Before I start, I would like to say that for World Campus – Japan, starting on June 5th was something knew we want to implement from now on, that way our participants can go back home to summer jobs after having a few weeks in Japan. With that said, since it was the first time we were starting early this summer, only a few people got the opportunity to come. 5 People, 5 of the most different personalities and backgrounds I’ve ever seen.
Lu, from New Jersey with Chinese background; Yoli, Mexican-American; Kyle, tall, white, blue eyed American guy; Daniel from Luxemburg who was born in Switzerland and Ming, American with Chinese, African-American and Native American background. In Session One of World Campus – Japan 2010, we shared a lot of experiences and built up a lot of memories together like, ringing the biggest bell in the World in the City of Arao, Visiting Jikei Hospital and Kumamoto Castle in the City of Kumamoto and talking to a survivor from the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb in the City of Hiroshima.
Thanks to everyone who made Session #1 possible. For you, readers out there, please keep visiting the blog to read the stories of Session #2 in Nagasaki with the visit to the peace museum and the talk with a survivor from the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb and Uda (Nara Prefecture) with the visit to Big Budda in the City of Nara.
New day, new opportunities… in World Campus – Japan. This time we went to the Suizenji Gym, to learn about Kyudo (Japanese Archery) Our Sensei has been teaching Kyudo for many years, so, we were about to learn from the best. There is something he said that was very surprising to all of us; 90% of the points you can earn in a competition is based on your PRE shooting performance. Only 10% has to do with hitting the target. So literally, you could hit 100% of your targets and loose the competition if you don’t follow the PRE performance rules and procedures.
Once we were done with the theory we went on to try out our Kyudo abilities. One by one we were facing our own fear to let go of the string that holds the arrow while we pulled as hard as we could. I have to say, all this tension is happening very close to your right eye, you could feel the wind after letting it go.
In World Campus – Japan, as we’ve said in previous posts, we have amazing opportunities to learn “first hand” from the protagonists of the stories.
This morning we had a discussion about adoption, abortion and other related topics with the members of World Campus – Japan, of the community and LOC. I personally have a very clear idea of what I want and think, but it was very constructive to listen, debate and respect the opinions of the rest of the group.
The conversation followed a visit to Jikei Hospital, the only place in Japan that is using the system of a “stokes cradle” (A place where families can drop off their baby if they can’t or don’t want to take care of them). Once we got there we were introduced to the system, and it was nothing like I imagined. When in the morning we talked about “A BOX”, I didn’t think it was actually a box, but it is.
Once the family member opens the door of this very comfortable looking box, leaves the baby and closes the door, there is no way to open it again. Inside the box there is a note from the Hospital to the family member dropping off the baby. An alarm goes off for the nurses to know that a new baby has arrived. Families can always come back to the hospital to request their baby back, as long as they leave some information with the baby in the box.
How everything started. A Doctor from Jikei Hospital felt guilty about being in his position and not being able to prevent certain actions that were happening in Kumamoto (babies being left in garbage cans or being killed by their parents) His passion for a change was so strong that he started working on a system that would give those babies a second chance. He went to Germany, where the system was already in use and adapted the system to the Japanese society with an amazing success.
He is a living prove that Passion conquers all, and that one person can certainly make a difference in the world. In Hiroshima (next few posts) we for sure learned about the power of one person.
(Yoly Amaya from USA)
In Kumamoto, we had our World Campus – Japan – Arigato Event at the beginning of the week’s stay, which is not very usual. The energy was a little low because it was the first time we had to perform our Arigato Event at 2pm. We usually do it around 6pm or 7pm. Even so, we made it happen pulling together as a team like always. The energy started to grow and we got really excited to see our host families and some friends we met the day before, like our Noodle Making Sensei. She was so excited to have the opportunity to hang out with us in a different environment and so were we.
The Kumamoto Arigato Event ended up being one of the best arigato events EVER!!! and i am about to explain why. We decided to play a few games with the host families that attended the arigato event and not only we layed, we laughed so hard that it was almost painful  For the game, we had the host families find a partner to pop balloons with, we had about 60 to 75 balloons ready to get popped. We had one rule: “No Hands”. They took the instructions perfectly and balloons were popping up and down, soooo funny!. The positions, the screaming, the laughs of everyone… We just had a great time that afternoon.
The second part of the Arigato Event was even more powerful, the participants share all their energy and great vibe with their audience. That’s what the Arigato Event is all about: people coming together to prove the peace can be found among people from different cultures, backgrounds, countries and languages.
Kumamoto Castle was one of our first “authentic” Japanese experiences. It was our first chance to see a history much older than the opportunities available in America. We were standing, exploring and talking in a building older than anything in my home country. Although it sounds Cliché, I couldn’t help but feel that if walls could talk, this castle would teach me things I couldn’t even imagine or comprehend. The experience went past the artifacts we looked at, or the history we read. From the moment you entered the castle, you could FEEL the history around you. It was so much more than the feeling you got from a field trip, or a sightseeing trip. It was an opportunity to feel history.
After the castle a group of us decided to continue our tradition seeking adventure with…KARAOKE!!!!! Although they have Karaoke in the United States, it is nothing like the Japanese experience. Although we only had an hour (30 min. which of was spent on Lady Gaga?…) we sang, we laughed, and we had a few drinks. A true Karaoke experience in my opinion!
Karaoke experience was a perfect warm-up for dinner. LOC Members, World Campus – Japan Members, and even our Udon Sensei joined us for the evening. We found a nice dinner location in the center of town. I began the dinner with confidence, but was quickly impressed by Miki, who ‘Kanpai-ed’ me under the table! There was lots of laughter, and too much fun, but the best part was the ease in which people who from different countries, and backgrounds communicated.
The personal day in Kumamoto, was anything but. It quickly became about the group, and learning about one another. Instead of worrying about your own good time, it focused on enjoying the company of others. This night in Kumamoto, I will never forget.
(Kyle McElroy from USA)
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World Campus International, Inc.
Dai 2 Ebisu Heights #101
4-17-8 Ebisu
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
150-0013
Japan
Contact Us in Japanese:
+81 3 3473 1120
Fax: +81 3 5475 5842
hyasui@worldcampus.org
Contact Us in English:
+1 303 495-2078
Toll free USA / Canada:
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Fax: +1 303 495-2069
yhufford@worldcampus.org
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