On Monday we celebrated Sachiyo’s birthday with delicious fruit cake. Happy birthday, Sachiyo! We have two birthdays this week. I’ll turn 35 tomorrow. That number is higher than I feel! Sometimes, I think that I’m still twenty-something. Hopefully I’ll still feel young for another year.
Recently, we had cherry blossoms and “Hanami” celebrations around Fuji city, and they will be finished blooming around now. That means Golden week is coming soon! I’m going to Ireland for Golden week at the end of April. My daughter will be visiting Ireland for the first time too. I hope she enjoys her first trip and has a good time with her Irish relatives. Ireland doesn’t have a golden week, but there is a public holiday on May 1st every year. It’s called May Day and celebrates labour and the workers of the country. In some parts of the country, people dance around a “may pole” with ribbons to celebrate the start of summer. This year May 1st falls on a Sunday, so the holiday is moved to Monday May 2nd. There is a similar labour thanksgiving holiday in Japan in November.
Another thing to look forward to in May is Hario Camp 2016! It will be our third camp this year. We have lots of fun and exciting events planned and I guarantee all of our students will have an amazing time! It’s a month away but I’m already really excited about it. See you there!

Alan