All posts by Thomas Greve

City Life, Host Families, Our participants, Toyota City

Random Fun on Host Family Day

[inspic=801,,fullscreen,400][inspic=783,right,fullscreen,400]Host family days are always interesting. Most of the time, the families are really excited and have extravagant plans to show you the most famous sites of the area, like a castle or amusement park. On occasion, you will just want to spend some quality time at home with the family, playing video games, watching a movie, or just hanging out. All family are different and such, all host family days are unique.

Even though I have experienced quite a few host family days in my time with World Campus – Japan, I am still surprised by the variety. In Toyota city, my host mother, Masako (Princess!), offered a rather unique experience for me on host family day. She is actually studying Mandarin, so in the morning I sat in on her class. Although I am also studying Chinese, I never expected to be in a Chinese class taught completely in Japanese in Japan. It was just so odd and unexpected but that is also what makes it so enjoyable and unforgettable. The randomness of it all continues to amaze me.

Guang Yeung (USA/China)

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

Graceful Reflection of Abiko

Grace Dance Video


[inspic=765,right,fullscreen,400]Japan is awesome! Last week we were in Abiko, a friendly city just outside of Tokyo. Abiko is a great city composed of green parks, open spaces, and friendly people. Everyone was very welcoming and eager to share their culture as we shared ours. Kudos to Tanaka San (a.k.a. Boss) for organizing super-fun activities! A warm thank you to the volunteers and families who made our stay in Abiko most memorable. And a shout out to the Suzuki family, my host family!

Everyday in Abiko was so much fun! We played soccer with local teams, explored nature with caring citizens, and danced with traditional performers. The latter is one of my favorite Abiko memories. I got to wear a really cool mask and costume just like the three other performers. The rhythmic beat of the drum and soulful sound of the flute guided my steps; the melodic fusion energized my body to dance. As corny as it sounds, I felt ‘one with the music.’ It was so much fun!

Another treasured memory was dancing Abiko’s traditional dance (Kappa) with everyone after a successful Arigato Evento! Among us were different generations, different stories … yet the same hands, the same smiles. In a circle we were one as we danced our last dance, the dance of generations past.

Grace Cornejo (Canada)

Abiko City, City Life, Host Families

A message from the Takeshi Tsubata – Host Family in Abiko

[inspic=764,,fullscreen,400][inspic=763,,fullscreen,400][inspic=762,right,fullscreen,400]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

[inspic=760,,fullscreen,400][inspic=759,,fullscreen,400][inspic=761,right,fullscreen,400]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

[inspic=755,,fullscreen,400][inspic=756,right,fullscreen,400]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.”