My Relatives in Japan

Kid Reporter talks to her grandparents and uncle after earthquake.

I have relatives in Japan who experienced the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

“I haven’t slept well since Friday, but I am grateful that everyone in my family is fine and I have a roof over my head,” my 74-year-old grandmother told me by phone this week. She lives in Yokohama, Japan. “I can’t bear to watch the television; devastation in northeastern Japan is unimaginable. So many people just washed away by the tsunami. My heart bleeds for them and their families.”

Yokohama and the nation’s capital of Tokyo are in the Kantou area, which now has scheduled blackouts to conserve energy. In the Yokohama area where my family lives, their scheduled blackout means four to five hours without electricity each day.

Subways and trains in Tokyo and Yokohama are affected by the blackout. Many lines have been suspended. As a result, my uncle now spends two to three hours each way to get to and from work. My aunt spends two hours walking to work every day.

“It is nothing, compared to what is going on at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the disaster area,” my uncle Masa told me. “I am very afraid of what is going to happen next.”

Uncle Massa has prepared “go bags” for his family, complete with energy bars, water, and passports.

There is a lot of confusion and uncertainty for residents in Kantou area. Gas stations have long lines at the pumps. Foods and daily products in supermarkets are scarce. The fear of radiation is spreading very fast after a leak was detected in Tokyo, 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the south from the Fukushima power plant. The discovery triggered a food, water, and gasoline buying panic.

“I try very hard to keep my children to feel safe and stay positive,” Uncle Massa said. “I am aware of the danger of the power plant, but at this point, but there is nothing I can do to change it. I try to bring them back to normal.”

My two cousins, who are ages 10 and 5, have been back in school since Monday, March 14. My grandfather Shujiro told me that as he felt an aftershock, “Everything will be okay, there are people working very hard. They are a godsend.”

—Cecilia Gault

PHOTO: Instant noodles have disappeared from supermarkets in Japan.  (Photo by
Masa Ikeda, Yokohama, Japan)

Learning Japanese

Language class in Ann Arbor sending messages of hope to kids in Japan.

I’ve been taking Japanese as my language class for a year now at Emerson School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I really enjoy it! My Japanese teacher Kayo Nakamura has given me such a wonderful opportunity this year to learn and appreciate all-things-Japanese.

Ann Arbor has a large Japanese community. I recently attended a Japanese cultural celebration at the University of Michigan so I could learn about the Japanese culture along with the language. The last celebration I attended was Oshogastu, which celebrates the Japanese New Year. I had the chance to pound sticky rice (mochi) with a wooden mallet (kine) in a bowl (usu).

When the earthquake hit, my teacher told us how bad the earthquake and tsunami had affected Japan. Her family lives in the southern part of the country. The earthquake hit in the northeastern part.

Radiation has been leaking from nuclear reactors at one of the main power plants. Kayo told her mother not to go outside in the rain because it might contain radiation. Many people from the Tokyo area were told to evacuate.

I saw the YouTube videos of the tsunami sweeping across the country leaving a trail of destruction. Cars and houses were tossed around like miniature toys. Many people in Japan are bracing for earthquake after-shocks, some of which have registered over 6.0 magnitude. The original earthquake was a 9.0.

Emerson school just announced two ways that students can pitch in to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. First, we can bring in our own money to donate to the American Red Cross. Second, we are writing letters of support to schoolchildren in the Sendai area.

Ms. Nakamura showed us how to write HOPE in Japanese: 希望.

Now, my class is writing cards filled with hope to send to the kids in Sendai, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. A Deputy Consul General to the Japanese Government will hand deliver our letters, notes, and cards upon her return to Japan.

I’m hoping that these letters will lift spirits by showing the Japanese people that schoolchildren from across the globe are thinking of them.

—Molly Pribble

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Molly Pribble with her Japanese teacher Kayo Nakamura in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo Courtesy Molly Pribbble)

U.S. vs Agentina Soccer Friendly

Soccer begins with some friendly matches and interviews!

My main goal covering the U.S. vs Argentina men’s soccer friendly was to interview 18-year-old U.S. forward Juan Agudelo, a rising star on the U.S National Team. I got so much more than that!

My dad and I drove four a half hours to the game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the New Meadowlands Stadium. After watching the exciting game that ended in a 1-1 tie, I walked to the "mixed zone," an area for the press, and excitedly waited for U.S. players to walk through for interviews.

