Middle and High School Visit in Isa City

By Asbjørn Kallestad, participant of Session 1&2, from Norway

Asbjørn learning Origami from the students 2

Today we visited Okuchi Meiko Gakuen School a middle and high school. We first gathered in the school gymnasium with all the students and teachers, and we had a presentation about our home countries. Following this gathering, we were divided into smaller groups to have lunch, and do a variety of activities together. I was in a group led by a student aspiring to become an English teacher. We connected well and had conversations about ourselves and our goals as we moved between gathering rooms during this day.

In the first classroom, we were split into different tables with students. The students at my table were initially a bit shy; However, they gradually opened up, and we connected and enjoyed lunch together. The wonderful grandmother of my host family had prepared a delicious traditional Japanese meal for me, which I appreciated highly. Next, we had the chance to experience the art of Japanese Origami. I was taught the art by a skilled an enthusiastic high school student who aspired to teach abroad and to improve her English. She patiently demonstrated how to fold various types of origami, and I successfully made a swan, a jumping frog, and a balloon. As a memento, we exchanged signed swans at the end.

The following tea ceremony was for me an unforgettable experience. We entered a traditional Japanese room where beautiful music was played on the Koto, a Japanese instrument. Behind the student musicians was a lovely garden that could be seen through the window of the room. The atmosphere I experienced here was unparalleled. We sat down and observed the tea ceremony while the students in detail explained the entire tea-making process. Afterward, we had the opportunity to taste the matcha tea the students had prepared. From my experience the matcha tea had a unique flavour and I thought it tasted so good, leaving me with a wish to experience a tea ceremony again.

The entire event felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The whole school participated, and they genuinely showed interest in sharing their crafts with us. Engaging in various activities was incredibly exciting, and I learned a lot throughout the day. When we left the school, all the students gathered and waved goodbye to us; it almost felt like being a celebrity ^^ They took excellent care of us, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Later that day, we got to learn more origami, fill a Tanabata tree with wishes, and fold hats. The teacher who guided us was incredibly kind and patient when showing us the different steps of the craft. On our way out, a lady partaking in the event approached me and gave me a hat she had made, which was incredibly kind of her.

This day left me with unforgettable memories and experiences. I am very grateful that I was allowed to be part of this cultural exchange experience.

Isa City Experience (June 20th, 2023)

By Ezra Newby, participant of 2023 Session 1, from Texas, USA

Ezra visiting the famous Koriyama Hachiman shrine

This is my first time in Japan and the city that I am staying at for 5 days is Kagoshima, I honestly wasn’t really expecting anything spectacular because I heard it was a pretty small city. When I arrived I realized that I was very mistaken. When I drove from the airport to my host family’s house, I was able to see gigantic trees, with the greenest scenery you can imagine, a scene that hadn’t been tainted with large structures as far as the eye could see. That is something I hardly ever see living in Texas, it was a mesmerizing sight. Aside from how physically beautiful the city is, it’s extremely rich in history and interesting information that you wouldn’t ever know unless you went there. As for the locals there, everyone is extremely kind and humble, there was not a single time where I felt as if being a foreigner was a bad thing in the eyes of locals. The residents seemed as if they were eager to have people come and learn about their country and city which made the cultural experience infinitely better.

Introducing a new World Campus – Japan Program 2020 Counselor, Magnus Krumbacher!

Magnus Krombacher
Magnus Krombacher

Magnus Krumbacher is German and Norwegian but has lived in Norway for most of his life. He is currently a university student who is majoring in informatics. His interest in Japan was sparked sometime in highschool, during which he attended a Japanese language school. The great experiences from participating in the program twice enabled him to take a gap year in Japan after graduating highschool. During this year he participated in World Campus once more. Hoping to provide participants with the same great memories and experiences that he was provided with, he will be serving as a program counselor for the 2020 program.

His responsibilities will include assisting the technical management and making sure everyone has a meaningful and unforgettable experience.

Happi

koto experience
koto experience

Wednesday the 7th of August was the first day of the last week of our great trip around Kanto area. We had had lot of fun times in Mito and afterwards in Abiko, but now was time for the city of Tama.

The first thing in the morning, we got to try out traditional Japanese clothing – kimonos. Each member of our group was dressed up by a bunch of lovely and enthusiastic ladies, all the while we could only raise our hands and let them do their work. Personally I really like this type of clothing and found it really fun to dress up in a few different outfit combinations for the photoshoot we had afterwards.

When everyone had at least tried on the clothes and had some pictures taken, we had a small parade around the building. Some of us were a bit uncomfortable about being presented as dressed up foreigners for the entertainment of the local people, but I just took it by the stride and enjoyed my time playing a Japanese flute, shinobue, to make most out of the experience. The parade ended at a stage, where we could try our hand at traditional Japanese games, while still in our fancy clothes. Not gonna lie, juggling or playing with a kendama with big floppy sleeves was not the easiest thing to do…

After lunch, it was time to try on a different traditional Japanese costume – Happi coat. Though not as fancy as the kimonos, it was a nice experience to try those too. In our new costumes we continued onwards with activities. From here we showed the audience the dance we had prepared for the arigatou event and gave them a few short presentations of some of our home countries.
The highlight of the afternoon for me, personally, was the activity following that. We got to try our hand at playing either a Japanese harp, koto, or one of the Japanese flutes, shakuhachi. While I would’ve loved to try out their shakuhachis, time only allowed for us to try one instrument, so I had fund picking sounds out of the koto.

The last activity of the day made us feel like proper celebrities for we got to give out autographs. It would’ve been great fun, if the kids wouldn’t have wanted us to draw something along with giving the autograph. I decided to give my signing seat to another participant after a few signatures to save the rest of the kids from my… “Art”…
All in all we had great fun!

Oskari, Finland

Unique Access to Japan!

close

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • RSS
  • Follow by Email