Category Archives: City Life

City Life, Mito City, Toride City

Good-bye Mito, Hello Toride!

Leaving Mito by Bus
Meeting Toride Host Family

Saying goodbyes have really been my least favorite part of the journey, which made yesterday a hard day. I had a great time in Mito. But just like life, people come and go, and I needed to move on. We got on the bus and said farewell to our host families, while many kids (host brothers and sisters) chased our bus for a long long distance, which actually made most of us cry.

We stopped twice during the bus trip, one time for a stop in a outlet shopping area and one time for a quick visit to a big famous statue of Buddha, which was huge! Then we moved on to Toride, where the Local Organizing Committee was already there waiting for us. Then WCI members were introduced to our new host families. It was really hard saying goodbye to a host family and adapting directly to a new one in such a short period of time. But my new host family is awesome too (my host sister, the 9-year old girl, can speak both English and Chinese and there is another exchange student from New Zealand living in this family!). I believe that my last week in Japan will be wonderful.

(Chong Li, China)

City Life, Mito City

Crafts Making Day and Good-bye Party in Mito!

Cooking for Goodbye Party
Ashwin's Birthday

For the last activity day in Mito, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) threw a goodbye party for the World Campus International members. Some of us were cooking meals from our countries, and some of us were partaking in Japanese arts and crafts, including making “misanga”, a braided bracelet or anklet worn for good luck, cell phone charms, a memo holder, and newspaper flower corsages.

As part of the cooking group, I was in the kitchen, with some of the LOC and Ibaraki University students. I was making Coca Cola Chicken (that’s right – Coca Cola) as a sous chef, and other dishes included Pasta Penne with mushroom/spinach/chicken sauce, a beef-noodle dish (mushy but yummy), Berthalina from Mexico made guacamole and salsa as dips for tortilla chips. Lastly, the LOC made chicken curry for our potluck.

Of course, everything turned out really delicious, and by noon we were ready to kick off the party. It was really cool to see everybody having fun and eating and shouting “Oishii!” everywhere, that was a nice way to say thank you to the host families. Afterward all of the host families presented a homemade sign with some personal writings on them, it was very touching. We also celebrated Ashwin’s (Holland) birthday (21! Congrats!). The day ended with a discussion among WCI members about stereotypes.

It was a great day! I went home completely exhausted, and now I’m ready for the next two more personal days (I’m going to the beach! :D)

(Maria Lisberg, Denmark)

City Life, Mito City

Arigato Evento in Mito city!!

Arigato Evento 1


Arigato Evento 2

Today, WCI members had a great opportunity to show their gratitude for people who were involved and helped our program in Mito. It was a fun event that offered the chance to share various cultural features of many countries, things that WCI members learned throughout the program, and also to have valuable interactions and experiences with host families and people in Mito city.

City Life, City Theme Activities, Mito City

Visit to a Senior Citizens Home

Ikebana with Senior Citizens


Interaction with Senior Citizens

Sakura Sakura ya yo Ino Sora-wami watasu kagiri…
The lyrics seem to regularly echo in my mind. It evokes my memory of the day when we visited Wateri-suzuran-en, a remarkable senior citizen center in Mito city.

It was my first encounter with Japanese senior citizens. At the beginning, I was worried about the event and a perfect day wasn’t really what I was thinking about. But today, World Campus International members received a good opportunity for a special visit at the Watari-suzuran-en, where we met some fabulous senior ladies and gentleｍen．

The day was awesome: from Origami to Calligraphy, from singing Sakura to performing Ganbare Nippon for them．At the end of the day, the wonderful lady seated in a wheelchair moved to the center of the room. With her best effort, she sincerely attempted to read a thank you letter, moving us to tears. We all felt so wonderful when the day was done, and I just felt like this whole world of friendship and possibilities have been opened up to us. That was the moment when I realize that the people in Watari-suzuran-en won a place in our hearts.

One Love.

(Aruminingsih, Indonesia)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Mito City

Sports Day with Mito Host Families

Rally walk


Suikawari

I got out of bed after only 2 hours of sleeping so today, I was really tired. But also I was so happy with many exciting and interesting activities with my team and host family. I hiked around Shizen no ie in Mito city for a prize. Even though we were the last group to arrive at the finish line, it was really fun and a great time to get to know the other team members. After that, I had a wonderful lunch with team members on the lawn and then I played soccer with kids who were really energetic. It was a very memorable time for me and I want to thank all the people who gave me such a great time today!

(Sangjun Shin, South Korea)