CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, August 2009
Summer seems to bring out the “athlete” inus. And many festivals around the world at
this time of year encourage a certain
physicality from the participants –Matsuyama’s
SummerFestivalas
experienced by the dancers and bands whoparade along Okaido each year, could beseen as one example. Here are some otherexamplesofunusual,physicallydemanding, summer festivals from otherparts the world:
The Cheese Rolling Festival: People ofGloucester, UK love
their cheese so muchthat they are literally
willing to break theirnecks to get some! In
early summer, someof these hardy folkline up at the top of
Cooper’s Hill near
Brockworth.
Thousands come towatch, including an
ambulance crew totend bruised andbroken bodies after
the race is run. The
idea is to send a
3.5kg round of Double
Gloucester Cheese rolling
down this very steep hill at about 112 km
per hour. The participants charge after it,
running, jumping, rolling, even flying,until they reach the bottom. The first one
down, wins. And, the prize? The roll ofcheese, of course!
A Wife Carrying Event: This festival-racehas been held in Finland each year for 17 years,
the last 14 years as a “World Championship”!

It is held in Sonkajärvi and is believed togo back to an early 19th century tradition
that started with “wife stealing”! Thousandscome to watch and cheer on the contestants.
The race is over a 253.5 mtr obstacle course,
and the runners are forbidden to drop their“wives” at any time during the race. Theirprize? Their “wife’s” weight in beer!

Baby Jumping Festival: This one is heldin Castillo de Murcia in northern Spain andhas a more serious tone to it than the othertwo here. The tradition goes back to 1620. It
has been rated as one of the mostdangerous festivals in the world,
but the intention is for the baby’s
wellbeing; the idea is to ensure
the babies have a safe andhealthy life. It is also meant tocleanse them of “original sin” andprotect them against illness andevil spirits. The jumpers dress as
the Colacho, representing of theDevil, and jump over as many ashalf a dozen babies at a time –group cleansing?

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come toCROSSROADS?.... Try our lessons on the Internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home or office! You get
CROSSROADS’ great teachers, teaching programs,
even classmates, on-line! Call for details: 089 9217595

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
Here’s a video of the 2008 Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling race:
http://au.video.yahoo.com/watch/2748734/7990891
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at
the Internet activity notebook in our open-house.
You’ll find games, news and English learning sites.

Joshua Says: We had another great night last month at the End ofTerm Party. Both groups that performed their plays did excellent jobs –congratulations to everyone who participated! All of you have improved
your English levels as a result, so give yourselves a big pat on the backfor a job well done! …And, how about the karaoke?!! English, Frenchand Spanish! This has become a regular feature at these events, andwhat a lot of fun it is, too! Check out the photos on page 3…

Junko Says: Please help our 1 + 1 campaign! Crossroads would like yoursupport to double the size of our school. If we can actually achieve this, wecan improve our services to you, including up-grading our library andother facilities, increase our teaching staff, and make other improvements.
We would be grateful if each of you could introduce just one new student
to Crossroads. To express our gratitude for your support we will give you amonth’s free tuition and your friend a ¥5,000 lesson coupon.

Alessio Says: Hi everybody, Matsuyama is just impossible to live in at
this time of the year. Too hot! So, I’ve decided to go to Kyoto, but thenmy students told me that Kyoto is hotter than Matsuyama… I’m curious
to see Kyoto as I heard about it so many times. Last month there was
the school party and I was so glad my students did an amazing job! The
performance was successful and the students did so well that theyalmost seemed like real actors! We all had great fun!

Greg Says: Recently my daughter and I have been spending a lot of time on
the golf course getting ready for the summer holiday school tournaments they
have here in Japan. In Australia, they have tournaments "every" week, but inJapan.....only the summer holidays!!! Anyway, all her practice is really
starting to pay off because today she beat me by 2 strokes. It was her firsttime to beat me. I have never seen a bigger, wider smile on anyone’s face ashers when she added up the scores. I plan revenge very, very soon!!!!!

Emilie Dit: Le mois dernier, j’ai eu la chance de passer quatre jours au temple Eiheiji
situé dans la préfecture de Fukuiken. Le temple Eiheiji est un des deux temples les plus
importants de la secte zen soto au Japon. Il abrite une communauté importante demoines qui suivent fidèlement les préceptes du fondateur de la secte Dōgen Zenji.
Pendant quatre jours et trois nuits, j’ai partagé leur vie quotidienne, alternant séances dezazen, lectures de sutras, ménage et conciliabules avec deux prêtres anglophones trèsérudits. Je conseille vivement cette expérience (trop courte à mon gout) à tout le monde.

In(b)1’s “DucstruggleswithObsessions”

In(a)1 performing“Crazy Destiny”…and some, English,French and Spanish
Karaoke!!

G E N E R A L ( ジェネラル) コース
英語+実践練習６０分 x ２ 回 /週：
1学期-４ヶ月毎にレベルが上がる
クロスローズのメインプログラム
９０分x 1回/週：
忙しい方のための週１レッスン
プライベート(個人)
月２回からレッスン回数自由選択
セミプライベート(セミ個人)：
月３回からレッスン回数自由選択

N E T (ネット) レッスン
COSMOPOLITAN (コスモポリタン) コース グループOR プライベート

英語+実技を通した実用練習、だから誰でも分かる、自然に上達する。
英語でギターを習う
レッスン料￥4,725/月～
英語で歌う
詳細はお問合せ下さい
英語で料理
英語でマジックK I D S ’ (キッズ) クラス
ピアノ
グループOR プライベート
英語劇
ヨガ
MOTHER & CHILD(マザー&チャイルド)クロスローズで学べるその他の外国語グループOR プライベート
フランス語 - スペイン語 - ドイツ語 - イタリア語 - ロシア語 - 中国語 - 韓国語

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089 ) 921 -75 95
Fax: (089 ) 921 -73 19
E-mail:info@crossroadsco.co m
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com