Standing in the shadow of the Tower of the Sun at the site of the 1970 World Peace Expo is humbling. In March, World Campus International was invited to join the 40th anniversary celebration. Our job was simple but our responsibility was much more complicated. We were asked to represent the [...]]]>

Standing in the shadow of the Tower of the Sun at the site of the 1970 World Peace Expo is humbling. In March, World Campus International was invited to join the 40th anniversary celebration. Our job was simple but our responsibility was much more complicated. We were asked to represent the world community. In a sea of thousands, how could 12 international participants and another 10 Japanese volunteers represent an entire planet?

During our one week WCI experience, we made many connections and friends as we are often so fortunate to do, but this week, we really brought them into our family. A local cheerleading team and a club for collage kids to practice English shared every minute with us. They joined us in rehearsal, in after program activities, and they even had a hand in teaching us part of our arigato event. It was a true honor to have so many people who did not know the organization invest so much of their time with us.

On the day of the World Exposition, we dressed up in our cultural best and stepped into the festival not knowing how we would be received. Our fears ended as soon as our first performance began. Thousands of people had a chance to see a little bit of World Campus and the community we represent. 270 people throughout the day lined up to write their hopes for a future world on paper leaves that we stuck on our “Tree of Nations.” We helped our local sponsors sell sweets as we interacted with the people who came to the festival for the day. It truly seemed that our modest group of global citizens made an impact on the festival and I know without a doubt, the 2010 World Exposition Celebration fulfilled its duty to everyone by reminding us all why we gathered there in the first place. If the enormous Tower of the sun could, I imagine it would have nodded with approval.

Mission Accomplished.

Sanmon wo dareba nihon zo chatsumi-uta Coming out of the temple gate, the song the tea pickers, It is Japan!

March 9th, the new day I arrived in Suita city, first time I breathed in Nihon’s air, fresh and brand new. The spring fragrance smelled so smooth and [...]]]>

Mission Accomplished.

Sanmon wo dareba nihon zo chatsumi-uta
Coming out of the temple gate, the song the tea pickers, It is Japan!

March 9^th, the new day I arrived in Suita city, first time I breathed in Nihon’s air, fresh and brand new. The spring fragrance smelled so smooth and even though it was a bit chilly, I could feel something great would happen soon. Yeah, that day was our arrival day for WCJ Spring Tour 2009. I was looking forward to meeting with the other participants, the staff, Hiro and Hideto! Yeah, can’t believe I am back again after the last summer.

Suita city was the first city of this tour. Suita is a modern city with most of its citizen commuting to other big cities for work. Teenagers, the young generation have become the city’s symbol. The Local organizing committee (LOC) and Kansai University DUCKS were big components of this city’s success. They helped us a lot, gave us support, as well as shared nice moments, and great friendships. Everything always starts with Thank-you event (Arigato Evento) prep, because the show is a crucial part of the WCI program. Even at the beginning, we faced some obstacles and difficulties with singing and dancing Japanese songs and dances, but we overcame all of that. We had such a great time in Suita city. We had a great show at the ABC festival, visited the famous Banpakuen Park, experienced traditional Japanese culture including Naginata, Sumo, and Shamisen. We also interacted with university students and got know more about Suita city. And Universal Studios Japan was unforgettable to explore!

Uda city, our second city was quite different from the former city. Uda city, as a part of Nara prefecture has a lot of natural resources, great environment, and nice food! Yeah, Uda is imprinted on our minds as a city with bunches of ‘oishii‘ (delicious) food. Arrival day was awesome; they greeted us with a wonderful party, starting with traditional Japanese dances, a game for matching us with host families, and fantastic food! We explored about how the people live in balance with the beautiful nature, beginning with a walk rally. Then we toured the famous Muro and Todaiji temples which gave us a lot of insight about Japanese religion. We also dwelled deeper into Japanese culture by taking part in a tea ceremony & experiencing the majesty of Japanese swords. Our stay was made the more perfect with an emotional visit with senior citizens and a phenomenal Buddhist temple party!

March 22^nd, Sunday morning, it was a bit rainy, as if the realm knew we would be separated soon. Yeah, that day was our good bye time with the local people and also with the participants who were going back to their home countries ( Eric, Lily, Shoko, Shihoko, and Herbling ). Every piece of our hearts cried and we couldn’t stop hugging each others. Even though we stayed together only for two weeks, we felt we are engaged as one big family, one circle, and one great group! For rest of us who were still continuing to the second tour, we got three days off, where we had our freedom to explore more of Japan.

March 26^th, Abiko city was our next city. Located near Tokyo, it is known for all the people who commute to Tokyo for study, work, or other reasons. Even though this city is next to a huge metropolitan city, there is a big difference between the two. Abiko keeps its natural resources properly. They, recycle, take care of the water, and are aware of many environmental issues. New people, new city, new session, new environment, that’s WCI. We can learn how to make adjustment in every single place we are. It’s the most basic and important thing we need to have to become a global citizen. Yep, we started again. The head of the LOC was so hilarious, the “Boss” as we called her ! The kappa dance, potluck party, o-hanami, and even the Hawaiian dance were so unforgettable!