The first player, goalkeeper Tim Howard, informed me of his personal goals for the coming year.

“I want to just try to continue to play consistently and definitely without question win the Gold Cup,” he said. “That’s a huge thing for us.”

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup is an international tournament in the summer that features countries in the CONCACAF region (USA, Mexico, Honduras, etc.).

Then I spotted Juan Agudelo! A security guard pointed at me and told Agudelo, “One more question with him and then we have to go.” Even so, Juan patiently answered three of my questions.

I first asked how he balances his career with his education.

“Every time I’m in the hotel, my mom always tries to get me to do my online work,” he says. “Education’s very important, you know?”

Agudelo had some great advice for kids who dream of playing pro soccer someday.

“Work hard,” he said. “If you really want it, you can tell that you want it. Everyday you’re going to play and dribble with a ball, no matter what.”

Lastly, the teen striker commented on how the U.S. veterans have helped him develop as a player.

“I just try to copy and learn off of them,” he said. “It’s amazing how professional they are.”

As soon as I finished speaking with Agudelo, the team representative helping me get my interviews, offered to bring Landon Donovan over to me. Of course I accepted! Donavan is a legend. My first reaction was, “Wow! I’m a 14-year-old kid, and Landon Donovan is walking over to speak with ME?!” I then pulled it together, to ask my questions.

Landon first discussed his decision to become a professional soccer player.

“I always said it as a kid, but there was no meaning behind it because there was no professional league here,” he said. “As I got older, probably 15 or 16, right when Major League Soccer started, I started growing into my body, playing well at that, and thinking that maybe this is possible.”

The U.S. soccer icon also expressed his feelings toward being a role model to American youths.

“It’s something I’ve learned to take very seriously, because when you’re young, you don’t think about these things,” he said. “The reality is that a lot of people are looking up to you. I try to make sure that I conduct myself the right way and that I’m someone people want to emulate. That’s in the back of my conscience all the time.”

Landon also had some superb advice for those wanting to play professional soccer.

“Have fun,” he said. “Anything that you enjoy to that extent, you’re going to be good at, right? If you want to be successful and you enjoy it, play as much as you can. There’s time for tactics and fitness and weight lifting, but all that can come later. Have fun, use the ball as a tool as much as you can, and enjoy it.”

—Kevin Agostinelli

PHOTO: Soccer forward Juan Agudelo,18, is a rising star on the U.S National Men's Team. He stopped to talk to Scholastic News Kid Reporter Kevin Agostinelli after the international friendly between the U.S. and Argentina on March 26 in New Jersey. (Photo Courtesy Kevin Agostinelli)

Learning From History

The waves crashed elegantly against the boat’s graceful curves as the ship’s engine roared to life skipping us across the river. The smell of salt water tickled our noses and stimulated our senses. We were aboard the Charleston Explorer on a journey to Morris Island to see a re-enactment commemorating the first shots fired in the Civil War 150 years ago. The boat’s engine rumbled to a stop as it collided with the sandy beach on Morris Island. In the distance, upon a grassy hill full of winter weeds, we saw Citadel Military College cadets standing proudly beneath their flag with muskets in hand and cannons by their side aimed and ready. It seemed as if we had stepped back in time.

First, we toured the period camp where the Citadel Military College cadets and re-enactors had spent the previous night on the island in solitude with temperatures of 20 degrees. A period camp is a camp set up to look exactly like the time period that is being replicated. The winds had ravaged the camp and sand was piled on the edges of their tents. We saw a fire pit at one end of the camp where the cadets would have kept warm and cooked their meal before heading to bed that night. 

When asked about his stay on the island Brandon Yelton said "It was an interesting night."

Everything seemed so real that we wondered if the cadets might have heard the cries of men from a 150 years in the past while sleeping. 

After we walked through the period camp and everyone was settled the re-enactors prepared to stage a reenactment of the first shots in the Civil War. Originally, Citadel cadets and militia that were stationed on Morris Island fired shots at The Star of the West. The Star of the West was a merchant ship that stowed over two hundred and thirteen Union soldiers beneath its deck, as well as ammunition and necessities for Union troops stationed at Fort Sumter. As the ship stealthily crept into Charleston Harbor at 1:50 am on January 9, 1861, the Confederate soldiers fired seven shots upon the Star of the West. The first two shots missed. However, the next two hit the hull of the ship and the last three shots were fired upon the back of the ship as it retreated to its escort ship waiting farther out.  

