CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language
Language StudioÊs Newsletter May,May, 201
20 1 4

Rhododendrons and azaleas, both from Some species of
the genus Rhododendron, comprise ~1,000
species of woody shrubs and trees in theheath family. The name rhododendron comesfrom the Greek words "rodon" which means"rose" and "dendron" which means "tree",hence rose-tree. Most species are found in
the Himalayas of Nepal and Sikkim toYunnan and Sichuan. It is the national
flower of Nepal, where it is considered edibleand savoured for its sour flavour. Tropicalrhododendrons are found from southeast
Asia to northern Australia, with as many as
164 species in New Guinea. The latter are
native to sub-alpine grasslands at around3,000 metres above sea level in the CentralHighlands. Significant areas of diversity arealso found in the mountains of Korea, Japanand Taiwan. Comparatively few species
occur in North America and Europe.
Rhododendronleaves
arespirallyarranged and are from 1-2 cm to over 50 cmin length. Typically the azaleas are smallerwith narrow pointed leaves, whilerhododendrons have large leathery leaves.
They can be either evergreen or deciduous(varieties that drop their leaves in the fall).
Rhododendrons are prized for their showy
often strongly fragrant trumpet-shaped
spring flowers. Multiple flowers, typicallypink, purple, white, or red are usually borneon a single stalk as a compact cluster.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons through the net!
SITE OF THE MONTH:
Here’s how to landscape with rhododendrons andazaleas, western-style:
http://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/azaleas/new/landscaping.html

rhododendron
arepoisonousbecauseofchemicals
in
their pollen andnectar.
Grazing
Henson Recording
Studios, LA, USAanimalsandJapanese Azaleas
people have been
known to become ill from eating honeyproduced by bees that have been visiting
rhododendron and azalea flowers.
From Yakushima to Hokkaido, Japan ishome to some of the most beautiful
rhododendrons and azaleas in the world.
There are about 100 species in Japan, manyof which are restricted to mountain regions.
There are even alpine azaleas that grow as
low mat-forming plants putting forth tiny
clusters of pink flowers only a fewmillimeters across. One of the great colorfulspectacles of Japan can be seen by venturing
into the mountain forests and high country
throughout the month of May.
Most of the cultivated rhododendrons inJapanese cities and gardens, which havebeen an integral part of Japanese landscapedesign for centuries, came originally fromChina.
Japanese refer toazaleas as “tsutsuji”.
Amongthebestknown sites in Japanfor viewing azalea inblossom is Daikozenji,
Azaleas at Daikozenji
the “tsutsuji temple”,
in northern Kyushu, and the Shugakuin
Imperial Villa in Kyoto.

Article by Kenneth

Joshua Says: Cyril and Stephanie will be leaving us and returning
to France this month after a year teaching French with us.
Everyone, students, staff and friends, are disappointed to see themleave, but we all wish them a “bon voyage” and the best of good
fortune for their future. Their French lessons will be taken over by
Danielle who has been teaching French for many years.

Junko Says: Although it’s the last month of spring, May is is thebest month to enjoy blossoming flowers. And the various kinds offlowers given to us by students and friends of CR are a joy to see.
As this is also the end of our semester, we will hold our E-O-S
party on the 31 st . This is a great time to enjoy communication
with our teachers and staff and other students in our school. I
look forward to seeing many of you on this night also.

Kenneth Says: Many years ago on a hiking trip to Mt. Kuju in
Kyushu with friends from Canada over Golden Week I was
struck by the dazzling pink shrubs along the forest trail to thetop of the mountain. Recently, we hiked with our family to thetop of Saragamine that overlooks the city of Matsuyama, andthere they were again. Gorgeous!

Adrienne Says: It is the season for harvesting “itadori” again. Thistall weed with the thick stalk grows in our garden. Itadori resembles an
American plant called “rhubarb” in both taste and appearance. Rhubarb
is used in baking pies and cakes in my country, and I tried making arhubarb-strawberry pie, substituting itadori for rhubarb. It was pretty
good. I wonder how Japanese people cook itadori.

Stephanie and Cyril Dit: Japonaises, japonais, c'est avec beaucoup d'émotion queStéphanie et moi vous disons au revoir. Le Japon a tenu toutes ses promesses: aussi beau et riche(en histoire, en figurines, en cerisiers, en bentos...) que nous l'imaginions, et même plus!
Cependant, nous arrivons au terme de notre visa et il est temps de retourner en France... pourl'instant!Nous espérons revenir à Matsuyama plus tard, car nous sommes tombés amoureux decette ville. En attendant cet heureux moment, nous allons essayer de retenir nos larmes etd'emporter avec nous tout ce bonheur et cette sublime expérience que votre pays nous a offerts.

stThe 1 End-Of-Semester party for2014…. Is going to be held on Saturday, May 31st - thismonth! We start from 7:30pm. Come along, join in,relax and chat with your classmates, teachers andother CR trainees. Invite your friends and families
to join us, too!
It will be a B-Y-O (bring tour own)
event, but if you are too busy toprepare something you can pay a small
fee instead.
Look for posters around the school or ask Junko fordetails.

See you there!!
Surf’s Up!

It’s getting close to summer in the northern hemisphere and soon
many people will be heading for the beaches all around the world to do some surfing…. And their pets
won’t be left out of the fun as these photos show…..
There is even a dog surfing championship held every year in California* Not to let the dogs have all the fun, here is“Nicolas” the cat “hang’in five”, and herowner Domingo, from Lima, S. America.

* And here’s another of * “Goatee” the goat
Domingo’s surfingfrom Prismo
buddies. His pet
Beach, California
Alpaca can surf with knows how tothe best of ‘em.
“hang ten” too.

* And to top it alloff, meet themighty surfingmouse!
Australian Shane
Wilmott has
trained thee of his
little friends in thefine arts!

Just aspectator

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.