JASA@UMCP

Last GBM of the semster--Potluck

2011-12-08T22:42:00.007-05:00

JASA members gathered for our last GBM of the fall semester December 6. Members brought food to share, and we had a lovely feast. Some of the things people brought included oden (Japanese soup), curry rice, kimbap (Korean sushi) and spinach dip! We had a grand old time. After we were done stuffing our faces, we watched a Japanese movie called Great Teacher Onizuka, which is a live-action adaptation of a popular manga series. It was a great way to relax before finals week.

The moment you've all been waiting for...Party photos from JASU Formal!

2011-11-27T21:34:00.013-05:00

The JASU Formal was held on Oct. 29 this year--Halloween weekend! UMCP hosted the JASU formal, to great success. JASU picked a Haunted Formal theme. We had a "obakeyashiki," or Japanese-style haunted house that was very frightening! There was much screaming. We had snacks and drinks. Everyone looked fly. Rickie Koo from Georgetown was the MC, and Phil Mulliken from UMCP was the DJ. There were performances by UMCP dance groups Will of G, who danced to "Te Amo" by Exile and "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, and the G Girls, who danced to AKB48's "Heavy Rotation." They were a huge hit. We danced the night away--or until 10:30, at least. Photos taken by JASU.

2011-03-15T16:52:00.014-04:00

As many of you know, an 8.9 scaled earthquake hit the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. The earthquake caused a massive tsunami that has wiped out villages, homes, and other buildings all along the north-eastern coast of Japan. This has led to more than 3,000 deaths and thousands more missing, along with even more people becoming homeless in the freezing areas of Sendai and other towns.

JASA has reacted quickly to this horrible event by having an onigiri fund raising sale the very following Monday morning of the incident. A lot of people showed up to help us Monday, with many Japanese students coming out to do their part to help raise funds. By the end of the day Monday, we had raised more than $1300!

All profits will be given to the Japanese Red Cross to help supply those without homes or

shelters a warm bed to sleep in and food to keep them going in this time of need. If you have any ideas for fund raising, relief work, or anything at all to help Japan in this time of need, please let us know right here in the comments section! This tragedy was horrible, but we can all help out somehow!

Thanks again to everyone who came out Monday to assist in the fund raiser! For anyone who may have friends and family over in Japan, we wish them safety and security. Keep Japan in your thoughts and prayers everyone!

Semester Kick-off!

2011-02-07T16:30:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! We’d like to thank you all again for coming out to JASA’s first Spring Semester GBM. We hope you all enjoyed the games and snacks provided and hope you are ready for the new semester, because it’s going to be a busy one.

Like we said at the GBM, Soran Bushi practice will begin THIS week Tuesday and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with official tryouts Friday at 6 p.m., so practice hard and get on the team for the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival and Taste of Japan!

Speaking of Taste of Japan, committee sign-up sheets were available at the GBM for anyone who wanted to help out with the event. If you signed up, thanks a lot! We look forward to working with you. If you didn’t sign-up and wanted to, don’t worry. Contact us on our Facebook with what you’d like to do, and we’ll make sure to get back to you. We’ll need people to help us with food distribution, booth management and more! So let us know if you’d like to help and we’ll get you in with the team!

Other committees we have up and open to members are our fund raising committee, Soran Bushi candidates, and our annual charity wiffle ball team. If you are interested in any of these, jut drop us a message on Facebook, or contact jvinh420@gmail.com with your name, e-mail, and committee you want to be a part of.

We have a lot of interesting events planned for this semester. From karaoke in College Park, to dancing at the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival, this semester won’t be short of things to do. We look forward to seeing you all at our Soran practice. Good luck!

2010-10-06T10:09:00.002-04:00

WHAT: JASA Daifuku and Dango Fundraiser!
WHERE: In front of Stamp Student Union, near the ATM.
WHEN: Friday, October 8th, 11:00 a.m.->4:00 p.m.
COST: Only $1!!!

