World Campus International Blog » Mito City

Regarding March 11, 2011 Japanese Earthquake

Thomas Greve — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:40:08 +0000

March 12, 2011

Dear Friends of World Campus International,

The shocking earthquake hitting the north-east part of Japan has caused massive destruction to the region. Currently, the Japanese national and local governments are working to assess the degree of damage.

Though there are areas of Japan that have been severely affected, all of our partner communities seem to have avoided tragedy. Currently, we do plan to facilitate the World Campus – Japan program from June 23 thru August 30.

Because the damages are reported in the northern region of Japan, and our community partners are located in central to western Japan, we are confident that our summer program will not be affected by the earthquake.

We have already contacted several community partners who are hosting our summer program and confirmed that they are OK and not severely or at all affected by these tragic events. We will continue to reach out to the rest of our community partners and communicate to you via this website any updated information.

Thank you for your understanding.

Hiro Nishimura
Chairman and CEO
World Campus International, Inc.

Update: Message from CEO, Hiro Nishimura on March 17, 2011

Update 2: Message from CEO, Hiro Nishimura on April 06, 2011 – Regarding New 2011 World Campus – Japan Program plan

Thomas Greve — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 22:07:57 +0000

Aloha at the beach!

Thomas Greve — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:07:15 +0000

Continuing with our stay in Mito, this time we had a host family day and my host family took me to the beach, some other friends from World Campus – Japan also joined us there. It was an amazing day, sunny and hot. The water was just beautiful and a lot of people were there.

Of course, as always in Japan, you always find things that you never imagined to find at places. This day at the beach we joined a Hula class. Yes, Hula. A group from Japan teaches small, simple dances to everyone who wants to join and all of us decided to join their class. As i said, “you always find things you never imagined to find”… there was a Viking. A Viking, dancing and enjoying his hula class. He was so funny and his energy was so good to have around.

On days like this I thank my life for the random opportunities I’ve had and for the chance to be part of World Campus – Japan, a program that not only teaches you about the “normal” aspects of the japanese culture but also gives you the chance to see things like i saw and experience that day at the beach.

Thomas Greve — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:07:06 +0000

Young spirits

Thomas Greve — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:07:36 +0000

In World Campus – Japan, the majority of the participants that travel are between 18 and 30 years old, even when our program doesn’t have age limit. With many young people around you all the time, you might think that you will get the best spirit and energy in the world, and sometimes is not like that at all, and i am about to tell you why.

On the day we went to visit Suzuran-en, we knew we were going to visit grandmas and grandpas from Japan, because Suzuran-en is an elderly home but the visit was completely different than we expected it to be.

Around 55 people with an age average of 88 years old taught us that day that age is not important to have energy and hope for the future. This residents spend their time doing many different activities guided by an amazing group of staff members that are not only there because is their daily job, but because is their passion. Their director inspires them to become better people every day and to care for the residents of the center.

On this amazing day we did activities like calligraphy, flower arranging, singing, dancing and many other activities. At the end of the day the residents did a performance for us with so much energy that the place was filled with a huge positive feeling.

We met, on this day, a women who is 106 years old and is still living and enjoying every minute of her life, she is still learning, admiring and getting excited for the small things in life and that was for sure a life lesson. We realized that sometimes we don’t have the energy to live 100% but we do have the opportunity to fix things and become better people for us and for others. They don’t have too much time but they for sure live every minute as it was the best minute of their lives.

Thomas Greve — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:07:53 +0000

Mito, more than you think

Thomas Greve — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:07:29 +0000

When in World Campus – Japan, we arrive in a city, we know we are going to get to know the town in some way, sometimes with our host families on host family day, sometimes with local people that give s a tour of a museum or any other important building… this time, we had a really cool tour of a park, house and lake.

The university students of Mito gave us a scavenger hunt to play, see and enjoy the nature around Mito. It was a lot of fun trying to find out all the answers without any “japanese” help.

