Japanese club offers students cultural experience
At the first meeting of Bishop Amat’s Japanese Club, some freshmen sat around and taught one another how to make different origami shapes.
In front of room 104, the classroom where the club meets, the club’s officers taught Japanese to some students.
In the back of the classroom, the moderator Ms. Syroboyarsky introduced the basis of the club and gave out club information to all members
The members introduced themselves to one another and bonded during and after the meeting.
The Japanese Club meets actively every Thursday in room 104 with the members learning about and participating in the language and culture of Japan.
During this first meeting, the officers introduced themselves to the new and returning members. They discussed their roles in the Japanese Club, and why they were brave enough for taking up the responsibilities involved within it.
Sophomore Yessenia Santiago and Junior Kristine Pham, who are currently the club presidents, displayed their enthusiasm about the Japanese Club’s plans for this year. They believe their roles can help the students who are interested in Japanese culture and language, find a place where they can enjoy the Japanese atmosphere.
“Our role is to introduce people to the Japanese culture, language and a little bit of anime because most of the people joined because of that,” said one of the club’s presidents, Yessenia Santiago.
The club got more recruitments than it did last year which really excited everyone involved in it. With new members like Karrie Peña, who was very passionate about the club’s first meeting, there is the hope of lots of new, fun experiences for this new year.
“I joined the Japanese Club because I really like the Japanese culture, and I really like the language,” said Peña. “I wanted to find friends doing the same thing as I was, so when I heard the announcement of Japanese Club, I was like this is my category in the club, and I enjoy it.”
Ms. Syroboyarsky, the Japanese Club Coordinator, who studied in Japan for college, shared her experience with the club. Her grandmother is of Japanese descent, which is one of the reasons why she decided to be the club moderator.
In addition, she also shared her expectations for this club’s future, such as going to Cherry Bloom Festival and Little Tokyo for field trips as the service projects.
“I studied in Japan when I was in college and my grandma is also from Japan so I have an interest in it and it is fun for me to be around people who have the same interest,” said Ms. Syroboyarsky.