Haru tatsu ya shizuka ni tsuru no ippo yori
Spring begins, Quietly, From the stork’s one pace

What comes to mind when you hear Toyota? Yep, Toyota is the biggest automotive company, not only in Japan but throughout the world. Toyota city is the city where Toyota company has its headquarters and we were lucky to be part of this vibrant city. Toyota city: a great community, huge plants, nice people, and high tech facilities. Even though it’s a modern city, that didn’t mean we couldn’t get our culture experience. Our arrival coincided with the cherry blossoms that were blooming perfectly. O Hanami with kimonos, what a wonderful moment! It was the first and last time for us to enjoy sakura dressed up in kimonos. Yuhuuuu

Hito koishi hitomoshi goro wo sakura chiru
My heart is full of yearning, The candles being lit, Cherry blossoms falling

Second session wrapped up. A time for saying GOOD BYE again. Every meeting has a consequence… GOOD BYE in the end. How can we express our feelings? It is hard to say goodbye to everyone who got along with you for those weeks. But it’s the reality, we can’t make any bargains or fight it. Good Bye Toyota , Good Bye Daniel, Kaho, Birgit, Jaime, Selly, Elitha, Mustafa, Nao & Amar. We then faced the next and the last session in Spring Tour 2009 in Kyushu. Kyushu Island is famous for the beautiful nature, nice weather, authentic food, and great people.

Omura was our first city in the last spring program. Yohanes and I arrived before the others and were picked up by the extravagant Up With Omura CEO, Mr. Okuma. He is a unique and great local person who supported our tour. Our theme in this city was peace and conflict as we focused on what happened in Nagasaki city 63 years ago. It gave us an overwhelming feeling when the survivor told us his real experience struggling against death. Tremendous emotions mixed in my heart; sadness, yearning, loathing, and bewilderment, everything came in at the same time. From that precious experience we could reflect about what happened and keep sharing love amongst our families, friends, lovers, and everyone. Stop violence and respect others, keep living in peace with each other. That is one of worthy lessons we learned. Besides that, we trained ourselves in Kyudo, the traditional archery sport from ancient times, and Shorinji Kempo, a martial art. We ate champon, a traditional noodle dish of the area. We were also part of the Fureai event, which was a big event where many handicapped people came together and had fun with each other. The best moment was when we interacted with them. We didn’t feel like we had any differences. All of us are same, we are human being with some minus and plus things.

Finally, we encountered the last city of this tour. Kumamoto city with its many budding resources; farming, stockbreeding, plantations, and so on. As we learned before, a disease attacked Minamata city more than 50 years ago, but they rebuilt and there is almost no more scars left. One more special thing is the Cradle of Stork of Jikei hospital. It is a unique operation of hospital which is helping unwanted babies. Yep, that was my first time to hear of this kind of hospital. Many emotions erupted in my mind, how glorious their aim is. Moving from the heartfelt topic, we had a lot of fun in that great city. Yuhuuuuu we had the PURPLE PEOPLE! They were volunteer workers from the local community. We had Mrs. Maeda, the nicest LOC CEO. We explored Kumamoto castle in unique way , relished the beautiful Mt. Aso, tried “basashi“, the unusual savory horse meat, and even had a party in a Izakaya restaurant!

Everything always can’t be perfect. Every meeting has a consequence; separation. It can’t be avoided. While my heart wants to keep all of them alongside with me, that is impossible. Good Bye is final challenge before we go. Time for the real Good Bye is coming; everyone has goes back to reality, their original lives and activities. Yep, GOOD BYE DON’T PANIC, but I am PANICking now. I miss everyone already; every single thing always reminds me of our efforts, our togetherness, our laughs, our smiles, our sadness, our team building, and even our hard times. Thank you for everything, all of you will be in my heart forever. I will keep you as my treasure of my life. I’m sure we will meet again someday, somehow

Ganbarre Nippon, Ganbarre Gaijin!!

Amanda Soeprobo (Indonesia)

Time flies by like the shinkansen. It is difficult to put into words the journey we just completed. We laughed, we cried, we shared, we learned, we argued, we loved, and we became a family during these incredible six weeks.

It was very much like living in a dream. Dressing [...]]]>

Time flies by like the shinkansen. It is difficult to put into words the journey we just completed. We laughed, we cried, we shared, we learned, we argued, we loved, and we became a family during these incredible six weeks.

It was very much like living in a dream. Dressing up as sumo wrestlers. Examining genuine katanas. Trying traditional Japanese archery. Being moved by the story of an atomic bomb survivor. Taking part in tea ceremonies. Having a picnic under a soft pink sea of cherry blossoms whilst dressed in kimonos. Asking difficult questions at Toyota Company. Visiting mayors and dignitaries. Performing Japanese songs in front of over 600 people. Relaxing in a cat café. Savoring Kobe beef and raw horse. Building relationships with Japanese families in different cities. Making new international friends. Becoming a family. All those experiences seem so surreal right now, but we did all that and so much more.