We saw the beautiful nature Mito has to offer, including an amazing lake located in the middle of town where you can ride boats with swan shape. They also have swans swimming on the lake and they are sooo friendly you can almost touch them and hang out with them.

Overall, Mito is more than just a town, is a place to relax and enjoy nature inside the city.

Spring & Summer ’09 Slide Shows published

Thomas Greve — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:05:26 +0000

The Spring & Summer Slide Shows of most of our partner cities are now available on the “Konichiwa from Japan”-section of our Website. Please take a look!!!

Our World Campus – Japan Summer 2009 version of Love Me Tender

Thomas Greve — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:50:34 +0000

Video: Love Me Tender

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If you have been following our program or our blog, you have no doubt heard about our “Arigato Event.” Performed near the end of each of our stays, the event is a way for us to say Thank You to the communities and host families who have worked so hard to bring us into their world. These communities do most of the work needed to make World Campus International a success. In each of our events, there is a section that highlights the talents and creativity of our participants. This summer we had some members who decided that their talents went better together than on their own. Having never met before the program, these participants put a little Elvis, some Sax, a vocal rhythm track, a traditional Japanese instrument, and a world class voice together to create this amazing rendition of the classic, “Love Me Tender.”

Through Meghan’s Eyes

Thomas Greve — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:01:12 +0000

Video: Through Meghan’s Eyes

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Over the past few weeks, we have given everyone a glimpse into the World Campus — Japan program. You have heard a lot about what we do and how we felt as we did it. We now want to let you hear one of our participant’s thoughts after she returned to the “real” world. Meghan Kuts participated in program 1 and 2 of the WCI Summer 09 tour. She made this video a little more than a month after she returned home. Take a look!!!

Looking Back – Summer 2009 Program 2

Thomas Greve — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:02:49 +0000

WCI summer 2009 program 2 video

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Summer 2009 Program 2 was about relationships. World Campus International said good bye to some important pieces of our puzzle and welcomed in some new participants that would prove invaluable to success. Participants from all over the globe pulled together to become more than a team, they became like family. The participants said hello and goodbye to two more host families in Mito and Toride. They had the chance to speak to the mayors and the vice governor of Ibaraki prefecture and see Japan from the eyes of its leaders. They took a day hike through the beautiful Japanese countryside while getting to know a lot of people on a personal level. The group teamed up with host families to fly strings of 35+ kites. However, the most talked about day of the program was a day spent with the young employees of Exxon Mobil. Through artful facilitation and creative communication, the World Campus – Japan members and the Exxon Mobil employees experienced a day that changed many perceptions from both groups. Take a look for yourself, you will surely get a taste of WCI through these pictures.

(Jay Kinsel, Production Manager)

A Reflection on World Campus International Summer 2009 Tour!

Thomas Greve — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00:31 +0000

Okay, wow. First of all, traveling with World Campus International this summer was my first trip outside of Europe and my first trip alone for more than 2 weeks. At first I was a little bit scared. Who will I meet and what will the program be like? Of course I read a lot about the program on the website, but still I could only create an image, which might be different from the real thing… and it was different. All the people I met there were so friendly and open! I am now back in my country called Holland and only now I realize what kind of people I met there and how they changed my whole lifestyle and way of thinking.

I completed all three programs of World Campus International this summer. I visited 6 different cities, lived with 7 different host families and each stay was an experience on its own. I met friends in Japan with the same interests as me, friends with the same passion, friends with a different way of thinking and friends with other customs. I never thought I would meet such a variety of people! Even when I met more than one person from one country, none of them had the same personality or interests. That was the beautiful part of the diversity I encountered. For me, I did not just meet people from Taiwan, Norway, China or Japan; no, I met people who became good friends. I never ever thought that I would get so close to the people I met in the World Campus – Japan program.

