Sister Cities

Idaho Falls Sister Cities Youth Meeting June 18, 2018 Attendees: Max Benjamin Nicholas Cebull Mario Estrada Nathan Peck Anna St.Michel Misty Benjamin Tate Corbridge Victoria Estrada Dallin Peck Jackie Sugai Wendy Boring Brennan Corbridge David Matranga Jacobi Retallic Ness Villasen Maggie Boring Garrett Corbridge Jorge Padron Lauri Retallic Melinda Cebull David Eaton Gabe Padron Whitney St. Michel Peter Cebull Delsina Matranga Kendra Peck Ian St.Michel Action items in red Business Section of the Meeting Minutes: The June 6th meeting minutes were provided to the group by email. Kendra motioned to approve the meeting minutes and Delsina seconded her motion. Treasurer’s Report: Peter provided the treasurer’s report. The initial balance was $15,496.33 and the current balance is $21,018.15. The group received a $4663.43 in airfare payments, $866.64 from the garage sale, and $1.75 in dividends. The group paid $10 for Town and Country gift cards. Japan Exchange: Whitney will be providing the following information to the group.  Packing Lists  Do’s & Don’ts while you are in Japan  Spreadsheet with ticket information to check before she gives it to Delta. Students - Please get your frequent flyer number to Whitney. It is easy to get a frequent flyer number online at Delta’s website.  Tickets to Japan in either printed or email form. The current exchange rate is $1 to 103 yen. Since the rate is so close, it was decided to have people exchange money before going to Japan. Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Zion Bank will do currency exchanges. Whitney offered to exchange money for anyone who needs does not bank at these locations. Families of students going to Japan are responsible for getting money exchanged in Idaho. It will take a few days. (less than a week) Kendra asked for students who have not provide a picture of their student ID to take a picture of their ID and email to her at kdpeck7@gmail.com. She need IDs from Gabe, Cameron, Elliot, and Max. Speeches are due this week. If you are giving a speech in Japan, please get your speech to Kendra as soon as possible. There are cell phone apps that can be used to help translate. Google has a smartphone app where you can take a picture of the words Japanese letters and it will translate. This can be useful for signs and maps. The outlets are the same in Japan The group will meet at the Idaho Falls airport an hour and a half before the plane leaves ~ 6 am. More information will be provided at future meetings. Upcoming Meetings Due to the July 4th holiday, our July meetings will be on the 9th and 16th. The student delegation will be in Japan for the first meeting in August. Our only August meeting will be on August 13th. Etiquette Lesson Junko Flynn attend our meeting and provide the group with information about Japanese etiquette. A list of some items she talked about follows:  Bowing is very common in Japan especially during greetings.  Chewing gum in impolite and should only be done around close friends.  Take your shoes off at people’s homes. Put shoes together facing the door.  Only sit on the front part of the sofa and sit with your back straight.  If sitting on a mat, kneel or sit with legs scissor style. Do not sit crisscross. You can sit comfortable on the mat after being invited to.  Use slippers if provided.  Take off slippers in Tatami mat room.  Toilets and shower/bath tubs are usually in different rooms.  Use the shower area to clean yourself. The tub is used for soaking and the tub water may be used my more members of the family. You should be clean and rinsed before using the tub.  If offered food with chopsticks, let the person put them on your plate. Do not take the food with chopsticks. The reason that you do not take food from someone's chopsticks is because this is only performed at funerals while passing bones to each other.  It is okay to hold up rice or soup bowl when you eat.  You can ask for a fork if it is difficult to eat with chopsticks.  It is okay to making slurping noises when eating noodles.  When you attend events take off your hat or cap.  Don’t eat when someone is talking.  If you sleep on a futon, fold it up in the morning  Receive items with both hands.  Don’t worry to much! Have fun! Junko also provide a lesson on Japanese greetings: Hello Konnichiwa Good Morning Ohayougozaimasu Good Evening Konbanwa Excuse me Sumimasen I’m Sorry Gomennasai Thank you so much Arigato gozaimasu You are welcome Douitashimashite Good bye Sayounara Good night Oyasuminasai Nice to meet you Hajimemashite  How are you Genki desuka I’m fine Genki desu Before you eat Itadakimasu After you eat Gochisousamadeshita Before you leave the house (I’ll be back) Itte kimasu I’m home Tadaima Welcome back Okaeri nasai What time is it? Nanji desuka What is this Korewa nandesuka Where is it? Doko desuka When is it Itsu desuka Why is it? Naze desuka Who is it? Dare desuka How much is it? Ikura desuka How is it? Dou desuka See you Sayounara/bye bye Phrases: Introduce yourself  Konnichi wa. [your name] desu. Hello, my name is [name].  Watashi wa [your name] desu.  Watashi no namae wa [your name] desu. When you meet someone. Roughly translates to “Pleased to meet you.”  Yoroshiku onegaishimasu Student Section of the Meeting Ian St. Michel led the group in a Hiragana Bingo game. Motion to adjourn was made by Kendra and seconded by Ness.