Steve Smith, a Civil War re-enactor and military expert, said “History is not black and white, but shades of gray.”

While we had mixed feelings about attending an event that commemorated such a difficult time in our nation’s history, we learned from the Citadel cadets and Civil War experts that it is important to reflect upon all of our nation’s history both the positive and negative.  This helps us to learn from our past mistakes and understand our history better thus, helping to make our country stronger.

Check out our video report from the Citadel re-enactment commemorating the first shots fired in the Civil War!

—Kid Reporters Faith Dalzell and Zach Dalzell 

What I learned from ESPN's Dick Vitale

It's March, which means March Madness! And March Madness means that Dick Vitale is doing what he does best: announcing college basketball games.
 
It's no surprise that one of college basketball most recognized voice is that of ESPN's Dick Vitale. Vitale is a Hall Of Fame broadcaster and has been announcing college basketball games for ESPN since the 1979-1980 season.

His passion and enthusiasm has made him the most well known college basketball announcer today. With his trademark sayings, such as, "awesome baby" and "diaper dandies," fans everywhere tune in to listen to Vitale's thorough knowledge and spirited style of broadcasting.

When I interviewed him at ESPN The Weekend in Orlando recently, he gave me some helpful tips on what kids should do if they want to become sports broadcasters, too.   His first tip was that you have to overcome the fear of the camera. To do this, ask your mom or dad to practice filming you on camera.

"I treat the camera like I'm talking to my buddies, my friends," Vitale said. "Make believe you're talking to all of your buddies."

He also suggested that kids watch some of their favorite people on television and study them. Take a microphone and practice auditioning by pretending to interview your favorite celebrity.

"Try to study the people they think the world of and take the microphone and shut the sound off. Into a tape recorder, tape themselves doing a game," Vitale said.


Preparation is also very important. There is short-term preparation and long-term preparation. Long-term preparation consists of all the information you gather before an interview. Short-term preparation is the work you do the day of an interview or telecast. Much goes into total preparation of announcing and interviewing. Dick Vitale makes sure to sit with coaches and Sports Information Directors at univeristies to get all of the necessary information.

"You don't go on TV and start talking without having knowledge to be able to give back to the people," Vitale said.

In order to acquire information, make sure to do research by using the Internet and other resources.

"Today there is so much information out there, because of the Internet," said Vitale.

Once you have your information, you have to sort it all out and find what you believe is good for a telecast or an article.

Vitale's talents and influences extend way beyond just game analyst. When he isn't busy telecasting or writing children books, he is very much involved in raising money for charitable events.

"I try to raise a lot of money for charities. My goal this year is to raise one million dollars for pediatric cancer to help kids battle cancer," Vitale said.

For more on Dick Vitale, visit dickvitaleonline.com.

And be sure to watch my interview with Dick Vitale on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

—Kid Reporter Topanga Sena

Photo: Kid Reporter Topanga Sena with ESPN's Dick Vitale after their interview. (Courtesy Topanga Sena)

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Would you ever want to be a sports broadcaster like Dick Vitale? What sport would you like to cover as an announcer or journalist? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Blast Off to Mars

What it’s like to cover a Hollywood movie press junket.

After beating early morning rush hour traffic, I finally arrived at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. I had my questions ready for the cast and crew of the movie, Mars Needs Moms.

I was covering a press junket for the movie, which “invades” theatres on Friday, March 11. I couldn’t wait to meet the actors in the movie I had just seen the night before at the Universal CityWalk Cinema in IMAX 3D®!

Members of the press were provided with a delicious “only-served-on-Mars” breakfast right before we were called to the conference room. The delicious "UFO" scrambled eggs, the scrumptious sausages covered with Mars' red dust (peppers) and the red bacon really satisfied my appetite!

Seth Green (Milo), Simon Wells (director and co-writer), and Robert Zemeckis (producer) walked up to the stage and took their seats in front of a banner showing the surface of Mars. I marveled at how performance capture allowed 36-year-old Green to portray 9-year-old Milo!

I raised my hand to ask a question, and when the woman holding the microphone finally gave me the hint that I would be next, they called “time’s up.” I was a little disappointed, but my questions were answered during the roundtables.

