Date of activity: August 20^th

Today, we made “Udon” for lunch. “Udon” are thick noodles you eat with salty soup. It was made with organic flour, and it was chewier than any other “Udon” I have tasted before. But I really liked it that way – it was the best I have ever tasted.

We also drew the design for the bamboo lanterns we are going to make tomorrow. I decided to cut out the shape of the Kanji “空” (sora). It’s my favorite Kanji, and it means “sky”. It chose it because Abiko has a beautiful sky. Also, because of last year’s earthquake, a lot of people died or lost friends and family, and it made people very sad; I want to turn the sad feelings into feelings of hope.

(Maki Ohshima, Japan)

Date of Activity: August 19^th

Today was host family day, because it is a Sunday. Me and Goedele went together with our two host families (who are friends) to Disney Sea. We went in the afternoon to avoid the hottest time of the day. I had never been in any Disney park yet, but Goedele had visited the one in Paris.

Disney is very popular in Japan, but unlike in Belgium, Mickey, Minnie and Daffy are the most popular. I had never heard from Daffy before, and neither did many of the other WCI members. Daffy is Mickey’s teddy bear, given by Minnie when he had to go on a trip. Very surprising how something this popular in Japan can be totally unknown elsewhere.

Apparently it was a less crowded day, but I wouldn’t have guessed that inside the park, there were so many people! The park itself is a real piece of art, with several themed sections. In the 6 hours we were there, we did 3 rides, one theater show and the evening show in the water. Yes, we had to wait often, but it was certainly worth it.

(Dieter De Paepe, Belgium)

Date of Activity: August 18^th

In the morning after we arrived at the Kinrin Center, we learned more about WCI, and I found out that there will be a lot of interesting things waiting for us. Since we’re in this city called Abiko, we ought to learn something about it. A teacher came to tell us about the city and its history. Although I cannot understand very well, I was grateful that the teacher has taught us many things. We had curry for lunch, and it was delicious! The host mothers can cook very well.

In the afternoon, we started to learn the songs and dances for the Arigatou Event. Everyone was trying very hard, but it was very complicated. Especially the dances. But Kyle was teaching very sincerely. I still can’t dance well, so sorry to Kyle. Paulina was in charge of the songs – she has a beautiful voice. In the end of the day, we did an activity called “take a stand”. It was really fun, and I learned a lot of different things about the other participants. However, I didn’t speak much because my English is not very good. Goedele from the Netherlands was a very active speaker. It must feel nice to be able to say anything that’s on your mind. In the evening, I went with the host family to see fireworks. It was so beautiful! In short, this has been a happy and fulfilling day.

(Yueqi Wang, China)

8月18日
这是来到日本的第二天,早上我们在Kinrin Center集合完毕之后,在教室里学习了有关 WCI的事情,包括一些活动和规则,才发现在这个地方,有很多很有趣的事情在等着我们.我们所在的地方是我孙子市,当然需要知道有关这个地区的故事,一个当地老师来给我们讲述了很多关于我孙子市的概况和历史,虽然我听不太懂,但是还是很谢谢那位老师教给我们很多东西.中午吃的是咖哩,妈妈们的厨艺都很好,午餐非常好吃.下午开始学习集体歌和集体舞,这些都是为了感谢会的表演,大家很努力的学习,不过还是太难了,尤其是集体舞Kyle教的很认真,可惜我实在是手脚不灵活,跳不好呢,对不起拉Kyle & Paulina负责集体歌的部分,她的嗓子很好,随便唱一唱就很好听.最后玩了一个算是是非游戏吧,很开心,了解了很多不一样的想法,不过因为我英语不好所以也没发表什么言论,Goedele很活跃呢,羡慕她可以畅所欲言呢,晚上和host family一起去了花火大会,在河边看烟花很漂亮啊.这一天过得很快乐很充实,非常有意思的体验哦.

Date of Activity: August 17^th

I’m happy that I finally got the chance to visit Abiko city in Chiba prefecture. At last, 5^th session has started. Abiko city is rich with water and green, and is comfortable to live in. A common point with the neighbouring cities is that the average age of the citizens of Abiko has been going up. Apparently, the average age of the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) members is also high (says Head of LOC, Tanaka-san jokingly). This WCI 2012 program started in June, so now almost two and a half months has passed. For me it’s the first time to visit the two cities of the 5^th session, Abiko and Toyota, not only as a WCI member, but in my entire life.

Today was the first day, so we met our new host families, and they will take care of us for ten days. During the welcome ceremony, we were called by our name and country by the super energetic lady Tanaka-san. After we matched with our host families, we took a group photo. Compared with session 3 and 4, it’s a much smaller group, but I believe that we can make better connections with people, and we will leave in only two weeks, so each day I want to try my best!

(Rie Hayase, Japan)