2/25)
・Relocation Commemoration(3/11)
・Consultation Desk for Foreigners(7/1～）
And more!

TEL: 0897-66-9990

Membership Dues for 2023-2024

Table of Contents
General Meeting &１
Guest Lecture
Ac t i v i t y R e p o r t

２

Celebrating Tết inSaijo

３

Information

４

Every year, SIEA recruits new members interested in cross-culturalactivities. Paying membership dues is one way to help support SIEA
and get involved.
【Yearly Dues】 Individuals: 1,000 yen;Students (up to HS): 500 yen; Groups: 10,000 yen【Membership Length】 Apr. 1, 2023 ～ Mar. 31, 2024【Application Process】 After filling out the Member Application Form, pleasesubmit it to the SIEA office electronically or by mail.
（Download the form from the official websites of City Hall, every Branch Office, or every Community
Center, or the SIEA homepage.)※ Members receive information on SIEA activities, the SIEA newsletter, anddiscounts on SIEA events. For more information, please contact the SIEA office.

International Relations SAIJO is a newsletter published by the Saijo International Exchange Association(SIEA). Feel free to contact us with your comments, questions, and submission requests.

Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): SAIJO BASE 2F, Akeyashiki 131-2, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-0023
TEL / FAX: (0897)66-9990 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

2International Relations SAIJO
Sakura Nursery’s Merry Christmas!

Christmas Party

Saijo ALTs Charlotte, Andrew, and Josh, as well as
SAIJO CIR Nhi, paid a visit to Sakura Nursery’s Christmas
Party. They read Christmas books to the children inEnglish, and played quiz games with the children too.
They also wore Santa outfits and handed out presents.
All the children had smiles on their faces and it turned
out to be a great Christmas party.

☀Vietnamese New Year

The Vietnamese New Year event we held at SAIJOBASE was incredibly lively, with over 150 participants.
Saijo CIR Nhi planned the event, which showcased
countless aspects of Vietnamese culture, such as songs,dances, an áo dài fashion show, a bánh chưng making
workshop, and all sorts of New Year games.
Many of Saijo’s Vietnamese residents helped out. Once
the COVID-19 pandemic cools down next year, I surewould like to try some fresh bánh chưng.

Dec. 2022 to Report
Activity FromMar.
2023
Easy JapaneseSeminar

こんにちは

We invited Ms. Michiko Doi, the Niihama
International Center’s Head of the Secretariat, toSaijo to hear her lecture on communicating withforeigners living in Japan through “easyJapanese.” Attendees practiced using easy
Japanese and had fun simplifying Japanesephrases and sharing their thoughts. Attendees
stated that the seminar was informational andthat they would attend future seminars.

SAIJO BASE Relocation Kickoff Event～Bridging the U.S., Taiwan, and Saijo～
We held an info sharing event in SAIJO
BASE’s Collaborative Space for Saijo’s
HS students, American HS students inAustin, Texas via their connections toSaijo, and Taiwanese students via theirconnections to the Toyo Lions Club. Theschools participated online and every
student gave a 5 to 15-minute-longpresentation. Interpreters (including
one of our ALTs) helped to facilitate theexchange.

From Saijo tothe World
Location: SAIJO BASE
3F Citizen Gallery
Date: Until ４／３０
(Open every day until
the event ends)
The Int’l Exchange Promotion Team ishosting the “From Saijo the World: JICAExhibition.” There are traditional clothes,instruments, everyday trinkets, and journal
entries on display, so please check it out!

Newsletters
Our newsletters will be released at
the beginning of every month.
Subscribe to the newsletter via ourwebsite for up-to-date event
information!(^^)/★

西条市国際交流協会

Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): SAIJO BASE 2F, Akeyashiki 131-2, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-0023
TEL / FAX: (0897)66-9990 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

