TIE MEETING
photo album 6

TIE meeting was closed in June, 2004. Here is a message to Yumiko Okakoi, who has been in charge of the meetings over the past 10 years. "You have done a superb job! Taihen Otsukare-sama-deshita to you. We really have enjoyed attending the meeting every month"

June Regular Meeting

How fast time flies! Three Hungarians, who have joined since last November and contributed to our salon so much, are leaving Akita in the morning on June 18th. So we are going to have a final session with them and a sayonara party this Saturday.

A special session:
Date: June 12, (Sat.), 2004
Time: 4:30 p.m. ~ 6:00 p.m.
Place: Anzai (near Kodomo Clinic at Izumi)
Phone: 018-863-3900
Please let me know if you don't know the place.
Topic: Free discussion


Sayonara party:

Date: June 12, (Sat.), 2004
Time: 6:00 p.m. ~
Place: Anzai
Fee: 3000 yen ~ 4000 yen
(dinner and drinks)

May Regular Meeting

Date: May 15th (Sat.), 2004
Speaker: John Mock
Topic: AMERICAN INDIANS: Origins and Why This is Important?

a message from John Mock

What I would like to do is explore the origins of the indigenous peoples of North and South America. There are at least two major (and a lot of minor) ideas about the origins of American Indians. However, at least to my mind, this is not just an esoteric intellectual exercise but rather a question for American society that has very important implications.

Why am I doing this? Why did I pick this topic? At the new university, I will teach a course in American Indians. I haven't taught an "American Indian" course is about 20 years so I find this really interesting. It is a field I am trained in but not one which, previously, I have taught in Japan and I have never taught it to Japanese students. So, recently, I have been reading a bunch of books on American Indians. This question is, to my mind, one of the most interesting.

I don't have any supporting materials to send out, most of this will be pretty straightforward, with maps and such.


April Regular Meeting

Date: April 17th (Sat.), 2004
Speaker: Mitsuhiro Tamura
Topic: The Formation of Asian Americans -Experience of East Asian Peoples- the past and future -

Here is a greeting from the speaker Mitsuhiro Tamura to the participants.

Hello Tie members. Spring has come to Akita finally! In the cherry-blossom season, we sometimes have windy and cold weather. Everything has ups and downs and is not straight. The cloudiness of Akita weather is jealous of cherry trees in full bloom for their good looks praised by the local people. Before going out to have a convivial party under cherry-blossom, please be patient and enjoy two hours of discussion to make yourself feel more hungry. A glass of first beer, after you work, tastes best. The topic I picked up bellow is just an appetizer for your meals that may be served outside. I prepared various kinds of Asian food materials so that you can cook your type of dishes. The world of Asian cuisine is multi-dimensional and therefore you may feel you look into a kaleidoscope. You would find that a showy food example does not necessarily guarantee good taste while a cooking shown on a greasy menu, which you ordered reluctantly in a shabby cafeteria, is extremely tasty. Turn down a side street of Asian Americans' community.
April 17, 2004 TAMURA Mitsuhiro


8 people attended.

After the meeting Akemi Sugiyama was generous enough to invite us to her house. Everybody had a good time talking about many things over coffee and cake. After that, some of us went to Ushijima to enjoy cherry blossom viewing. The flowers were in full bloom.

March Regular Meeting

Date: March 20th (Sat.), 2004
Speaker: Yumiko Okakoi
Topic: Changing Trends in Taste --Trends are paradoxical.--

Here is a quote from the introduction of Yumiko Okakoi's presentation.

"If you're really health conscious, you probably shop at a natural food store and cook a variety of dishes, which consists of various nutrients, and you eat perhaps 30 different kinds of food a day. If you're gourmet, you always look for something, which is extremely tasty, and of high quality. If you're cost-conscious, you probably won't get ingredients from the organic rack but from items which are on sale and are easy on the wallet.

If you're on a weight-loss-diet, you probably look for something very light, such as sea-vegetables and fruits. If you're a student living alone, you may go to a fast-food restaurant or buy 'konbini bento'. If you're single and health-conscious, you probably cook for yourself. If you're simply tired of thinking about menus and cooking, you probably get some 'sozai' or eat out. If you're well informed on the town's fancy eating spots, you won't mind waiting in a line at a new restaurant with an expectation of an extraordinary taste you've never had before.

Eating has become so hand and flexible. We never starve. A wide variety of options are available. Whatever lifestyle we have and whatever preference we have, we can get something close to our taste. We can choose our eating style like we choose our clothes to wear. The food industry, restaurants and even those who cook at home for us are trying to meet the demands of our diverse tastes. What does eating mean to us? Isn't quality of diet our primary concern? I find it very interesting to carefully observe the latest trends of our eating habits and the backdrops of these trends."


All the participants are offered free canned coffee drinks - all different brands - by the guest speaker!

See more pictures of past TIE meetings

Read My Diary 4(from January 1, 2003)
home go back to "genki" homepage index