We're taking a different approach to our fundraisers this time around by introducing TWO, yes TWO new items to our "menu." We will be selling Daifuku and Dango in front of Stamp this Friday!

Daifuku is a small round Japanese sticky rice cake filled with sweet red beans. The characters written for little cake literally means "great luck"!

Dango is a type of sweet Japanese dessert dumplings served on a skewer. These little treats are a favorite all year round and served in different varieties depending on the season. We will be having Mitarashi dango (a sweet salty syrup) and Anko dango (red bean).

Like we mentioned before, we will be selling it all for only $1! So don't forget to come out Friday and buy a delicious Daifuku or Dango treat before finishing off your week. See you there!

JASA's First GBM!

2010-09-25T14:50:00.011-04:00

Hey everyone! We want to thank you once more for coming out to JASA’s first general body meeting of the 2010-2011 school year. We had more than 100 people show up! We hope you all enjoyed the kakigori and had a good time meeting new people and this year’s executive board. We hope to see you all at our other great events this year.

Don’t forget, our next fundraiser will be October 8^th, so mark it on your calendar! We’ll hopefully be selling mochi, onigiri or both at once. We’ll be working on what to sell for all of

you and will keep you posted on what ends up happening.

If you would like to volunteer for our next fundraiser, keep your eyes on your email box for a message on how you can join in and help us out. See you all soon!

JASA ELECTION RESULTS

2010-05-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

The New JASA E-board
2010-2011
IS>>>
(top, from left)
PRESIDENT: Hiloshi Sasakula
VP of INTERNAL AFFAIRS: Jeffery Wey
PUBLIC RELATIONS chair: Vic Poonai
TREASURER: Woo Seok Yoo
(bottom, from left)
VP of ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS: David Toledo
VP of PROGRAMMING: Jessica Liu
SECRETARY: Jasmine Vinh
VP of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: Kat Henry

See you Next School Year!!

TASTE OF JAPAN

2010-04-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

Today, JASA hosted it's main annual event, Taste of Japan! Those who attended enjoyed authentic Japanese FOOD, watched some awesome performances, played cool games -- and 1 lucky person won a Wii in the exciting GAME SHOW!!!

Tickets were only $5 and we sold 285!!! Thats a new record!

Performances included: JPOP bands, Kendo (martial art with swords), and JASA's Team Soran!
Activites included: Gold Fishing, DDR, Calligraphy, Origami, Travel info, Fashion, Balloon game, Hand Sumo game, Photobooth and more!!

If you are looking for your Photobooth pictures, they are here!: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasaumd/2010TasteOfJapanPhotobooth#

Thank you to everyone who came out!!!

special thanks again to: AAST (http://www.aast.umd.edu/), MICA (http://www.union.umd.edu/diversity/), and Husky Heating Oil (http://www.huskyheatingoil.com/)

TEAM SORAN AT SAKURA MATSURI

2010-04-10T20:22:00.000-04:00

Today, JASA's Team Soran performed TWICE at Sakura Matsuri! (official site: http://www.sakuramatsuri.org/)
Presented by the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., Sakura Matsuri is nation’s largest Japanese street festival, stretching for six blocks through downtown DC!
These were definitely our best performances so far! Thanks to all who attended!

TEAM SORAN @ CULTURAL EXPLOSION

2010-04-07T19:48:00.000-04:00

Cultural Explosion IS Global Communities and Bridges' big spring event. It combines diversity and entertainment giving students the opportunity to represent and celebrate their heritage. JASA's Team Soran was the closing act for this event! This time we incorporated a fireworks theme! Thank you to everyone who came out to watch us! :D

6th Annual AASU Charity Wiffle-ball Tournament

2010-04-03T19:41:00.000-04:00

Today, 17 APA(Asian Pacific American) organizations participated together in a fun wiffle-ball tournament to raise money for Haiti quake relief efforts.
JASA and SYZ Sorority were teamed up as the "White Pandas" and won 3rd place!!

