CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, June 2009

In India, many, many years ago,
there lived a very old, but very wise, Saintby the name of Mandirun Toudaloufasi.
“Mandi-bubha” was how his disciples
addressed him, and they revered him withthe greatest respect.
Mandi lived in a humble little hut high on
a mountain-top far away from the bustling
torrents of city life below. He lived very
frugally indeed, having no interest in theriches and pleasures that life offered lesser
men. For Mandirun truly was a holy-man.
One day Mandi’s disciples gathered
together to pay him a visit and listen to his
wise counseling. However, climbing to the
top of Mandi’s mountain was a long andarduous journey. When they reached the
top they were tired and thirsty. Mandi,
being wise and all-seeing as he was,noticed their fatigue and kindly offered tomake them all a nice, refreshing cup of tea.
This they accepted with glee, so Mandi
went into his humble kitchen to prepare
some tea while his disciples waitedpatiently for him to return.
Finally, after taking great care to prepare
the tea, Mandi reappeared carrying a large
tray and many cups which he placed on atable in front of them. Now, Mandi everwishing to instruct and enlighten, haddevised a lesson for his guests on that day.
This is what he did:
Mandi chose every conceivable style ofcup imaginable to serve the tea in. There
were cups made of pure gold, others madefrom the finest china. Some were inlayedwith precious stones. They were the kindsof cups you would expect to see in thehands of a Sultan or a great Emperor!

Many of Mandi’s cups were exquisitely
designed, as described, but some were of themost ordinary and plain variety too. Somewere even made of plastic.
Mandi asked his disciples to choose theirfavorite cup. He then proceeded to pour thetea. When they had finished their tea,
Mandi delivered his lesson. It was this:“When you first arrived here you were allthirsty and tired. All that you wanted was torefresh yourselves with a simple cup of tea.
But, when you saw my cups, you forgot about
being tired and thirsty. You jostled one
another to claim the best cups and you envied
your neighbor if his cup was more gorgeousthan your own. So tell me, did the tea taste
any better as a result of the cup you chose?
“Think of the tea as life itself”, he continued.
“Does the quality of your live improve if you
surround yourself with wealth and luxury?”Well, not only did his disciples agree thatit did, but they all jumped up, poured out
the remainder of the tea from their cups andran off down the mountain towards thenearest pawnshop!
So, the lesson from this story
is: Make sure your disciples areready to hear words of wisdom
before you serve them tea inMandirun
your best china!
practicing yoga

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:
All about pawnbrokers: http://www.thesite.org.uk/homelawandmoney/money/creditanddebt/pawnbrokers
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: Well, soon the “rainy season” will have come and gone,and we will be ready for our summer events. This year in July, there willbe the Summer Market and Festival in Okaido, and our End-of-Term
Party and Performance Night on the 25th. We will follow these eventswith the B-B-Q party in August. I hope you are all looking forward tothese as much as I and your teachers are. See you there!

Junko Says: EF International is offering a 10% reduction on Englishcourses and Home-stays if you leave Japan by the end of September on
one of their programs. Overseas EF schools offering this program arelocated in Honolulu, Brisbane, New York and Oxford in England.
Programs are mostly for two weeks, but Honolulu and Brisbane are alsooffering one week courses as well. Check out the details on P3.

Alessio Says: Hi everybody! SUMMER!!! I love summer! It has started to bevery warm. This is my favorite season! I’m a little worried though.
Everybody here tells me that Matsuyama’s summer is very humid andextremely hot! But still, I love summer; going to the beach, enjoying thelife “outside”, cold drinks and…PARTIES!!! There will be two parties atCrossroads. The performance party and a BBQ one!!! I can’t wait … ☺

Greg Says: Last month I returned to Australia to attend my niece’s wedding.

It had been so long since I had been to a wedding in Australia after having
been to so many in Japan, I kind of forgot what a wedding back home waslike. I was happy the speeches were minimal and he party was never ending.
It was also great being back home to walk along the beach every morning at
5:00am and watch the sunrise with my daughter. It was so nice seeing somany people greeting each other while walking, running or strolling.

Emilie Dit: Méditations sur ma leçon hebdomadaire du mercredisoir qui a trait à l’étude du recueil de poêmes “Paroles” écritpar Jacques Prévert et publié au sortir de la Seconde Guerre
Mondiale. Veuillez, s’il vous plait, vous reporter à la page 3 dufascicule.

Study and Home-stay Abroad:

There’s a 10% reduction for anyone who wants tostudy overseas and enjoy a home-stay at the sametime. EF International is offering these courses andthey are for one or two weeks in Honolulu, or Brisbane,
and two weeks in New York, or Oxford, England.
Prices are:Honolulu for two weeks - ¥98,820 (one week alsoavailable)
Brisbane for two weeks - ¥84,420 (one week alsoavailable for
only ¥49,200!)
New York for two weeks - ¥107,820
Oxford for two weeks - ¥120,420
This is a really great deal, but you have to leave by theend of September. If you want to find out more, just talkto Junko in the office.

News from Crossroads’ French Quarter
Sans contraires, il n’a pas de progression possible”, disait WilliamBlake. Du choc des contraires naît la force créatrice. Et qu’en est-il duchoc des cultures? Cette pensée a surgi d’une rencontre littéraire entre
deux de mes étudiants japonais et moi. Nous lisions “Noces et banquets”(Paroles, 1946), hommage de Jacques Prévert à William Blake ; et alors
que nous cherchions à décortiquer le poême et à mettre en exergue lesdites contradictions intrasèques à l’oeuvre de Blake, il m’est apparu quenous étions nous-mêmes en position de face à face. Nos deux mondes,
nos deux cultures aux valeurs antagonistes portaient un jugement
différent sur le contenu du poême. Nos avis divergeaient voires'affrontaient, créant une stimulation intellectuelle aussi exaltée que lechoc des contraires prôné par William Blake.
L’un des Proverbes de l’Enfer tiré du “Mariage du Ciel et de l’Enfer”
de William Blake nourrit cette piste de réflexion: “La culture trace deschemins droits ; mais les chemins tortueux sans profit sont ceux-làmême du génie.” Méditons sur cet aphorisme! Qu’il nous encourage ànous ouvrir davantage à l’altérité et aux autres cultures, qu’il nous
inspire! “Exubérance, c’est Beauté.
"Paroles" deJacques Prévert

"Le Mariage du Ciel et del'Enfer" de William Blake

The End-Of-Term Party
this term will be held on the
25th of next month (July)
Performances, drinks andfood, and, of course,
KARAOKE!

Every year in July we set up a stall in Okaido, just outside ofCrossroads, during the Summer Street-Market Festival. This year wewant to invite our student to join in by making use of this space todisplay your own handy-crafts, other items of interest or ideas –Are you in a flower arranging class? Do you paint? Make clothes orother items?
You can sell and/or display whatever you think might be appropriate in
Okaido during the Festival!
Ask Junko in the office for the details.

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