Category Archives: City Theme Activities

City Life, City Theme Activities, Kumamoto City

Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto

July 23, 2013 Thomas Greve

Today, we went to Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto. This hospital is unique because of the so-called Stork’s Cradle, where people can give their baby away anonymously. Before the visit, we did some preparation at a nearby YMCA, which consisted of basic information about the hospital and the Stork’s Cradle, and we had several debates about topics like abortion, nationality, and anonymity. Because these topics are so delicate and hard to answer ethically, there were many different opinions. We also learned a lot about our countries though these conversations. Generally there are a lot of opportunities if adopting in the participating countries, but not many of them have something similar to the Stork’s Cradle.

When we got to the hospital, we first got to look at the Cradle itself, where people can physically give up their baby. You can either ring the bell for assistance from the staff, and then decide whether you still want to give your baby away, or you can just put the baby in the special baby hatch. Even though you can do it without talking to the staff, there is a letter in the hatch addressed to the parents. This explains that they can get their baby back if they get regrets in the future.

These and many other topics were talked about in a PowerPoint presentation by the founder of the baby hatch, Dr. Hasuda. He also explained why the organization was founded; to stop the killing of unwanted babies in Japan. In spite of the internal debate in the Japanese government, the permit was granted to Dr. Hasuda in 2007. During the rest of the meeting we could ask Dr. Hasuda questions.
The day was very educational and contributed something very special to the program, I believe.

Amalie Nielsen (Denmark)

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Kids and katana

July 21, 2013 Thomas Greve

Date of Activity: July 5^th

Even though we had visited an elementary school yesterday, the reaction of Japanese kids to visits of the World Campus group never fails to surprise. Whereas the children from the elementary school seemed to look up to us (even though we did not do anything exceptional), the reception of the kids from the kindergarten was of a different kind. Indeed, the focus of today’s activities were lay on our visit to the Megumi Kindergarten.

When we first entered, the children all acted quite shy, even after you had played with them for a while. This changed gradually during the day. After having fun making mochi and eating the delicious pieces of ‘rice dough’, we got to play with the small kids some more. Caution had been replaced with genuine fun, visible from the happy looks we received. Today was something special.

In the afternoon we were to visit the sword-smith Matsunaga Genrokurou, one of the few blacksmiths in Japan that actually makes katana not for the purpose of simply displaying them. The man talked with such vigor about his work, which reflected on our experience as well. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves even more than normal (and overly enjoying yourself is something quite inherent to the World Campus program, I noticed). Being allowed to try out pounding hot iron in Matsunaga’s workshop and swinging his swords, made the day even better.

Wester Wagenaar (The Netherlands)

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Midorigaoka elementary school

July 20, 2013 Thomas Greve 1 Comment

Today we went to Midorigaoka elementary school. It was a lot of fun! Our group of nineteen was split up into three smaller groups, that each had a class of their own. Each class had some special activities planned for us.

We started the day with the younger kids. We sang a lot of songs together and played some games like ‘London Bridge is falling down’. We even wrote wishes for the Tanabata Matsuri with the children, and had a calligraphy lesson. Around and after lunch we joined the older children with their English lessons. Because English is really hard for Japanese to learn, it was completely different from our English lessons in The Netherlands. It was really interesting to see the difference. After lunch we gave a short thank-you event for the children. We introduced our countries to them by playing a maru/batsu game (yes or no game). I think they really enjoyed it, since they almost shouted every answer at us, and were really excited when they answered our questions right. Although it was a bit too hot to jump and dance around, it was a lot of fun to see the children participating with us. It’s funny to see how music can actually lower the wall that exists between people of different countries and cultures.

What I liked the most about today was how the children interacted with us, a bunch of complete strangers. Although some of them were shy in the beginning, they became really excited and energetic when they spoke privately with us. During lunchtime, we each ate in a different class. The children in my class had prepared a special chair for me and were so excited to see me. They kept asking questions about my favorite food, music, insects, etc. The language or culture barrier was totally not a problem during this time. They were generally happy to see me and wanted to play with me. It really touched my heart, they were all so sweet. I would like to return next year and play with them again!

Lisanne (The Netherlands)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Omura City

A visit at the Shorinji Kenpo Dojo

July 18, 2013 Thomas Greve

Today we visited the Shorinji Kenpo (a fairly young form of martial arts) Dojo. We were firstly given a presentation explaining all about it, from its founder to its philosophy. The basic thought behind Shorinji Kenpo is that to be better and more able person we need to have power and love. Without power we are incapable to help others, and without love we only hurt people. That’s why this art focuses on balancing self-respect and respect towards others. This means that during training you must not only train your technique on others, but let others train their techniques on you. And boy did that hurt!