The life in Japan I lived was so different from the life I lead in Holland. Not only because it took place in Japan, but also because I was immersed in the World Campus – Japan life. At times we had a busy schedule and I was tired from the program, but it was all worth it. The things I have seen and experienced, shaped my imagination and helped me form opinions on matters like education, international relations and the role of media within the society. Also, my thoughts on different food, customs and languages. Personally, it was weird to speak English every day, but the more I talked with my friends, the more I became accustomed to it. Not only did I learn English, I picked up a little Japanese, Chinese, some Korean and even some New Jersey slang.

I have gained so much. Now, I am sitting in my chair in my house in Holland looking at pictures and videos from the program, reliving the moments. I am trying to reflect on the whole program, but I am still in Japan with my thoughts. I cannot reflect on my experiences if I am still there, can I? When I look at all the pictures and videos, I have come to realize that the time in Japan, which I enjoyed to the fullest, is over.

It might seem sad that the end of the program came. But, it is not the end of World Campus (cliché, but true). I am staying in contact with my new friends on Facebook and mail (people who are reading this and have no Facebook; get Faaaaaaaaaaacebooooooooook!) and I talk to them about everything and nothing as if we were never separated from each other. I think making connections with new people is the focus of World Campus International. Because, truthfully, the program would never have turned out the way it did without the people who were participated.

Thank you for this wonderful time and experience. See you soon!

(Ashwin Ramjiawan, Holland)

Good-bye Mito, Hello Toride!

Thomas Greve — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:06:28 +0000

Saying goodbyes have really been my least favorite part of the journey, which made yesterday a hard day. I had a great time in Mito. But just like life, people come and go, and I needed to move on. We got on the bus and said farewell to our host families, while many kids (host brothers and sisters) chased our bus for a long long distance, which actually made most of us cry.

We stopped twice during the bus trip, one time for a stop in a outlet shopping area and one time for a quick visit to a big famous statue of Buddha, which was huge! Then we moved on to Toride, where the Local Organizing Committee was already there waiting for us. Then WCI members were introduced to our new host families. It was really hard saying goodbye to a host family and adapting directly to a new one in such a short period of time. But my new host family is awesome too (my host sister, the 9-year old girl, can speak both English and Chinese and there is another exchange student from New Zealand living in this family!). I believe that my last week in Japan will be wonderful.

(Chong Li, China)

Crafts Making Day and Good-bye Party in Mito!

Thomas Greve — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:59:57 +0000

For the last activity day in Mito, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) threw a goodbye party for the World Campus International members. Some of us were cooking meals from our countries, and some of us were partaking in Japanese arts and crafts, including making “misanga”, a braided bracelet or anklet worn for good luck, cell phone charms, a memo holder, and newspaper flower corsages.

As part of the cooking group, I was in the kitchen, with some of the LOC and Ibaraki University students. I was making Coca Cola Chicken (that’s right – Coca Cola) as a sous chef, and other dishes included Pasta Penne with mushroom/spinach/chicken sauce, a beef-noodle dish (mushy but yummy), Berthalina from Mexico made guacamole and salsa as dips for tortilla chips. Lastly, the LOC made chicken curry for our potluck.

Of course, everything turned out really delicious, and by noon we were ready to kick off the party. It was really cool to see everybody having fun and eating and shouting “Oishii!” everywhere, that was a nice way to say thank you to the host families. Afterward all of the host families presented a homemade sign with some personal writings on them, it was very touching. We also celebrated Ashwin’s (Holland) birthday (21! Congrats!). The day ended with a discussion among WCI members about stereotypes.

It was a great day! I went home completely exhausted, and now I’m ready for the next two more personal days (I’m going to the beach! )

(Maria Lisberg, Denmark)

Arigato Evento in Mito city!!

Thomas Greve — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:50:53 +0000

Today, WCI members had a great opportunity to show their gratitude for people who were involved and helped our program in Mito. It was a fun event that offered the chance to share various cultural features of many countries, things that WCI members learned throughout the program, and also to have valuable interactions and experiences with host families and people in Mito city.