At the Tanabata Festival, we enjoyed making decorations for the bamboo, eating nagashi somen noodles, and smashing a watermelon. The students heard about the origins of Tanabata, wrote their wishes on strips of paper and hung them on bamboo, and then had a go at nagashi somen. Some students were able to catch the noodles as they floated down the stream, while others couldn’t, but they all ate them with gusto. The students had a hard time smashing the watermelon, but when they finally did, they cheered and watched as they gobbled it down, blowing away the heat and creating some fun memories.