Category Archives: City Life

City Life, Host Families, Our participants, Uda City

Host families – They make all the difference

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[inspic=672,right,gal,0]Interacting with host families is always a unique and different experience. This is my third time traveling with World Campus – Japan, but I have no procedure on how to deal with new host families. You have to feel your way every time. I have experienced many fun families, we are always very nice and polite to each other. We have a great week together, and you we leave with new impulses and a cool new view on the Japanese and world culture.

Sometimes though, your family seems to match your personality better than other times. One of my favorite English words is “awesome”. I love animals. I love music. My sense of humor is usually hard to understand.

During my stay in Uda city, I was introduced to the Ensatsu family. The procedure on finding host families was to look for a certain item that would be in one of many boxes. Mine was a dog collar. At once I got a vague hope that there might be a dog in my coming family.

When I finally got home with them it turns out they have 4 dogs and 5 cats. The amount of joy that met me every time I entered the house from the animals was great. The family itself too was equally cheerful at all times. My host father’s name was “Osamu”, which sounds just like “awesome”.-a word the whole family immediately caught on to.

They bravely tried my Norwegian cooking, which usually comes with some skepticism.
On host family day they took me to the ninja village in Ueda, a day I know I’ll never forget. They helped me in every way they could when I needed to go see the dentist.

The last night, they even played some songs for me. I played and sang some songs I liked in return, and they listened with great interest. They even made amazing drawings in my “host family book”, that I know I will cherish forever.

It’s a funny thing about likes and dislikes. If there’s something you dislike it’s easy to put your finger on it. But when you really like something, it usually becomes part of you without you noticing at once. All of a sudden, our time together was almost over. I found myself really not wanting to leave.

And now that I had to leave, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I want to live my life when I come back home. It’s amazing how much joy you can bring to a family just with words, simple jokes, and a smile.

I am so thankful I get to spend time with all of you; Masako, Osamu, Masumi, Akari, Minori and Eri. I will never forget your kindness, honesty and great sense of adventure and humor. To me, those are all the tools you need to be a great world citizen.

And I know leaving the house is a challenge with 9 animals to take care of. But if the opportunity to come to Norway should arise, my door is always open. And I will definitely be back in Uda to see them.

The bond that is created in only one week is amazing.

(Henning, Norway)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Uda City

A moment in time

[inspic=625,right,gal,0]March 19th, 2009: Two hours. What is two hours to a resident of Muro-en, a district of Uda where the average age is over 85? With a life so rich with history and remarkable experiences, a couple hours with a band of foreign strangers might not seem that special. Nevertheless, observing the expressions of joy and glee on their faces when World Campus – Japan participants sang songs with them was quite touching.

It does not take much to make an impact on the lives of the elderly and yourself. Basic interactions such as songs or even a simple a touch of the hand can be meaningful.

“My favorite time in history is this moment with you people.” Muro-en resident

City Life, Our participants, Uda City

Welcome to Uda City, Nara

[inspic=626,,gal,0][inspic=624,right,gal,0]March 18th, 2009: It was difficult to say goodbye to Suita city, but the lush serenity of Uda city welcomed us with open hearts. The busy cityscape of Suita is now replaced with the peaceful and relaxing village of Uda.

On our first day in Uda, we took advantage of the beautiful scenery with a nature hike. Of course, no hike would be complete with competitive fun and games. Four groups of participants competed fiercely in six mini games including “kendama” and picking up peas with chopsticks. A relaxing hike, gorgeous scenery, interesting games, and pleasant weather… it was almost perfect except for the fact that the awesome team of “Happi Happi Pandas” somehow lost!

City Life, Suita City

Saying Goodbye to Suita, Osaka

[inspic=623,,gal,0][inspic=622,right,gal,0]March 17th, 2009: It is never easy to say goodbye. It is especially difficult when the bonds are so close. Because the families welcome you into their homes as part of their family, it is inevitable to establish such attachments. As such, travel days are always filled with tears of sadness, joy, and love.

Some will put on a brave face and pose for final photos, while others simply cannot hold back their tears at the thought of separation.

As we move onward with our journey, tears will always follow in our wake.

City Life, Suita City

Personal Day – Cows from Heaven

[inspic=621,right,gal,0]March 16th, 2009: Suita, Osaka offers many sites and attractions for personal day. There is shopping, Sumo, Universal Studios Japan, whale sharks, Kyoto, and much more. It is impossible to go wrong with any choice but a relatively short trip to Kobe is akin to a trip to heaven for the taste buds.

Kobe beef is world famous, with rumors of cows being fed sake and receiving massages. After savoring every tender morsel of the Kobe beef, I am inclined to believe the rumors of well pampered cows.

“I died and went to Kobe.”

Personal days, a chance to kick back, relax, and eat Kobe beef!