Last Semester

Last semester Japanese club worked a lot on writing a list of potential club activities. I keep pressing for ideas because I want to work on changing the club from a state of eternally near death to a thriving and growing club. Of course whatever Japanese club decides to do in the future has to be big.

During those last meetings of the semester we wrote up a pretty lengthy list of activities. So, for all to see I am posting the Japanese Club meeting notes here online. I figured that since I spend so much time here anyways, I might as well organize my thoughts here too.

Activities we can do during the summer include:

• The August Lantern Festival (See Here For More Info)
• Visiting the Spoon bridge and Cherry
• Free movies in Parks (Schedule Here)
• State Fair
• Drive in Movie Theatre
• Valley Fair
• Como Zoo/Japanese Gardens
• 4th of July Party
• Park BBQ/Squirt guns/hiking trips/Bonfires
• Fishing Trips, canoeing, paddle boats, sand castle building competition

• White Water Rafting
• Waterpark of America/MOA
• Dinkytown exploration
• House Party @ Robby's?
• Swimming in the UST pool
• Visiting Minnehaha Falls
• Lilydale 
• Renaissance Festival  

 Activities we can do during the upcoming fall semester include:

• Creating a new club logo for "Nihon Culture Club"
• Going Places with ELS/ International Students
• Uniting with other clubs on Campus, U of M, etc.
• And of course continuing the long tradition of "End of the Semester Banquets"
• With activities like Karaoke at Boomtown (211 Oak St.)
• Maybe a couple films or other visual media
•  Calligraphy
• Cooking Night
• Apple Picking
• Aikido, Soccer, Taiko, etc
• Retreats
• Hosting our own Matsuri
• A Giant Monopoly Game
• The Bean Game
• Movie Night
• Easel Games/Pictionary
• Introducing the eBoard to Matsumoto Sensei
• Considering going from every week to every other week
• Collaborate with GMSA for International Dinner?
• Advocate programs that unite America and Japan

Unfortunately we missed the Cherry Blossom Festival on June 8th. I wonder what else the club will come up with for things to do. Looking toward the upcoming year, a lot will probably happen as the club goes from constant near death and into an explosion of life.