All posts by Thomas Greve

訪問地, 長崎県大村市

Welcome Party in Omura City for the Feb – April 08 Class!

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On the evening of the 12th of February, a welcome party was prepared for the members of the World Campus International (WCI) spring session and the host families. We were treated with a sparkling performance of Taiko (Japanese drums), and then “Big Country Jazz Orchestra”, which consist entirely of amateur musicians. The great performance lifted everybody’s spirits. Participants of WCI and the host families danced along to the fantastic music.

My host father, Mr. Okuma, is the president of Up with Omura. He remarked that the welcome party was exceedingly pleasant and his heart was sobbing happily. He was extremely pleased with the enthusiasm shown by all the participants. He likes World Campus a lot because it is a program through which he can share his own philosophy and learn the culture of others. He really enjoys organizing the activities for us and mentioned he gets so much back in return. Therefore, he offers thanks to the participants for “being such wonderful people”. At the party everyone contributed and gained much in return.

I really enjoyed the evening and I am certain that all the host families, WCI participants, and Up with Omura members also did. Writing about a perfect evening isn’t easy, so I’ll summarize with a quote from my host father, “Meni Meni happi taimu!”

(Jotter Verhaeghe, Belgium)


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Bob Sloat on the Road

Bob Sloat talking with a potential participant at BishopGeneral Manager, Bob Sloat just got back from Quebec, Canada where he worked with WCI team member Tony Sheehan to meet staff as well present the World Campus – Japan program at the University of Sherbrooke on February 6th. On that evening, Bob also got a chance to talk with the Japan club at nearby Bishop University, followed by taking part in their campus Career Fair on the 7th. “We had a great turn out at all events and are thrilled to be working with these two universities! Thank you to all the hard work done by Tony and for the kind reception by Serge Gagné of the University of Sherbrooke as well as Julie Vaillancourt and Professor Hizawa from Bishop University.”

Other recent presentations include the University of Colorado at Boulder and for an international cast of Up with People. We had a great time with both visits and want to express our appreciation to the UwP staff as well as to the following people at CU Boulder: Melissa Rougeaux and the International Club, Jeanne Ulmer, WCI team member Ben Grafström and WCI alumnus Nick Zendejas.

This weekend, Bob will attend the Colorado–Wyoming International Opportunities Fair at Colorado State University in Fort Collins followed by a three week visit to Europe including stops to universities, schools and institutions in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark between February 20th – March 12th.

WCI’s Bob Sloat at the Bishop University Fair

Stayed tuned for more updates and be in touch with Bob at rsloat@worldcampus.org if you want to see if he will be at your school and arrange a meeting with him!

And don’t forget to check out the details for the upcoming June – August 2008 program at www.worldcampus.org/schedules-partners.html

参加生

A letter from alumnus Sean Cullen (Quebec, Canada)

Sean CullenI spent about three months in Japan although strangely, I have enough memories to fill a year! They are as vivid and colourful as if it was yesterday. I remember with an incredible accuracy my first thoughts when I heard about WCI; the excitement, the taste for adventure, the anticipation of learning and meeting strangers from all over the world. I also recall the uncomfortable feeling that accompanied me in the last days before I left for this life-altering trip.

The first month is about getting out of your comfort zone (pushing it further and further), making the first and most important learning about the unique Japanese culture, meeting people from all over the globe and learning from them. Life in host families, the Japanese environment and being in the program allows you to create a new life for yourself. A life in which honesty, trust and personal responsibility are at the foundation of the new character you become. Visiting incredible sites such as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Museums, the Hiroshima A-Dome and Matsumoto Castle were some of the great opportunities we had. We also had meetings with different guest lecturers such as two A-Bomb survivors; a university doctor that spoke about communication and the chairman of the board of education of Ueda. We also had the incredible chance to assist in the peace ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6th, the Ueda Washoi event and the Buddhist week in Omura! Unforgettable moments…

Having a handful of members leaving after the first month when Session 1 was finished, the priorities diverted from the initial learning to the creation of a big family in Japan. Experiential learning became internal communication learning (among the participants) and the bonds between the participants grew immensely creating a priceless international network. Also, dealing with these 14 different cultures and evolving in the Japanese culture allows you to naturally start introspecting and adjusting your thoughts, behaviours, etc, to international standards. The environment changed radically as we passed from big cities to the isolated city of Uda in the Nara prefecture. The second face of Japan was about to be revealed…

As the World Campus – Japan program came to an end, the last month in Japan became a moment of reflection about the changes and learning brought by WCI. Members shared their last memories together in what became their life in Japan. We had different important events such as the visit to one of Toyota Corporation’s manufacturing plants and the meeting with their P.R. representatives or the ExxonMobil presentation where some of us had the opportunity to communicate with important management members. Giving classes to students and assisting university courses where we would integrate or share international opinions to the topic were also on the menu. Finally, some members had the most difficult task of the program – leaving for home. The strong family created by the hard and good times of WCI made it incredibly difficult to let those people go. I myself sometimes had a hard time spending all my time with the same people every day but in the end, these friends, brothers and sisters who were part of me…. letting them go and leaving on my own was a tremendous task.

Finally, back home, it’s only then that you discover the real changes that operate in you. Your mentality changed, your knowledge increased, your interest and priorities were reorganised and you acquired (want it or not) a certain form of discipline and an energy reserve that can allow you to function more and longer than before. Besides, you now have friends and family all over the world that support you, understand you and that want to hear what you have to say. Facing your real self again, your environment and the person you became allow you to make final changes in your person and fix what had to be fixed and lets you take another great step towards wherever you are going.

To describe World Campus International in a few words, I would say: “Life changing, learning, appreciation for your own background, respect for others and yourself, lifetime opportunity and most memorable”.

If ever you are interested in WCI, please be in touch; I can only wish you can experience what I experienced as it might just change your life and in the long run change the world for the best.

Best regards & Peace,
Sean Cullen