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2012 J-LEAP REPORTJANUARY, 2013: BREEZE ISSUE #63
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF JAPANESENOBUYUKI UMEJI
Appoquinimink High School
Middletown, DE
On the morning of December 7th (EST), while I waspreparing for Japanese classes as usual, one of the Social
Studies teachers came into my classroom with printouts.
They were the latest information on an earthquake thatjust struck off the northeast coast of Japan in the evening(JST). He talked with my supervisor, Bradshaw-sensei, andwe discussed the current situation in Japan. When weshared the news in our classroom, one of the students
said that she had been talking with her friend about the news since arriving at school. These are only two
instances among many showing that there are a number of people who really care about Japan in the U.S.
Hello, my name is UMEJI Nobuyuki and I am currently working at Appoquinimink High School in Delaware.
Because Delaware was the first state that ratified the Constitution of the United States, it is known as TheFirst State. And it has had a formal sister-state partnership and a close relationship with Miyagi Prefecturein Japan since 1997. In December, Governor Jack Markell was in Japan as a part of a business trip to Asia
and kindly offered to conduct a video-conferencing session with the students at our school who are
studying Japanese. With the help of modern technology, we had the honor to talk with him and were able
to ask questions mainly relating to the recovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami. In addition Gov. Markell emphasized the importance of learning foreign languages, which is areally significant experience for the students. And as time goes by, it will have more meaning in theirhearts.
Currently, I help out teaching three classes, Japanese 1, 2 and 5. It is always challenging for me to teachthem because I am trying to use Japanese language as much as possible, but sometimes I have to speak
English to explain what I want the students to do. Every day is a succession of trials and errors; however,the students are intelligent, especially those taking Japanese 5 (advanced level). They will eventually leadthe next generation and advance the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. So I would like to teachthem about Japan because it really deepens the mutual understanding between our two great countries.

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In addition to Japanese classes, I had opportunities to talk about Japan in other subjects. Two of thesocial studies teachers asked me to talk about Japanese culture and history. I was glad and thankful forthe opportunities to be able to introduce Japan to the students who have few chances to learn about mycountry. When I talked about Japanese Culture, I presented Japanese gestures. I showed them the proper
way to bow, which is one of the most typical gestures in Japan and we practiced how to bow together.
Since then, there has been a student who greets me every morning by bowing. My next mission, afterwinter break, is to introduce Japanese cuisine in home economics class. I am looking forward to making
and eating Japanese food with the students.

Breeze #74

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Breeze #69

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2012 JET-MIP Report 6/8

2012 J-LEAP Report: Nobuyuki Umeji

2012 J-LEAP Report: Yuka Nakanishi2012 JET-MIP Essay: Jessica Kawana

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2012 JET-MIP Essay: Kathryn Lasseter2012 JET-MIP Essay: La'Tia Smith

2012 JET-MIP Essay: Lena Morrow

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