Category Archives: Omura City

Arao City, City Life, Hiroshima City, Mito City, Omura City, Tama City, Toride City

A Reflection on World Campus International Summer 2009 Tour!

Meeting Great Host Family


Ray from America and Ashwin from Holland


Having fun in Greenland

Okay, wow. First of all, traveling with World Campus International this summer was my first trip outside of Europe and my first trip alone for more than 2 weeks. At first I was a little bit scared. Who will I meet and what will the program be like? Of course I read a lot about the program on the website, but still I could only create an image, which might be different from the real thing… and it was different. All the people I met there were so friendly and open! I am now back in my country called Holland and only now I realize what kind of people I met there and how they changed my whole lifestyle and way of thinking.

I completed all three programs of World Campus International this summer. I visited 6 different cities, lived with 7 different host families and each stay was an experience on its own. I met friends in Japan with the same interests as me, friends with the same passion, friends with a different way of thinking and friends with other customs. I never thought I would meet such a variety of people! Even when I met more than one person from one country, none of them had the same personality or interests. That was the beautiful part of the diversity I encountered. For me, I did not just meet people from Taiwan, Norway, China or Japan; no, I met people who became good friends. I never ever thought that I would get so close to the people I met in the World Campus – Japan program.

The life in Japan I lived was so different from the life I lead in Holland. Not only because it took place in Japan, but also because I was immersed in the World Campus – Japan life. At times we had a busy schedule and I was tired from the program, but it was all worth it. The things I have seen and experienced, shaped my imagination and helped me form opinions on matters like education, international relations and the role of media within the society. Also, my thoughts on different food, customs and languages. Personally, it was weird to speak English every day, but the more I talked with my friends, the more I became accustomed to it. Not only did I learn English, I picked up a little Japanese, Chinese, some Korean and even some New Jersey slang.

I have gained so much. Now, I am sitting in my chair in my house in Holland looking at pictures and videos from the program, reliving the moments. I am trying to reflect on the whole program, but I am still in Japan with my thoughts. I cannot reflect on my experiences if I am still there, can I? When I look at all the pictures and videos, I have come to realize that the time in Japan, which I enjoyed to the fullest, is over.

It might seem sad that the end of the program came. But, it is not the end of World Campus (cliché, but true). I am staying in contact with my new friends on Facebook and mail (people who are reading this and have no Facebook; get Faaaaaaaaaaacebooooooooook!) and I talk to them about everything and nothing as if we were never separated from each other. I think making connections with new people is the focus of World Campus International. Because, truthfully, the program would never have turned out the way it did without the people who were participated.

Thank you for this wonderful time and experience. See you soon!

(Ashwin Ramjiawan, Holland)

City Life, Omura City, Tama City, Video

Looking Back – Summer 2009 Program 1

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WCI summer 2009 program 1 video



Videolink

Now that the 2009 summer tour is over and the blog posts are at an end, it is time to take one more look at each of our programs. We start with program 1, July 5 – July 22 in Omura and Tama. It was an intense and emotional program. We spent some time with a survivor of the atomic attack on Nagasaki, we took a day in each city to explore Japan’s education system, we were able to get to know some Japanese college students, and we saw, first hand some of the martial arts secrets of Sorinji. While everyone who was involved with World Campus International will have their own favorite moment, mine came when we visited a school for physically and mentally handicapped students. I was inspired and amazed at the strength of the students and faculty members. Take a look for yourself. This highlight video of summer 2009 program 1 will give everyone a taste of what World Campus – Japan does during our tours.

(Jay Kinsel, Production Manager)

City Life, Omura City, Tama City

We have arrived in Tama!

Going to Tama by Bus

Although we’ve only spent a week in Omura, Nagasaki, it was hard for all the World Campus International members to say good-bye to our very first host families. However, we must continue with the tour and switch our minds from the peaceful country side of Omura to the fast-paced city life of Tokyo! So, after a short flight from Nagasaki, Kyushu to Haneda Airport, we have finally arrived in Tama, the heart of Tokyo!

City Life, City Theme Activities, Omura City

Learning about Shorinji Kempo

Shorinji Kempo Greeting


Shorinji Kempo Demonstration

It was such a cool experience visiting Shorinji Kempo! All that we did made my day; Lecture on a great martial arts style, chicken curry lunch (I ate 4 bowls of rice with it!), learning the routines and real techniques of grabbing & kicking, practicing them with my fellow WCI members, and finally just hanging out with the Sensei and disciples who were mostly lovely Japanese kids! I got to know and learn another great martial arts style apart from Kung Fu, Karate, and Judo. Moreover, I gained a sense of Japanese manner and culture from Shorinji.

With “Goho, Juho, and Seiho”, Shorinji Kempo maintains characteristics of various martial arts styles such as Tai Chi, Karate, and Aikido, and it requires the uniform of physical fitness and Zen, which is high state of mind. Since I practice Chinese martial arts and Shorinji Kempo is named after the famous Chinese martial arts school Shaolin Temple, I was able to quickly understand the philosophy behind the fighting skills, which combines the idea of developing personal strengths both physically and mentally and great courage to protect people and a strong sense of justice.

From the way of greetings or the chinkon practice, on the other hand, we saw Japanese manner and discipline. Manner plays such an important role in Japanese society, so greetings are so important in this way. Show respect to rivals before practicing, perform routine of Chinkon Gyo all together, and keep in mind that happiness is half for oneself and half for others. Shorinji Kempo totally shows the features of Japanese culture.

Apart from the martial art itself, meeting the Shorinji masters and students per se is such a fun and worthwhile experience. Take me as an example that I felt so gracious to meet two 8 year-old students, and we quickly made good friends to each other. Without a language in common, we had a poke war to start with, and then we turned to rivals for Kempo practice. They taught me several moves and asked me in Japanese some questions about China, so I lifted him up over my shoulder in return, which seemed to be a lot of fun for him and tried to answer their questions with my shabby Japanese. As the mother of the student later told me, he likes China very much and had learned a lot of stuff about that. This sheer international friendship was already more than enough to make my day!

(Kun Zhang, China)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Omura City

A Day in Japanese Elementary School!

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David at Japanese Elementary School

World Campus – Japan visited Takematsu Elementary School of Omura, where I took part in a second grade class of thirty 7-year-old kids. As I don’t speak Japanese, reading class was quiet impossible for me. However, during math class I had a chance to prove my math skills. After having lunch and cleaning the classroom, we got ready for swimming. We had great fun doing different exercises in the swimming pool and most of the time I felt like the main attraction on a playground of 120 kids. Sadly, soon it was time to say good-bye. I received different beautiful presents and even a cute love letter 🙂

Visiting a Japanese elementary school was a great opportunity for me to get insight into the Japanese education system and get in contact with foreign children, even if it was impossible to communicate with words. I’m sure the school kids had the same unique and exciting experience and they will remember this extraordinary school day for a long time!

(David Hollenstein, Austria)