Youth Study Group from China
October 24th, 2024
By Stephen Bird
This was no ordinary day at Hosen Gakuen. Today we welcomed thirteen high school students from China, ten girls and three boys.
All the students had been selected from different schools in China to come on this programme. Their aim was to experience a day in a Japanese High School.
First, a short welcome from the Headmaster followed by an introduction to the school by Mr. Bird.
It was decided that the visiting thirteen Chinese students would spend the majority of their day with 4th year Hosen students and that all would have the chance to be involved in the day.
For the morning programme, Hosen students and visiting Chinese students were mixed together and split into groups for cultural interaction.
Friendships soon developed and it was obvious that not only were students learning a lot from each other, they were also having fun!
A few Hosen student representatives had lunch with the guests.
This was a feast of onigiri, sandwiches and fried chicken.
The visitors were really keen to use and practise their Japanese skills which were fabulous!
For the afternoon programme, visitors attended regular classes with fourth grade students.
Chinese visitors had varying experiences, all had ‘koten’ as well as English, Maths or further Japanese.
It really was impressive to see how hard the Chinese students tried to participate in these classes.
After the homeroom, visitors were shown around the school and various club activities by Hosen students.
The day culminated with a farewell party with lots of snacks and drinks. There was a really good atmosphere with plenty of Hosen students attending.
The impressive thing was how tight the bonds had become in such a short space of time.
Nobody wanted to say goodbye – many students are sure to keep in contact after this event.
I believe this kind of event is so important for the youth of today.Our world, at present, is more unstable than ever before during my lifetime.
It is important that we realise that as humans we are more alike than different.Differences are interesting – not something to be scared of!
I am confident that this event was meaningful for all involved and everybody realised how much fun it is to learn about different cultures.
Thank you to all those who made the day possible – the reward must be seeing all those smiling faces at the end of a wonderful day!
大意
この日、宝仙学園は中国からの13名の高校生を迎え、日本の高校生活を体験してもらいました。
午前中は文化交流を行い、訪問生と宝仙学園の生徒がいくつかのグループに分かれて楽しく学び合いました。
昼食時には日本語を積極的に使う姿が見られ、午後は訪問生が通常の授業に参加し、一生懸命取り組む姿が印象的でした。
学校見学や部活動の後はさよならパーティーが行われ、生徒たちの間に深い絆が築かれました。異文化交流の重要性と楽しさを実感した1日であり、多くの笑顔が印象的でした。
(細かな内容をお知りになりたい場合は、辞書を片手に少し時間をかけて読んでみましょう。)
国際部部長 Stephen Bird