SORAN BUSHI AT NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

2010-04-03T19:31:00.003-04:00

Today JASA's Team Soran performed the traditional fishing dance called "soran bushi" as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC. (official site: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org)
JASA was honored to be a part of this festival and really enjoyed performing for everyone! Thank you to all who attended!

You can see video of our performace on youtube!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoIgjzeChyw

JASA FUN NIGHT

2010-02-19T22:25:00.002-05:00

Today was JASA FUN NIGHT! We played many fun games such as musical chairs (above)! The winners of the games won special prizes from Japan!!
See you at our next meeting!

JASA FUN NIGHT this friday!

2010-02-17T08:19:00.000-05:00

Come out for JASA FUN NIGHT!
we'll be doing "games and stuff like that"
and giving away a prize!

also, we'll talk about our big event of the year, TASTE OF JAPAN, and how you can get involved!! :D

Friday, February 19
5pm
Dorchester Hall (Basement area)

See you there!!

facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=478460780011&index=1

T-shirt Design Contest

2010-01-02T15:39:00.005-05:00

Looking for something to do over winter break? How about making a design for a JASA T-shirt!?!
That's right! JASA's T-shirt Contest opens today! Anyone can enter! The winner will receive a free T-shirt!
Here are the rules:

must use the template shown above
should have "Japanese American Student Association at UMCP", "JASA", "日米学会", or something referencing JASA on it (DUH!)
max 2 colors
t-shirt background may be white or black
may be 1-sided or 2-sided
no gradients or halftones
no references to copyrighted material (anime, videogames, etc..)
avoid using the rising sun flag> , as it was once a sign of the Japanese Imperial Military and is offensive to some
email your submission to jasaumd@gmail.com and put "JASA T-shirt" in the subject line. Include your name please.
Deadline: Feb. 1

JASU Formal

2009-11-14T23:47:00.001-05:00

Today Japanese American Student Union (JASU) hosted the JASU Formal at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza in DC (http://www.hamiltonhoteldc.com/).

What is JASU?? A collaborative organization comprised of Japanese organizations from various universities in the DC area, including: George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, George Mason, American, and of course CP! You can find the JASU facebook group in our links section!

Tickets were $20, and snacks were provided! Everyone dressed up and looked really nice!
We all got to know people from different schools, and had lots of fun dancing all night!
Also, a free domestic plane ticket was given away by AMNET travel agency!
After all the partying was done, many of us went out to eat!

Sushi Party

2009-11-13T23:32:00.002-05:00

Today JASA had a sushi pary!
Lots of people came and learned how to make temaki-zushi, or hand rolls! And, of course, they got to eat it too!

The event was co-sponsored with the Asian American Studies Program (AAST). If you want learn more about AAST you can find a link to their website in our links section!

2nd GBM

2009-11-06T22:22:00.001-05:00

Today at JASA GBM we played lots of fun games! (including the famous "telephone charades" which you see pictured above)
People also bought tickets for and learned more about the big event of the semester, JASU Formal! (more info here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161142752643#/event.php?eid=161142752643&ref=mf) Please email mdeason@umd.edu to purchase tickets!
Everyone also learned how to get involved with this year's Taste of Japan! (JASA's biggest annual event!)

ONIGIRI FUNDRAISER

2009-10-29T22:30:00.002-04:00

This Wednesday and Thursday, JASA sold onigiri (rice balls) for $1 each outside of Stamp.
We had ones with tuna filling and ones with no filling for vegetarians.
They were extremely popular and JASA made over $200 from sales!!

JASA is so grateful to the volunteers who helped make and sell the onigiri, and to the customers who bought them!

AASU Dish Network

2009-10-23T22:52:00.000-04:00

Today JASA members attended AASU's Dish Network event where they enjoyed a diverse selection of noodle dishes! They also got to know others in our community, and learned about the importance of representing the Asian American community at the Diversity Forum on the 10/27.

