AIRA Evening Class, which started as a trial last year, has been held as one of the projects of AIRA since April this year. June 24, 2016、We took a look at the class one evening.

　　　　Date & Time: Friday, June 24, 2016

　　　　Venue: Room 1, Abiko Civic Plaza

　　　　Participants: 22 Japanese language students and 4 volunteer teachers

On that evening the students were trying making “onigiri”, Japanese rice balls. Pickled plums and dried bonito were prepared as fillings. Japanese staff showed how to make rice balls then the students followed. They got a right amount of rice in the hands and molded rice into balls and triangles. Two students from Northern Arizona University, who were visiting Abiko, also took part in the class. After making rice balls, they sat at the table and had a pleasant time eating and chatting.

Evening Class is open　for foreign people who want to learn Japanese but cannot come in daytime. Around this time last year there were only three or four students in this class, but about twenty students have been learning since April this year. Their circumstances are different (students, housewives, company employees, etc.), but they have one thing in common, strong desire to learn Japanese language.

Rice balls are casual food cooked and eaten at home, but it’s not so easy to make as it looks. They learned not only making rice balls but also new Japanese words with the teachers’ kind help and advice.

(No.16-10 Translated by Ch. Yamaguchi)