Japanese Program Georgetown University

Congratulations to George Rogers IV (CAS U2) and Yinzhe Liu (BSFS U3) on being selected as semifinalists in Category I and Category II, respectively, at J.LIVE Talk❗️

Let’s show our support and cheer them on as they advance to the final round of this exciting competition‼️

The Final Round will take place on Sunday, November 15, at George Washington University.
https://eall.columbian.gwu.edu/jlive-talk-2026-semifinalists

Kafalas-sensei, Sato-sensei, and Omori-sensei represented the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures at the inauguration of Eduardo Peñalver as Georgetown University’s 49th president! What a wonderful experience! President Peñalver delivered an inspiring speech, sharing his vision and goals for Georgetown, with a little humor mixed in, too! 😄 We are excited to see how many of his ideas and goals will become reality in the years ahead!

The choir and orchestra were fantastic as well! Omori-sensei was especially excited to spot Nancy-san singing in the choir! 😍 Unfortunately, she completely forgot to take a photo with Nancy-san afterward! 😭 Apparently, she was too busy checking out all the food! 🤣🤣🤣

We also enjoyed the reception afterward, where we ran into Kaneda-sensei and had a nice chat! And the food was delicious! Of course, we got especially excited about the desserts! 🤣 There were adorable Georgetown cookies, and Sato-sensei was particularly excited to find pastries that looked just like empanadas! They were filled with guava and were delicious! 😋 We also discovered that Kaneda-sensei is a regular at the empanada stand at the Georgetown Farmers Market, just like Sato-sensei! Who knew empanadas would be such a big topic of conversation at a presidential inauguration?! 🤣🤣🤣 What a special experience! We are so glad we decided to participate in this historic occasion! 💙

One little mystery, though. Omori-sensei somehow managed to lose her Vicennial Medal! 😱 She was allowed to walk with the other Vicennial Medalists, but where on earth did her medal go?! 🤣🤣🤣

Mori-sensei was the keynote speaker for the Japanese sessions at the FLAVA (Foreign Language Association of Virginia) Conference! 🎉 Her talk, “Reading in Japanese as a Second Language in the Age of AI: Connecting Theory and Developmentally Appropriate Reading Practices,” gave us so much to think about, especially how we approach reading instruction as AI becomes part of language learning. It also led to some great discussions!

The other presentations were excellent too, with lots of practical ideas we can actually bring back to our classrooms. And of course, one of the best parts of FLAVA is getting to spend time with so many wonderful teachers and friends from the DMV area! 🥰

Apparently next year’s conference will be at Kalahari Resort, which has a HUGE water park. 🤣 I’m already entertained by the thought of a bunch of foreign language teachers going down the water slides! 😂

And we had some raffle luck! Omori-sensei won the Día de los Mu***os cat she had her eyes on(plus chocolates! 😆), and Mori-sensei won a water bottle. No raffle prize for Sato-sensei, but she got to have dinner with her son, Julien, and his girlfriend afterward, which seems like a pretty good win! (And Omori-sensei tagged along too! 🤣) Such a fun weekend! ❤️

It was wonderful to welcome Catherine Wu (BSFS Class of 2026) back to the Japanese Table! A May graduate, Catherine will be heading to Korea next year to teach English. She also brought delicious treats to share with us! Wishing her all the best on her next adventure!

A creative afternoon at the Japanese Table! We explored the art of Japanese calligraphy and enjoyed seeing everyone’s beautiful creations. Take a look at their wonderful artwork‼️

JET Program Information Session at Georgetown University!
Join us for a virtual information session with a JET Program Coordinator to learn more about the program, available positions, and the application process.

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Time: 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Registration: Scan the QR code on the flyer.
Application deadline for the 2027 departure: Mid-November 2026

For more information about the JET Program, visit jetapplication.com or jetprogramusa.org.

Alumni Spotlight in Tokyo! 🇯🇵 We received a wonderful update from Georgetown alum Pauline Bu! Pauline relocated to Japan earlier this year and has opened her own art space, Shoyodo (相羊堂), in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo! 🎉

She would love to welcome Georgetown students studying abroad in Japan, alumni and friends living or working in Tokyo, and anyone traveling to Tokyo!

Shoyodo currently has a fall exhibition on view through October 8, so if you are in Tokyo, please stop by and check it out! ✨

Congratulations, Pauline! We are so happy to see our alumni doing exciting things in Japan! 💙 Shoyodo Gallery ギャラリー相羊堂

https://www.shoyodogallery.com/

🇯🇵 Free Japanese Tutoring is back! ✨
Karin and Kenzo are here to help! Check out the schedule and take advantage of this great FREE resource! 😊 Academic Resource Center

We had a wonderful evening at the “US-Japan Summer Party – Celebrating 250 Years” at the National Museum of Asian Art, hosted by the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC and Mitsubishi Corporation! 🇯🇵🇺🇸 The event was held in the beautiful museum garden, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather! 🌿☀️

We were especially happy to run into Nishida-sensei, our First Level Japanese TA! Omori-sensei hasn’t had much opportunity to get to know her yet, so it was great to have some time to chat outside of Georgetown. 😊 We also enjoyed seeing many fellow Japanese language teachers from the DMV area and members of the Embassy of Japan. We even had a chance to explore some of the museum exhibits while we were there!

Such a lovely evening filled with good conversations, beautiful surroundings, and connections within our Japanese language community! ❤️🇯🇵 Japan-America Society (DC) Embassy of Japan in the USA 🌸