Last June, we asked our alumni to 'stay in touch'... something we heartfelt do every year. At the time, Dimitri, who you may recall from a previous blog article regarding his creation of a successful periodic table iPhone application, was waiting to hear which high school he was going to attend during his gap year in Japan... a country he chose so he could learn Japanese. Well, Dimitri recently wrote to update me on his adventure, and I'd like to share it with you.  He wrote:

"As for highlights, I guess the fact that I am now nicknamed "CD" (pronounced "Shee-Dee") in English class is pretty funny, because whenever I read their text book out loud, I sound like their CD that they listen to. Other than that, the English teachers (one for writing, one for reading) can't speak any English. How this is supposed to help the students, I have no idea. I would say that I feel the same friendliness from this school that I felt from LILA, making it quite easy to blend in.

The entire High School, which is composed of grades 10, 11, and 12 (called 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year respectively), stands at about 200 students, while the size of the school itself is much bigger than LILA. The classrooms are all in one building, and teachers change rooms while students stay in the same room all day. There is also a stable with a horse track, and another building for club activities. My class (11th grade) has 19 students, and we have 6 classes a day, all 50 minutes long, with 10 minute breaks in between. There are no recesses, and lunch is 45 minutes. School is from 9:05 to 4:05, with 15 minutes of homeroom before and after a day of classes.

Other than English, Math, and Chemistry, I believe I'm failing every class. History, which was already close to being a lost cause, is now well beyond me, as I don't understand a single thing the teachers (one for Japanese History, one for Ancient World History) talk about. Biology is bringing in new, Japanese terms which I can't even write out even if I tried. Classic Japanese is also an epic fail, since I'm barely grasping modern Japanese. However, the teacher is trying to help me, so I understand a tiny bit of it. English is ridiculously easy, and I find myself correcting the teacher quite often. Math is also quite easy, since it doesn't compare in any way to HL Math. I'm just glad the number system is the same.

As for the reason I'm in 11th grade, it's quite simple. The Japanese High School year starts in spring rather than September, so if I entered into 12th grade, I would be done with school in 5 months and have nothing to do. That, and the fact that 12th year would be rather uneventful because students would be studying for entrance exams for college.

As a final note on the school, it seems I'll be going to Australia as a part of a school trip in November. I guess I'll be my class's translator.

I am currently living in Oume prefecture, which is northeast of central Tokyo, about an hour or 2 away. There is a lot (a lot) of greenery everywhere, and very few large buildings. To get to school, I take a bicycle to the station, take two trains, then a bus every morning. The whole thing takes about an hour and a half. The house I'm living in is quite average by Japanese standards, but still pretty small from my point of view. However, I find the lack of room makes it seem quite comfy for some unknown reason. My "room" is actually an extension of the living room, with three sliding doors separating the two. My bed is a futon that I have to set up and put away every day. My family is super nice, so I'm quite happy on that front. They also know how to make really good Japanese food, which I am eating constantly because it tastes so good. Even though I am actually eating more than I did back home, I am finding myself losing a little less than half a kilo a day. How that works, is a mystery."

Typical LILA graduate - thinking outside of the box, so to speak, not afraid to challenge himself.

It somehow seemed appropriate to launch my yearly Head of School blog by celebrating the success of a very recent graduate.  The first week back to school, I was greeted by a very proud mother who had just learned that her son’s book of poetry was being published and picked up by Skylight bookstores.  Cameron Lange, a stellar graduate of our 2009 International Baccalaureate class, is a master of many things: at LILA he was an active participant in the sports leagues, playing on both the championship high school basketball team last year as well as on the adult student-teacher champion soccer team. He was also a big part of LILA’s music program, playing both in the school band and singing in the choir that sang the national anthem at the Staples Center to open a Clippers game last March.  Well, to his list of accomplishments we now get to add “published poet.” 

His mother explains that he started submitting poems online to the 10k Poet site.  The site, which has been running for almost two years, started to feature his poems (he has quite a following ... with people even leaving messages).  The site then developed an online magazine where Cameron was one of 10 poets featured and apparently got 40,000 hits.  They then started to stream online - a 1 1/2 hour weekly radio program, and they even asked Cameron to host a couple of times.   The guy running the site then decided he would start to publish and asked Cameron if he could publish him (There's no ISBN number as yet!)  

Once published, Cameron took his book to Skylight; they reviewed it, and have agreed to take it on. He is also in talks with two other independent bookstores in Los Angeles, and negotiations look hopeful.  

And, of course we wish Cameron the best for his university studies at York this year!

"Sometimes" (from his newly published book of poetry:  Chaotic Rhythm)

sometimes

the turbulence

gets so strong

I smile,

drop my illusion of control

halt the industry of my heart

encrypt the nuclear codes

give myself back

to a music

I had forgotten

to listen for

Félicitations à nos élèves de terminale qui ont passé leur Bac avec une mention bien!