Now the tour is over but the incredible experiences and deep relationships remain. We all went our separate ways but don’t panic. Goodbyes are difficult and the physical distance between everyone is far but we all have facebook and email! It is very easy to slip back into your old lives and routines, so please make an effort and stay in touch with your World Campus – Japan family. Thank you everyone for a great tour!

一期一会 (ichigo, ichie), One moment, one meeting. All of us meeting and traveling in Japan during those two months was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was serendipitous and as is it was perfect. Goodbye, thanks for all the fish! Don’t panic!

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March 17th, 2009: It is never easy to say goodbye. It is especially difficult when the bonds are so close. Because the families welcome you into their homes as part of their family, it is inevitable to establish such attachments. As such, travel days are always filled with tears of sadness, joy, [...]]]>

March 17^th, 2009: It is never easy to say goodbye. It is especially difficult when the bonds are so close. Because the families welcome you into their homes as part of their family, it is inevitable to establish such attachments. As such, travel days are always filled with tears of sadness, joy, and love.

Some will put on a brave face and pose for final photos, while others simply cannot hold back their tears at the thought of separation.

As we move onward with our journey, tears will always follow in our wake.

It takes great courage to sing on stage but it requires special people to sing in a foreign language! Most of [...]]]>

March 15^th, 2009: Grace (Canada) sings “Kizuna”, an original WCJ song, with superb prose at the “Thank-you event”. The different flags held by each participant complete the international atmosphere of our group.

It takes great courage to sing on stage but it requires special people to sing in a foreign language! Most of us are not fluent in Japanese yet we are trying our best to learn Japanese songs and dances. The effort we put into the event is all for the host families and the city that welcomed and hosted us with opened arms. Although we are not perfect, our intentions and efforts are greatly appreciated. Professionals, we are not, but we performed with all our hearts.

Here Philip is giving an excellent [...]]]>

WCJ participants all have a chance to give a presentation about their country. Although it only last about 15 minutes, these presentations are very interesting and informative. It is not every day that you have the opportunity to learn about a foreign country from a native.

Here Philip is giving an excellent presentation on Germany.

“Germans became proud of Germany again for the 1^st time after hosting the World Cup in 2006.”

After two great but tiring days of training, we had an opportunity to relax and experience traditional Japanese culture.

Jake (Texas) and Herbing (Kenya) are solving their problems the old fashion way, a traditional sumo grudge match! These guys are very courageous to also wear the traditional costumes! This is something [...]]]>

After two great but tiring days of training, we had an opportunity to relax and experience traditional Japanese culture.

Jake (Texas) and Herbing (Kenya) are solving their problems the old fashion way, a traditional sumo grudge match! These guys are very courageous to also wear the traditional costumes! This is something definitely not many tourists get a chance to try.

Later in the day, the fun continued at the bowling alley with students from Kansai University. It was great to interact with these young intellects of Japan in this festive setting. Of course, even intellectuals have to get down and have fun sometimes.

March 9th, 2009: It’s about to start!

It began with a room full of unfamiliar peoples from strange lands. In less than one hour, the strangers became close enough to hold hands and even touch another person’s nose with their tongue. Ah, the power of group building games!

Before the official Suita [...]]]>

March 9^th, 2009: It’s about to start!

It began with a room full of unfamiliar peoples from strange lands. In less than one hour, the strangers became close enough to hold hands and even touch another person’s nose with their tongue. Ah, the power of group building games!

Before the official Suita city welcoming ceremony, World Campus – Japan participants, staff, and LOC members had the chance to get to know each other with games like “mingle mingle mingle”. The game encouraged everyone to be active and forced them to go beyond their comfort zone. What a great remedy for the jetlag!

It begins!

Woohoo! After many hours of eager anticipation, the participants are finally here and the Spring 09 tour is under way! We received a hearty welcome from Mr. Sakaguchi, the mayor of Suita, and the host families! Although very tired from travel, everyone was extremely excited to meet their host families and the mayor.

“Welcome to Suita city. I hope your visit will help internationalize our city.” – Mr. Sakaguchi (Suita mayor)

Introductions are made between the staff and the Suita Local Organizing Committee (LOC). It is important to recognize and acknowledge the efforts of the LOC members!

March 7th, 2009: The road staff had a personal day to relax and take a break from work. Usually there is one personal day scheduled in each city. This allows everyone to recharge and do something fun outside of World Campus – Japan.

Today, the road staff went as a group [...]]]>

March 7^th, 2009: The road staff had a personal day to relax and take a break from work. Usually there is one personal day scheduled in each city. This allows everyone to recharge and do something fun outside of World Campus – Japan.

Today, the road staff went as a group and saw whale sharks and penguins at the Osaka Aquarium.

“Did you know whale sharks are the biggest fish in the world?” – Henning