All posts by Thomas Greve

熊本県荒尾市, 訪問地, 地域学習, 長崎県大村市

First Day in Omura

Evening party for welcoming participants

Day of activity: June 10th 2014

Due to some long flight delays with Air France, resulting in being re-routed to Tokyo followed by Nagasaki I finally arrived in Omura city at 7 P.M. My host family as well as Hiro Nishimura (the person in charge of WCI) met me at the airport and greeted me kindly. I was then driven straight to a warm welcoming party where delicious food was served by lots of smiling people. It was at this point that I realised I had made the right decision to visit Japan with the World Campus International company.

Ellis Jones (U.K.)

熊本県荒尾市, 訪問地, 地域学習

Shorinji Kempo Dojo experience

Interaction with the children and local community at the Shorinji Kempo dojo.

Interaction with the children and local community at the Shorinji Kempo dojo.

Interaction with the children and local community at the Shorinji Kempo dojo.

Day of activity: June 14th 2014

Today, we went to Shorinji Kempo Dojo. It was a very nice experience. I have been trainig Aikido for couple of months and in general I am quite interested in Martial Arts. I like to experience new things and learn different techniques. I was positively surprised when I saw that Shorinji Kempo uses similar techniques as in Aikido. But of course there are many other movements which are complitely different but used in a similar situation. The principle is the same as in Aikido and many other Martial Arts. That is to use Shorinji Kempos techniques in self defence only, and try to avoid fighting in every possible way. We trained today with Japanese children who train in the Dojo. They were really excited to meet us and eagerly showed us the movements. Other members of the Dojo were kind and welcoming. A mother of one of the kids even made a lunch, cake and Japanese tea for us. It was really delicious. Also, My Host Father is training in the Dojo and I went with him few times to watch the training. I am really grateful because I got a chance to experience Shorinji Kempo and learn more about it. We had a great time with the kids and took a lot of photos. They made my day and those memories I will cherish forever.

Bojana Bogdanovic (Serbia)

熊本県荒尾市, 訪問地, 地域学習

Kyodo – jyo

Fun at the Kyodo - jyo dojo

Fun at the Kyodo - jyo dojo

Day of activity: June 13th 2014

The Kyodo – jyo experience was a moment that I will never forget. Wathing movies like The Hunger Games, set my mind to experience archery one day. I expected to only expreience the thrill of hitting a target, but Kyodo – jyo had so much more to offer. I found the history of Kyodo – jyo quite interesting, but the best part for me was the proper forms involved before hitting the target. Not only did it look cool, though difficult, it cleared my mind. I even managed to hit my target which made me cry. This feat was followed by a medal by the students at the Kyodo – jyo which made me very happy. I really enjoyed myself and would love to try the Kyodo – jyo experience again.

Sauche Eiland (USA)

お知らせ, 参加生

Meet Amalie Holst Nielsen in World Campus – Japan Program 2014!

Amalie Holst NielsenMy name is Amalie Holst Nielsen I am 23 years old and from Denmark.

Currently, I am studying International development studies and Business Studies at Roskilde University, where the main way to study is by working in groups. Through my experience in group work, it has taught me the importance of cooperation, compromise and what can be achieved by working together.

Cultural studies and voluntary work have always interested me and have a big influence over the choices that I make in life. For these reasons I travelled with the development organization Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke to Kenya in 2009 and Israel and Palestine in 2012. Through these travels I gained a lot of experience in international group work, and discovered the importance of cultural exchange, which are some of my main interests.

After hearing Hiro-san giving a lecture at my university on World Campus International, I joined the program last summer, where we were able to see a more authentic side of Japan, than you would be given as a tourist, by being invited into people’s home and through local interaction, which proved to be an incredible experience and very learning.

After this trip I was convinced that WCI is an organization that I was very interested to be involved in, in order to be able to give others the same unique experience of Japan that I had been given last summer.

Looking forward to see you in Japan!

Best regards

Amalie Holst Nielsen (Denmark)

お知らせ, 参加生

Meet Joakim in World Campus – Japan Program 2014!

Joakim

Hello guys!

My name is Joakim. I’m Norwegian, I’m currently doing a bachelor in mathematics. I’ve grown to be very found of some parts of modern and traditional Japanese culture, such as visual kei, igo and shogi. This year, I’ll be one of the World Campus –Japan Program (WCJ) counselors!

For me, this is a great opportunity to give back to something that is very important to me. I first travelled with WCJ three years ago, and it was such an impactful experience that I repeated it the following year. My first time with WCJ was the first time for lot of things – it was my first time in Japan, my first time staying in a host family, and my first time meeting people from China, The Netherlands, USA and other places. These are among all unique experiences WCJ has offered and that is very important for me. I hope that all participants this year will also enjoy these unique experiences, possibly for the first time.

WCJ has given me a unique possibility to meet and interact with people from different cultures. In particular, it has made it possible to come very close to the Japanese culture via activities and, most importantly, host families. For me to be able to give something back to WCJ and make sure that you will have just as great experiences as I’ve had is something that I’m looking forward to do.

I can’t wait to meet all of you, and I’m sure we will have an enjoyable time together!

Joakim (Norway)