Monthly Archives: April 2009

Abiko City, City Life, Host Families

A message from the Takeshi Tsubata – Host Family in Abiko

host families bonding


saying goodbye


difficult goodbyes

This was my third time as a host family for World Campus – Japan. Their visit here in Abiko was 10 days and the time spent with them passed by very quickly.

I learned lots of things throughout this program even though it was my third time. What the members of WCI left for us was “Kizuna”, or a meaningful bond. It is also an original song written for WCI, which is sang by all the members.

After seeing off the bus which members were on, the host families in Abiko were still there, not wanting to leave. Later on, many host families started to say to each other “let’s meet again!”, “let’s set a time to discuss our feedback of this program”, “please come and visit my house!” and so on. We had a great time with the WCI members but we also had a chance to get to know other host families. And this was a valuable as well as meaningful opportunity for me.

Because of this program, I would like to reconsider my perception of my city again. I believe I can find something new in this city, and I am so excited now.

Takeshi Tsubata (Abiko host family)

City Life, Community Partners, Our participants, Our Partners

World Campus International Reception Party

World Campus International Tokyo reception: guests enjoying the reception


World Campus International Tokyo reception: Nicolina singing kizuna


World Campus International Tokyo reception: optimistic future

After an annual board meeting in Tokyo, a reception party was held for board members, representatives of Local Organizing Committees, road staff, and supporters of World Campus International. Philip from Germany was also invited to share his experience as a participant in the program thus far. There was a brief presentation of the current state of the program and the short term and long term outlook was also outlined. The night was a huge success as the fifty or so guests had a chance to mingle and chat about World Campus International.

Nicolina even regaled us with a wonderful rendition of “kizuna”, an original World Campus International song. A wonderful time was had by all including those suffering from enormous jetlag.

Abiko City, City Life, Our participants

Happy surprises

suprise meetings are great


fun with suprise visitor

World Campus – Japan receives quite a few unexpected visitors. Most of the time it is very random but very rewarding. An interesting pack of foreigners definitely attracts attention.

During our stay in Abiko, serendipity struck again as we met Michelle from Australia. She was actually visiting her brother, who works in Japan. A Japanese friend saw a flyer and told Michelle about a group of foreigners were taking a nature walk.

“I wanted to meet this international group and actually see some nature instead of shopping.”

Although it was her first day with us, Michelle seemed right at home as a member of World Campus – Japan during our walk around Lake Teganuma. Everyone enjoyed her company and we really appreciate her for joining us! Our time together was limited but the experience will never be forgotten.

“It was a very peaceful walk with a very fun group of people! The walk was relaxing and I met a lot of people, it was good.”

Abiko City, City Life, Our participants

I’m in Japan!

crafting chopsticks


painting shells


personal day in Tokyo

Wow, finally… I joined the World Campus – Japan program. It was difficult to wait three long months for the Spring program to start as I couldn’t wait to experience this global community. But now I am finally in Japan! This exciting moment in my life started from April 26th, 2009, when I arrived at Narita International Airport.

My first city in Session II was Abiko city, a small yet beautiful city surrounded by wonderful nature, including the impressive Lake Teganuma. As activities involving nature is still in my top five hobbies :-), the walking rally around the lake was such a wonderful experience. We did many other things in Abiko also, including making chopsticks, potluck party with foods from around the world (yummy…yummy), paper making, a nature walk at the “yatsu” area, and the list goes on.

As Abiko is near Tokyo, I was able to experience one of the main metropolitan cities in the whole world! Experiencing that city is such a big event for me. Seeing the city lights of Tokyo at night from Tokyo Tower, where all the skyscrapers seemed like they were soaring, walking around the famous districts of Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and the wonderful Meiji Jingu Shrine was just amazing.

And of course, the most valuable thing I had in Abiko was my nice host family. Many thanks to the Nakamura family, Junji, Kazuko, and their cute little son, Kotaro. They all made my time in Abiko very precious, as they really showed me the real hospitality of Japanese people. They were really eager to learn about different cultures, so when we shared stories with each other it was a very nice time and most importantly, very memorable for each of us.

(Yohanes Siem, Indonesia)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities, Our participants

Chopsticks

self made Chopsticks


self made Chopsticks

Chopsticks. It is the essential eating utensil for Japanese people. They use it to eat everything including salad, pasta, and even jello! There would be complete chaos if the two slender pieces of wood are missing.

It was then a very special treat for World Campus – Japan participants when we had the opportunity to make our own bamboo chopsticks! Smoothing the edges of two matching pieces of bamboo was actually much more difficult than it sounds. The actual process of sanding had to be fairly precise in order to craft a matching pair. As with anything handmade, imperfections are great as they show a more personal touch!

These handcrafted chopsticks are a great memento, even for those of us who are still learning to use them 😉