Did you come to the Japanese Culture Festival earlier today? It was held on the quiet dining room in PUB Building. The festival was sponsored by HTC program from Shoreline Community College and they held it for free.

There were so many games at the festival. One of the game was Ken Dama, it is a hard but very addicting game. The game works by throwing the tied ball up and catch on the correct spot in the equipment. You need patience and balance to do the game. Another game is chopstick game, do you know that it can be really hard for some people to use chopsticks? Japanese people use chopsticks all the time and they are very good.

They have a wishing tree where we can write our wishes on a piece of paper and put it on the branches. It believed that our wishes will come true.

The students were also wearing kimono. Kimono is the traditional dress in Japan. They also provided us kimonos to try on and take picture with.

They also taught people on folding origami paper to make shapes, such as birds, medals and flowers. And you can bring your folded origami home.

Did you go to the party on September 25th, 2015? The party was held to celebrate Shoreline’s 50th anniversary, so we partied like it’s 1965!

The party was an open invitation, so everyone can come. Foods were provided for everyone who come, for free! They had pig in a blanket, root beer float, salad, and many more!

A lot of people dressed up in 1960s style including our President, Dr. Cheryl Roberts, and there was a little Best-Dressed competition.

They also provided free photo booth with many accessories to cherish the memories.

The British Export and The Beatniks were the main show. The British Export dressed exactly like The Beatles and they sang The Beatles’ songs. People were dancing and having a lot of fun. And not forgetting The Beatniks, they played old songs and people were singing. Even at the end of their show, people were screaming “One more song! One more song!” So they did sang another song for us. People just had so much fun in the party!

Everything can be so unfamiliar when you arrive to a new place. International Student Orientation will start on September 14, 2015 but that’s not the first day of class. There are plenty of things you can still do to get adjusted before class starts in September 23, 2015.

1.When you arrive in Seattle, you can still enjoy some beautiful weather, so take advantage of Sunny Seattle before Cloudy Seattle comes back. You can go to places around Seattle such as Green Lake, Carkeek Park, or even Snoqualmie Falls.

2. Learning how to cook would be a great idea too. Since you’re moving out of your parents’ house, no one will cook for you anymore. Eating in restaurants is not cheap in the U.S., so learning how to cook will save you a lot of money. But cooking is not just about making food to keep you from getting hungry; it’s also about staying healthy. If you look terrible, you’re never going to find a girl- and/or boyfriend.

3.When you were a kid, you might have thought that finishing high school would be the end of your time doing homework and sitting in classes. But finishing high school is the beginning of it. Back when you were in high school, you go to school for nine hours a day for five days in a week and you have to study six subjects in a day.

Now that you’re in college, your class schedule might be a little looser, but it is a lot busier. There are so many things to learn and things to do on your own. You have to be able to manage your time and keep school as your top priority. Each morning when I get up, I make a list of all the things I need to do that day—that way, I can organize my time to make sure that I accomplish everything I need to. Also, coffee is your friend.

4.Your grades are very important. Do not underestimate the value of your GPA. When you’re planning to transfer to a four-year university, your GPA will be one of the main things that universities consider.

5.Textbooks for classes are sometimes very expensive, especially for science classes. One way to save some money is by buying used books online on Amazon or eBay. You can also rent books from online stores.

6.Don’t be surprised by the fact that you have to use public transportation to go everywhere, unless you buy a car right away. Public transportation can be scary for people who are not used to it—it can be especially scary at night.

But it can teach you to be punctual. In some cultures, being right on schedule is not very important. In America, though, and especially for classes, you need to be on time. By riding public transportation, you will learn how, because the bus runs on a schedule and they won’t change it for you.

7.For students who wear contact lenses, it is probably better to buy your contacts at your home country. It takes so many steps to buy contact lenses in the U.S. because you need a prescription form a doctor to buy them.

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”— Berthold Auerbach

Are you being pulled down by the stressful academic life? Then, let the music refresh your life. At Shoreline Community College, we have Ukulele Club bringing you joyful moments with this cute little tiny instrument. Any levels of music are all welcomed to be a member. You can come as a freshman and we will help you explore the Ukulele world. Or you can come as an expert in Ukulele and join hands build up our club.

What are we doing?

We have meetings every week, learning to play and improving Ukulele skills together. We also have events every quarter where we can show the crowd our effort and cheer them up with our songs.

Why are we doing?

We want to build up a small community where Ukulele lovers can meet, exchange musical interest and make good friends. We believe that melodies can fix all of your maladies. Besides, most songs played with Ukulele bring the fun rhythm, which greatly help out with the academic pressure as well as speed up your boring life.

When are we doing?

Every Friday from 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Where are we doing?

Room 1515

YES! WE HAVE UKULELES FOR YOU! COME AND JOIN US NOW!!!

We also have Facebook Page and you can sign up here.

Editor: Mai Nguyen, International Student at Shoreline

International Education will close at 12 p.m. on Fridays for public and student services from June 15th to September 4th, 2015. We will be back to the regular schedule on September 7th. During summer quarter, here are our hours of operation:

Monday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m.& 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Tuesday:8 a.m.-12 p.m.& 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Wednesday:8 a.m.-12 p.m.& 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m.& 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

Please check other departments for their hours of operation during summer quarter.