The first technique we learned was something that made me feel like I was in Street Fighter (punch, punch, kick!) a basic offensive move basically (No Hadoukens, unfortunately)

The rest of the techniques we learned during our training were defensive, mainly meaning twisting wrists, breaking free from grasps and throwing our attackers into the ground. They taught us that we all have weak points in our body and that we should focus on using these to disable our attacker. My training partner Miyamoto, being only 10, was able to use them and actually hurt me with them. I on the other hand took some more time, which meant he had to lie on the ground and wait for hours whilst I tried to twist his hand in a position that actually hurt. All in all it was an amazing experience; we got to see a little girl of five spar with her father, got to learn some techniques, and got to apply them! I think that a couple of us in the group might be thinking of doing Shorinji Kenpo in the near future. Not only is it fun, but the philosophy behind it is something that should be looked up upon.

Álvaro Martin-Mazorra (Spain)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Community Partners, Host Families, Our participants, Suita City, Video

Sign Language with Suita!

January 7, 2013 Thomas Greve

This youtube video shows, WCI Norwegian alumnus, Henning Rodtwitt teaching sign language to the LOC members and host families as a part of the community event in Suita city, Osaka. During this event we also had great messages from past WCI participants expressing their appreciation and love for Suita. World Campus-Japan is not just a 5 session program! There is always WCI preparation and events going on all year round! Check this out and hope to see you in Japan!

Maki Honda (Kumamoto):
吹田滞在中は、本当にお世話になりました。大阪ならではの賑やかな女性たちの集まった実行委員会の皆さまに、とっても楽しませていただきました！あんまりみなさんとゆっくり
お話をする時間がなかったのが残念です。
それからホストファミリーの小山家のみなさんとも、短い時間でしたが、とても楽しい時間が過ごせました。食事や、毎日のイベント、私たちのためにたくさんのことを考えていてくれて本当に嬉しかったです。
大智くんの将来のこと、子どもたちに対する想い、たくさん素敵なお話を聞かせてくれて、ありがとうございました。
大智くん、祐巳くん、花心ちゃんにとっても、いい思い出になってくれていたら嬉しいです。
また、少し成長した子どもたちに会えるのを楽しみにしています。

Celiana Dolovitz Meneses (Venezuela):
World Campus – Japan has been an amazing experience for me because it has giving me the chance, in two years, to experience 4 different families.

A family of a hard working LOC who happens to be the mom of one of my life time best friends Yui. What an amazing chance to get to know her family.
Another hard working and super Host mom, who has a huge list of host kids all around the world and a husband that it is truly a dad for I am sure all of us who have been part of their family.

A family of hikers and mountain climbers that gave me not only cooking classes but also tips to go up Mount Fuji! ~ Grandpa greeted me everyday with a few words in Spanish and mom who accepted me after having many doubts taught me sign language… priceless.

Finally, a family of 3 generations of girls that included a new born baby. I was part of the family picture, a memory i will never forget! I now have a sister for life, thanks Aya and your family. Thanks to all for giving me your smiles, a place to sleep and most important, your trust! I learned a lot in each and everyone of your homes!

Love you all!

Ellery Oosterberg (The Netherlands):
大阪は一番 Is written on one of my Facebook profile photos. However that is how I feel after visiting Japan last summer. Even though Osaka is a big city it still has the warmth hand of a smaller town. I lost count of how many times I went to Nanba or Umeda, so much do I love the city.

It is also to my great Host family from Suita that I fell in love with Osaka. They are the ones who showed me around Osaka and her great secret spots. And to be really honest I think it says something that I went back to Osaka during my 2 breaks.

As for this message, which is written in the cold weather of the Netherlands, it is a short one however I will return to Osaka next year to show my appreciation to Osaka even more!
I love you all and I miss you all! And also the best Christmas wishes to everyone!

Best greetings ,
Ellery Oosterberg

Iris Spruit (The Netherlands):
Hello!
Thank you all for the great time we had in Suita. We did some fun activities and although it was really hot, I enjoyed it. Not only the activities we did in Suita but also my host family made my time in Suita a great time. They were really nice to me and we did a lot of fun things. I miss them and I would love to come back to Suita and see them again. I really feel like I’m part of their family.

I hope we’ll meet again someday!
Iris

Paulina Meza (Mexico):
I send lots of love to my host family in Suita! I enjoyed my stay very much, and everyone made me feel welcome. Thank you for having me over during the summer! I hope to see everyone again, thank you also for your effort. I really appreciate it and will never forget my time in Suita! Best vibes!