Each AASU member group was allowed to submit one type of dish, and JASA made yakisoba (fried noodles).
The public voted for their favorite dish and JASA and won!!! The prize was $100 from AASU! Thank you to everyone who voted for us!

ONIGIRI MAKING

2009-10-22T22:30:00.001-04:00

Today JASA President, Yuki, showed members how to make delicious onigiri (rice balls). This was in preparation for the famous Onigiri Sales JASA does for fund-raising!
And of course everyone got to eat the onigiri they made, too!

KARAOKE NIGHT

2009-10-09T23:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight JASA members enjoyed a night of karaoke! We had such a large turnout (28 people) that we had to rent 2 rooms!
If you missed it, don't worry! There will be more JASA karaoke nights in the future~

MOON FESTIVAL

2009-10-01T22:44:00.001-04:00

Today, JASA co-sponsored the Moon Festival with TASA, ThSA, KSA, VSA, CSA, and KPL.
JASA performed a skit based on this Japanese tale about the moon:

猿、狐、兎の3匹が、力尽きて倒れている老人に出逢った。3匹は老人を助けようと考えた。猿は木の実を集め、狐は川から魚を捕り、それぞれ老人に食料として与えた。しかし兎だけは、どんなに苦労しても何も採ってくることができなかった。
自分の非力さを嘆いた兎は、何とか老人を助けたいと考えた挙句、猿と狐に頼んで火を焚いてもらい、自らの身を食料として捧げるべく、火の中へ飛び込んだ。
その姿を見た老人は、帝釈天としての正体を現し、兎の捨て身の慈悲行を後世まで伝えるため、兎を月へと昇らせた。月に見える兎の姿の周囲に煙状の影が見えるのは、兎が自らの身を焼いた際の煙だという。

Long long ago, there was three friends; a monkey, a fox, and a rabbit. One day they found an old man lying exhausted on the ground. The three friends decided they would try to help the old man. The monkey gathered fruit from the trees. The fox caught fish from the river. They gave these as food to the old man. Only the rabbit, no matter how hard she tried, couldn't gather anything. Grieving over her powerlessness, the rabbit finally thought of something to help the old man. She asked the monkey and the fox to make a fire, and offering her own life as food, she jumped into the fire. Seeing that scene, the old man revealed his identity to be Taishakuten (Buddhist deity). In order to show the future of Earth the selflessness of the rabbit, he ascended the rabbit to the moon. This is why on the moon you can see the firgure of a rabbit. Around it is a smoke-like shadow, which is the smoke from the rabbit who baked himself.

At the JASA table we had a game where you would throw a stuffed rabbit into our hand made moon to win candy prizes!

JASU BBQ

2009-09-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

Today some of the JASA e-board members went to the JASU BBQ party!
JASU is a collaborative organization between several Japanese-related organizations in the DC-Metro area. At the BBQ there were students from orgs at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and of course UMCP!
We all met up at Fletcher's Boat House in DC and BBQ a bunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, and corn! Please check the photo gallery for more pictures and a video from this event!
There will be another JASU event in November, a formal dance/dinner party, and I hope you all will come~!

First GBM of Fall09

2009-09-25T17:17:00.000-04:00

Today was JASA's first GBM of the semester!
We ate snacks and talked about some of our upcoming events!
The nearest event is the Mooncake Festival on Oct 1, 7pm in the Nyumbru Cultural Center.
please contact Daniel (dhan12@umd.edu) for more info!
Also, some new photos have been added to the photo gallery, please check them out~

JASA Interest Meeting Fall09

2009-09-18T23:12:00.000-04:00

Today, at JASA's first meeting of the 2009-2010 school year, everyone had fun eating nagashi somen!
We worked hard to set up the bamboo pipe and make our own tsuyu sauce for the noodles, so we were glad the turnout was good!
The bamboo pipe fell over once, and water and noodles fell all over the ground XD
but other than that it was a great time, and we hope to see everyone again at the next meeting~