CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, October 2009For history buffs, Medieval Europe conjures up

images of knights in shining armor and their codeof honor, their pride and their chivalry. Beginningwith legendary King Arthur and his round tablein the 4th century, the romanticized knight has
become an enduring symbol of early European
history and culture.
Jousting, for sport or to settle
a dispute and defend hishonor (or that of a lady’s), aknight, on horseback withlance and shield, would not
A modern re-enactment of an hesitate to fight to prove hisevent common in early
medieval times – the joust.
valor against his adversary– occasionally even fighting to the death!
Times change and by the end of the Middle Ages,
jousting, and many of the traditions associated withknighthood, and, indeed, the knights themselves,
had almost disappeared. Ironically, it is at this time
– at the beginning of the 17th century - that a newform of jousting for sport emerged in the old
Languedoc region of southern France. And it is still
being practiced there today: Water Jousting!

Water jousting started in villages and port
towns - the first tournament taking place in Agdein 1601. Sète held its first tournament in 1666 tocelebrate the founding of a port there. By the 18thcentury, contests were pitting the town’s young
bachelors, in blue boats, against the red teams
made up of married men. These days, Sète‘sannual tournament runs from April toSeptember each year and is one of the biggest.

The most important
event during thefestival period, theheavyweight
grandprix, attracts almost
20,000 spectators eachyear and takes place during the Fêtes de la SaintLouis, at the end of August. The best jousters areamong the most famous and esteemed people inSète and are given honorary nicknames such as,“The Terrible” (Barthélémy Abenque), “The One
Hundred Wins Man” (Vincent Cianni) and “TheUnmovable” (Casimir Castaldo).
The “White Knights” whocompete in these tournaments
are made up of mostly local
fishermen and dockworkers.
But they are not the only ones.
It is said that to be a true son of The White Knights of Sète
Sète, a man has to have jousted at least once in hislifetime. There is even a jousting school for children
and a museum of the history of water jousting inLanguedoc.

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come to
CROSSROADS?.... 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:
Go here for info about Water Jousting in Sète:
http://www.languedoc-france.info/030414_sete.htm
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: I’m encouraged to see that some of you are alreadytrying to support our new campaign by introducing your friends toCrossroads. Soon, we will have our list of “partners” to offer you
also. With the benefits of our campaign and our partner project,
I’m sure Crossroads will become an even better place to enjoy
studying and developing your languages skills!

Junko Says: Okaido is going to have an open, free market on the3 r d of next month. It will be the longest of its kind in Sikoku andnew participants are encouraged to join in – this can mean you! If
any of our students have goods or items to sell – second-hand or
new – you are welcome to offer them for sale. Please check with mein the office for the details if you want to join in.

Alessio Says: Hi people, after realizing that the autumn doesn't exist in Japan (itgot so cold in just a week), I'm preparing myself for winter hoping it won't be verycold. A few days ago I went to Nihama for the famous festival. It started at night andmy friends and I came back to Matsuyama at 9am!!! But, it was a very interesting
festival. Danjiris are very detailed and prepared with great accuracy. The result isthat they are really, really beautiful. By the way, I noticed that many Japanese weredrinking sake, beer and cocktails during the festival. as we certainly did... : )Greg Says: last month I took a day trip to Hiroshima with my family. It was great to getaway for awhile, even if it was only for a day. We left Matsuyama at 5:30am and headed for
an amusement park for the kids. They had a great time and didn’t want to leave. Then wewent to the Peace Park where we explained to my daughter what happened to the Dome andwhy. She had tears rolling down her face when she looked at the before and after photos ofHiroshima. It was a great learning experience for her, and for me listening to her thoughts.

Emilie Dit: Temps des typhons, temps incertain. Rester plus souvent
chez soi. Savourer les journées chaudes d’automne bercées par unvent frais. Attendre patiemment l’été indien. Écouter les derniers
grillons au loin. S'émerveiller sur la taille de la pleine lune. Manger
son premier pot-au-feu japonais. Se régaler à l’idée du prochain…

The world’s biggest language services organization, Switzerland’s EF (English First), is having a big
campaign right now. They are offering chances to go overseas at these great deals:
1. You will get a ¥10,000 reduction on course fees, if you apply for more then 3 weeks of study
overseas with EF by the 30th of November 2009 - provided you leave by the 30th ofSeptember, 2010.
2. If you wish to study overseas for 18 months or more and you sign up 5 months in advance ofgoing, you will be offered an extra 2 weeks tuition free! If you give over 3 months notice, youwill be offered an extra week’s tuition free. You will need to depart for the overseas school by
the 30th of September, 2010.
3. Even further reductions are made for long-term students.
Reduction Amountwhen you submit

Per AC year

Dead line for your Applications
Course Stars

Course Stars

Course Stars

your application

8-9 months

Semester
5-6 months

6 months in Advance

60,00045,000

7 months in Advance

70,00052,500by the end of Nov. 2009

8 months in Advance

80,00060,000by the end of Oct. 2009

9 months in Advance

90,00067,500

by the end of Dec. 200910 months in Advance

100,000

75,000by the end of Nov. 200911 months in Advance

110,000

82,500by the end of Oct. 2009

in April 2010

in June 2010

in September 2010by the end of Oct. 2009by the end of Dec. 2009by the end of Mar. 2010by the end of Feb. 2010by the end of Jan. 2010

SPECIAL NOTE: These offers are not only for schools in famous English speaking cities, but also for other foreign language
courses in Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Munich, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and many more… If you are interested in one of these overseas
study courses, you can get the details from our office.

our new 1+1 campaign

The new campaign is starting to show
some results, and we are happy some ofyou are getting behind us and introducing
new students to our school. Please keep
up the effort! We are happy to welcome
any of your friends, family members or
acquaintances on board, any time!

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

RECYCLEThe largest open market on Shikoku will be held along
Okaido on the 3rd of November (next month). If any of you
have items you have grown tied of and no longer need, you
can recycle them at the market. Do you make any handycrafts, or other goods you would like to sell? – try themarket! Perhaps someone may have use for your items
and offer to buy them. If you are interest in participating inthis market, please go to our office and ask for the details.

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.co m