I had thought at a round table, the tables would be round, but the cast and crew actually sat behind a rectangular table to answer questions from the press. Roundtable is a term used for when several reporters are conducting interviews together. It has nothing to do with the shape of the table.

The biggest treat of all was getting one-on-one interviews with the cast and crew! Every actor had his or her own suite. Disney publicists brought press members to each room. I spent about 10 minutes with each member of the cast and crew talking and laughing. I felt that I could really connect to the heart of the movie as we discussed about their characters.

“I think you ask very good questions,” Joan Cusack (Milo’s Mom) replied when I asked her if she looked up to Milo’s Mom’s example of love. “It sounds like you have a very good mom, and you’re really smart, and that’s a really interesting question.”

I was ecstatic because I had spent a lot of time coming up with the questions. My mom was also on cloud nine when I told her Cusack praised her for being such a good mother.

Covering the press junket was a great experience for me. I had a blast, blasting off to Mars! Check out my movie review.

—Cassandra Hsiao

PHOTO: Actors (from left) Joan Cusak (the Mom/Good) and Mindy Sterling (the Supervisor/Evil) with Kid Reporter Cassandra Hsiao at a press event for the new movie Mars Needs Moms. (Photo Courtesy Cassandra Hsiao)

Three days in New York City

What did you do during your last school vacation? On Wednesday, February 23, my family and I left our home in Massachusetts and drove to New York City for a busy three-day get away. 

Day 1:

Soon after arriving at our hotel in Times Square, we took a cab to the Italian restaurant Otto in Greenwich Village to eat dinner. Both the food and the atmosphere were nothing like the restaurants at home; they were absolutely spectacular. 

In the waiting area, my family and I watched the chefs delicately cut delicious cheeses and meats and arrange them on serving plates. Their techniques were new and fun to watch. 

My clam pizza arrived with a mound of littleneck clams in their shells sitting on top of it. I had never seen this before, but it was delicious. I later ordered lemon sorbet, my favorite dessert, but Otto’s freshly-made lemon sorbet was exceptional. The trip was off to a great start!

Day 2:

On Thursday morning, we stopped by Scholastic headquarters in the Soho section of New York City. At the entrance, I smiled for a picture beside the statue of Harry Potter. Dante, the Scholastic Kids Press Corps editor, met us in the lobby and led us on a tour of the building. I also met and talked with Cathy, Kristen, Marie, Tyrus, and Brian, who all work with the Kids Press Corps.

The most surprising part about the headquarters was the colorful and vibrant atmosphere. Paintings which had won Scholastic Art & Writing Awards lined the walls, and the cubicles were decorated with posters, figurines, and even toys!

In the afternoon, we visited the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Built in 1943, the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid served during World War II and Vietnam, making seven trips around the globe and surviving five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike. 

Interestingly, the Intrepid itself serves as the complex for the museum, spanning the length of four city blocks. I was moved by the fact that people had lived and fought for our country in the same exact spot on which I was standing.  That night, we walked from our hotel to Majestic Theatre to see the renowned play The Phantom of the Opera. Throughout the play, I was frequently shocked by sudden special effects including explosions, combustions, and chandelier crashes. I’d expected to see a good Broadway show, but I left the theatre marveling at the play’s one-of-a-kind beauty and sublimity.  

Day 3: 

We took a subway to Astoria, in the Queens borough of New York, to visit the Museum of the Moving Image on Friday morning. This highly interactive museum featured moving-image artifacts and exhibits. I especially enjoyed watching a “behind-the-scenes” broadcast of a New York Mets baseball game. It demonstrated how the broadcasting director determined which of the dozen cameras that were recording the event would be displayed on television. That night, we took the subway to the Metropolitan Opera House. I had never seen an opera and was a little apprehensive. I realized that a real opera wasn’t much different than the Phantom of the Opera musical, and I really enjoyed it. 

We saw the opera La Bohème, which tells the story of young bohemians living in Paris who struggle with the hardships of love and life. I had wondered if I would understand an all-Italian opera, but the translation screen in front of me erased the language barrier and made the plot comprehensible. 

When we got back to the hotel, I was a little sad that the trip was coming to an end and we would be going home tomorrow. My trip to the Big Apple had been unforgettable, and I can’t wait to visit there again!

—Kid Reporter Kevin Agostinelli