By Jacob Mayforth
Tori Vaz sits at the far corner of a table in the Home Ec room. Today is the first meeting of the new Japanese Club, and although it is rocky, Ms.Vaz has high hopes.
Begun in 2009 by Katie Reyes, the Japanese club is an organization based in Homer High where students can go to be introduced to the culture, food, and media of Japan. Once Katie left, the job of managing the club fell on the shoulders of Tori Vaz and after a short while the club fell apart.
Now the club is coming back, anxiety is palpable in the room as I wait for the first meeting. Tea is served by Mrs.Hampson in quaint porcelain teacups as they all take their seats. The awkward beginnings soon give way to excited conversation, as they move from subjects as popular Japanese shows to when they plan on making sushi; later on in the year the club plans on having foreign exchange student Akane Fujimura attend one of their meetings and give a seminar on life in Japan.
The students attending agree that they all had interest in the Japanese culture but “didn’t want to just go on a website somewhere and memorize boring facts,” says Jonas Noomah, 9th grade.
As the bell rings, I catch Tori as she packs her bag and ask her if she thinks things went well. She says, as we walk to our lockers, “The group was a little too unfocused today, but that is inevitable with all first meetings.” She has high hopes that this year things will go smoothly though.