Today we in the World Campus – Japan program went to a summer festival. I had been looking forward to it ever since I had heard about it, and it ended being a bit different from what I had anticipated. Some of it was honestly a bit disappointing while it still ended up being a very fun and memorable day.

We started the day meeting up in a building at the street where the festival was going to be held. We had a meeting, going through what was going to happen during the day and what we were supposed to do. After this we got an assignment where we would get a piece of paper each that we would then pass around to the people around us and write down our honest thoughts of each other. After this we had lunch, a short break and then it was time to change into the kimono that each and everyone of us had gotten as a gift. I am a bit taller than most so the kimono did almost not fit me but I still liked it and the sandals we got were not terribly uncomfortable either, it was time for the festival to start.

We had tent at the festival were we worked in shifts. Before my shift started I took a look at festival with a few other friends. We did not have time to look at the whole festival (mostly because we got almost lost looking for an atm) but we did manage to buy something to drink and one of my friends played a game in which she won a balloon. (I did not understand the rules of that game)

Surprisingly, I enjoyed working at our tent more than I did the actual festival. The world campus tent was a café where you mostly got something to drink and then chatted with us participants. Me and my Swedish comrade talked with quite a few different people through our shifts, and I did enjoy all of it.

Other highlights from the festival would be the nagashi somen that almost run through the entire street. Nagashi somen is when you have several pieces of cut bamboo with water running through it. Somen noodles run with the water and you try to fish it up with chopsticks and eat it. I find really fun but I had already tried it and the line to get chopsticks was long so I ended up not participating in this event. There was also a troupe of samba dancers who regularly danced through the entire street and a bit more. I had not expected the samba dancers.

Once I had seen the whole festival, all the tents and such, I was a bit disappointed because there were mostly food stands and I could not find any interesting food. Nevertheless, the festival was ending and the last event was a sort of discoish dance that we learned on the spot and participated in. Part of why that was fun was because we danced in our kimono and sandals which made it all feel a bit more accomplishing. The dance was a surprisingly fun ending to what had been a surprisingly fun day although for me the kimono was the highlight of the day. I think the kimono is one of the best souvenirs I could have ever gotten on my own and I will surely remember this day if only for that.

Adam Olsson, Sweden

First activity day in Isehara! Today we first went to Oyama elementary school. At our arrival, we got some information about the school. The staff told us that their elementary school was quite small with few students, and that the kids were very excited to meet us. We were excited as well!

Meeting the kids was so much fun. The interaction started with the WCI participants doing country representations, telling the children some interesting facts about their home country. It seemed like the children enjoyed learning more about other cultures’ food, nature and traditions. After the presentations, the kids performed their school’s anthem for us. In my elementary school in Norway we never had a school anthem, so for me it was really special to see them sing. We then had the chance to interact directly with the students. Mingling with the kids, we introduced ourselves and interacted with them by signing papers with name and country.

Afterwards, we were introduced to spinning tops, often used by the children at the school. A spinning top is a toy designed to spin rapidly on the ground. Made mainly from wood, it is set in motion by a rope coiled around it. The children taught us how to play. I got the impression that most of the participants struggled to get the spinning top to remain balanced on the ground. The children, however, were so good at it! It was really entertaining to observe their spinning techniques, and maybe pick up some tips from them.

Our next activity with the children was to exchange introduction cards. In addition to name and country, we were supposed to write down our favorite word in our native languages. I picked the Norwegian word “pølse”, meaning “sausage” in English. My number one food! It was nice learning about the kids’ favorite word, as well as sharing my own. Towards the end of our visit the children taught us how to write our name in Japanese kanji, as well as our name’s meaning. Writing my name in kanji was a bit difficult, but still very fun to try.

After saying goodbye to the children, we went to a 200-year-old hotel for lunch. The meal consisted of tofu-based food. Apparently, the Oyama area is famous for its tofu. The food was very oishii! At the hotel, we also received traditional costumes for our visit to the Oyama Afuri Shrine. We took a cable car up to the shrine. The ride gave us an incredibly nice view of the landscape, and a closer look at the mysterious fog covering Oyama’s treetops.

The priest at temple let us take part in a cleansing ceremony, in which he played on a large drum and cleansed our souls. He then began telling us more about the history of Oyama and the shrine. Some of the participants were also lucky enough to try on some traditional priest clothing. Lastly, the priest gave us a tour through the beautiful shrine. Afterwards we had some free time to head into small shops near Mount Oyama, before the day ended with a wrap up meeting at the Support Center in Isehara.

All in all, today was a very fun day with lots of new experiences. I would like to thank the teachers and children at the school for letting us visit the Oyama elementary school, as well as the priest at the Oyama Afuri Shrine for sharing his knowledge. Arigatou gozaimashita!

Andrea Voldnes, Norway