Four program presentations were held in two days in Leiden University. Nearly 50 Leiden students attended the presentation. Many WC-Japan alumni in Leiden shared their experiences to the participants.
Together with Mirjana Matic-Schädler of the International Office, Hiro Nishimura presented the upcoming World Campus – Japan 2013 program to the students of the Universität Liechtenstein.
Hiro Nishimura, Chairman & CEO of World Campus International, Inc. visited the Languages and Cultures Department of Arts in the University of Gent. There he informed the students about the World Campus – Japan 2013 program. It was the first station of his trip in 7 european countries.
I took part in WCI 2010’s 3rd Session in Ueda and Toride.
Being part of this program brought many amazing changes and opportunities. At first, I could have not imagined how this whole experience would be: the multicultural staff and participants, being in a foreign country with such a unique culture and customs and the thing that turned out to be my favorite, being inside the life of a regular Japanese host family.
Through WCI, not only we could have access to facilities and do things a regular visitor wouldn’t be able to do, but we can interact and live with locals. Additionally, even though it takes place in Japan, the program is not all about Japan; it’s about learning to see the world with a more internationalist point of view, knowing other cultures and losing biased prior views which we build throughout our lives. During the program I stayed with two host families, both were really nice and open minded to the “flaws” that we foreigners commit in Japan, such as using the toilet slippers inside the house! But with one of the host families, the relationship I built with them was so intense and strong that our relation got stronger with time. We exchanged mails and I was able to visit them one more time after the program. I such a great time during New Year’s holidays with them and they made me feel as a member of the family!
In a nutshell, the program made me open my mind to the differences, correct my pre conceptions about Japan and other countries, and most importantly, made me leave a part of my heart with each of the good friends I made there.
(Pedro Aguilar, Brazil)
Date of Activity: August 27th
Today we went to the Toyota factory. Although it was short, and we only got to see a small part of the factory, it was very impressive. The most amazing thing we saw was a line of robots that all moved at the same time and burned pieces of the car together. I felt as if I were in a science fiction movie. After that we went to the Toyota museum. It also looked a little futuristic. We saw a robot that had lungs and could play trumpet by itself, and many other cool things.
We had lunch all together in a Chinese restaurant – it was good! In the afternoon, the participants either had a half “personal day” or a half “host family day”. Together with Dieter (Belgium) and Maria (Norway) we went to the Osukannon shopping street in Nagoya. We visited a temple, and after on we went to a Neko café and a maid café. A Neko café is a café where you can pet cats and just relax. It was very calming, but we had the most fun in the maid café. A maid café is a place where you are served by girls in cute maid costumes. We got to eat delicious cakes, and we had the time of our lives – it was a great experience! The maids drew pretty drawings on our plates with chocolate and strawberry sauce. I recommend everyone to visit a maid café at least once – you won’t regret it!
(Tine Van Den Broecke, Belgium)