3International Relations SAIJO★

Tết inWelcome to 2023！

Hey, everyone! How’re you doing?
In this month’s article, we’ll be covering the VietnameseTết event we held 3 months ago at Saijo Base! Please giveit a read!
“Tết,” or the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is based on the lunar calendar,
unlike the Japanese New Year. Tết is Vietnam’s longest holiday, andVietnamese people around the world take time off from work—no matter
how busy their schedules—to spend time with their families. It is an incredibly
important event. Compared to the Japanese New Year, Tết is much livelier
too. The week before Tết, Vietnamese people decorate their houses, makeofferings to the gods, and prepare the ingredients, drinks, and snacks
needed for a Tết feast. On New Year’s Day, people watch fireworks,celebrate the new year with their families, or visit temples. The first three daysof the new year have their own customs: on the 1st day, people play with
their father’s side of the family; on the 2nd, they play with their mother’s side;
and on the 3rd, they visit the homes of their friends and teachers. That’s why
people are often seen having fun during Tết. It’s extremely fun.
SAIJO BASE held a Tết event on Jan. 22, andthere were about 150 Japanese andVietnamese attendees. It was a lot of fun forme too. The attendees didn’t just look at thedisplays on Vietnam and Tết either; they played
various Tết games too. They also enjoyed afashion show centered around the áo dài (atraditional Vietnamese dress comparable tothe Japanese kimono) and several dances.
The most popular activity was the “BánhChưng” workshop, where people tried makingbánh chưng sticky rice dumplings. At first,
many people had trouble making them, butthey neatly wrapped all of the bánh chưng inthe end. The dumplings were all boiled on thespot and distributed to everyone when theywere done. How was this little taste of Vietnam?
Did you like it?

Tết Exhibition

Tết GamesFashion ShowBánh chưng is a traditional Tết food, made with glutinous rice, mungbeans, and pork. It is wrapped into a square packet using a 20 cm
long lá dong leaf, and then boiled for 8-12 hours.
Preparing for the Tết event was a lot of work throughout, but watching
Japanese and Vietnamese people celebrate Tết together and go home withsmiles on their faces made me really happy. We got to showcase the culture
behind Tết, alleviate some of the loneliness our Vietnamese residents felt
because they couldn’t be home with their families, and bridge the Vietnameseand Japanese communities in Saijo, so it was a really important experience forme. We’ll do our best to make next year’s event even more fun, so definitely
pop by. We’ll be waiting. New Year’s already over, but… Chúc mừng năm mới(Happy New Year)!

❁*·⑅❁*·⑅❁*·⑅❁*·⑅❁*·⑅Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): SAIJO BASE 2F, Akeyashiki 131-2, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-0023
TEL / FAX: (0897)66-9990 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

4International Relations SAIJO

Want to Learn Chinese?
【Location】 Saijo City Welfare Center【Eligibility】 City residents, commuters, and SIEA ｍembers【Fees】 5,500 yen （3,500 yen for SIEA members）※Textbook fees not included.
【Term Length】 June to September (10 total classes;
about 2 classes per month)【Days and Time】 〇Elementary: Wed. 7:00 pm-8:00 pm〇Intermediate: Wed. 8:10 pm-9:10 pm【App. Period】 5/1 (Mon.) ～ 5/26 (Fri.)【Contact Info】 SIEA Office TEL: 0897-66-9990★★

It's been 3 years!
Int’l Exchange Cafe

This year, we’ll
be reviving someevents that weput on hold!
Make sure to join
in on the fun!

Date/Time: 6/10（Sat.)
11 am～1 pm
Location: SAIJO BASE
Fees:400 yen(SIEA Members: 300 yen)
※Reservations not required.

Contact Info: SIEA Office
TEL: 0897-66-9990☆★Details★☆

I n t ’ l U n d e r s ta n d i n gComparing British andJapanese Culture

This is a café where we can talkwith people from around theworld.
George Washington HS students
will be joining us this time.

Date and Time: 5/13 1:30 pm ～ 3 pm
Location: Saijo City Welfare Center
B Wing 3F, Seminar Room 2
Lecturer: ALT Jared Beare

Editorial
Note

Let’s do our best this year too! (Kondo)

International Relations SAIJO
Minoru Tokumasu
Kondo
Andrew Tham (Translator)

Readable in
Full Color!

Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): SAIJO BASE 2F, Akeyashiki 131-2, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-0023
TEL / FAX: (0897)66-9990 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/