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World Campus International の使命の大部分は日本の地域社会と交流し、国の文化、基準、そして価値観をより深く理解すること。地域社会との初めての交流を通じて、日本の人々が自分たちの伝統、作業方法、そして思考をどれだけ熱心に分かって貰おうとしているのかが僕には明らかになりました。僕達が持っている日本に対しての先入観にも熱心に耳を傾けてくれました。

初めての儀礼訪問では上田市長に会いに行きました。スタッフの有紀さんが通訳役で、訪問中のやり取りは日本語で行われました。口調は友好的で丁重、かつ改まっていました。始めに市長らが用意して下さっていたPowerPointのプレゼンテーションで上田市の概要（位置、見所、人口等）を学びました。人口十六万人で長野で三番目に大きい市は工業、学業、そして科学を調和的に連携している事で知られています。更に、アメリカコロラド州のブルームフィールドやスイスのダボス等の姉妹都市を世界中に持っています。

自然に恵まれていること（それも特に鉱物や蛍に）を上田市全体が誇りに思っているととても感じました。地元では毎年蛍祭りも行い、全国にこの見所をアピールしています。実際、市長からこの行事に招待もしていただきました。

最後には市長から上品や手ぬぐいを含む記念品をいただきました。僕達も市長さんに僕らの国の政治家やビジネスマンからの手紙を渡しました。

（デンマーク出身ダムガード・クリスチャン）

The first stop in the 2007 World Campus -Japan tour was Ueda, Nagano. Participants and staff from around the world met each other and had no idea what to expect. But with time and experiences during the first two successful weeks, we have all become even more excited, are getting to know each other better and looking forward to the upcoming cities and adventures. Here are some highlights from our first community visit.

The Wasshoi event was a fun and energetic activity that was not only shared by the participants of World Campus International, but also by the whole community of Ueda. Wasshoi is a summer festival and the sound made while lifting heavy objects here in Japan. During this festival, people carried portable shrines called omikoshi. It was quite a sight! Those carrying these large wooden objects were having such a great time and that positive energy carried over to everyone else nearby. Some of the World Campus participants and host families even joined in on the fun by dancing with Ueda locals. It was a great experience to take part in this Japanese tradition. 

With our city theme being “Educational Systems”, we had a chance to listen and talk with the Superintendent of the Board of Education for Ueda City and were also invited to visit all the schools in the Maruko district of their community. As you can imagine, the children at these schools were quite excited to take time out of their regular routine to engage with representatives from around the world!

We realized and talked about the distinct differences between the Japanese school systems and the systems in our own countries. This discussion also included special education and adult education and the efforts made to meet these needs in Japan.  One issue that was highlighted and very emotional was the discussion of pressure put on students as well as “bullying”.  Although the Japanese are a highly educated people with an almost 99% literacy rate, there are still challenges with overcoming the social pressures that very much contribute to one’s school experience.

Well, that’s all for now. We do want to sincerely thank all the people in Ueda city for making our stay in their city so comfortable and rewarding! Domo arigato gozaimasu.