Last week when we heard we were going golfing for the day we didn’t really know what to expect and had some questions to our selves; when was the last time I golfed? Can I golf? What is Golf? But when we arrived we soon realized it was a Japanese’s style of ground [...]]]>

Last week when we heard we were going golfing for the day we didn’t really know what to expect and had some questions to our selves; when was the last time I golfed? Can I golf? What is Golf? But when we arrived we soon realized it was a Japanese’s style of ground golf and our teammates where mostly elderly people. So we were quite relieved that we had a chance to be good at the game. Then another surprise hit us when we saw how good the Japanese golfers were! We divided into 7 teams and played 18 holes of Japanese ground golf and it was just a blast and fun time with some really friendly people! 2 of us also got hole in ones and won some prizes!

Thanks for the fun time!

(Brandon Serna – External Relations Manager for Summer ‘11 Road Team)

This week in Uda (possible the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen) we had the chance to see some of the cities amazing history. Our mission was to visit 3 temples in one day! One of which was Murou temple, one of the oldest temples in Japan. Some of the buildings were built [...]]]>

This week in Uda (possible the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen) we had the chance to see some of the cities amazing history. Our mission was to visit 3 temples in one day! One of which was Murou temple, one of the oldest temples in Japan. Some of the buildings were built in the 9th century and are still standing there. The temple buildings are surrounded by huge cedar trees close to a thousand years, an awe inspiring sight and a reminder of the power and beauty of nature. As we went up the roughly 500 stone steps towards the building on the top of the mountain the view became more beautiful with every step we took. Our guide explained the fine details of the statues of Buddha, their purpose and why they were arranged the way they were, it was very interesting. The 16 meter high pagoda, apparently the smallest outdoor pagoda in Japan can move like a snake, so even when a big earthquake occurs it will stay standing, and it has been standing for over a thousand years, and it is made out of wood! At the top some of the monks were having a ceremony, we were so lucky to be able to witness that.

(Frank Florris from The Netherlands)

Matsuda [...]]]> Session 1

Nishimura family from Omura city, Nagasaki:
“3 years ago, we first hosted a girl from Germany on WCI program.
Since then, we’ve been looking forward to hosting a guest of WCI every year!
They always make us happy and bring us big energy!
I love this program from bottom of my heart.”

Matsuda family from Omuta city, Fukuoka:
“To unknown my family
Thank you for your support to Japan.
Our city has not been damaged by disaster.
We are looking forward to seeing you!!”

Session 2

Kinoshita family from Arao city, Kumamoto:
“It has been a hard time for Japan this year.
We are thinking what we can do in our everyday life for Tohoku which is the stricken area. Fortunately my hometown is more than 1,000 km away from Tohoku and there is no influence of the earthquake, tidal wave and damage of the nuclear power plant at all. And thankfully we are working, studying, hanging around with friends and living our normal life.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone from WCI and listening to the diverse stories from different countries this year again. I believe that small city like Arao will give you an opportunity to feel familiar and understand the depth of our culture.”

Ensatsu family from Uda city, Nara:
“Hello friends!!
This message is from Uda city in Nara.
You know the big earthquake occurred in eastern Japan.
But Nara is in western Japan, so it’s safe here.
We had many great time with WCI every year.
Come to join us !!
We are really looking forward to being your family !!”

Session 3

Dave family from Suita city, Osaka:
“Greeting from Suita city, Osaka! We are looking forward to meeting you and share our culture!!! There are so many things you can discover and experience here in Osaka! See you very soon!”

Kinoshita family from Toyota city, Aichi:
“We are looking forward to seeing you in Toyota!”

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 [...]]]> 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

To say that the scenery around Uda was beautiful [...]]]>

Uda City in Nara Prefecture is located right in the midst of Japan’s beautiful mountains and forests. Since I come from a small town in Alabama, Uda had a familiar feeling. However, like every other place in Japan, there was unfamiliar feelings as well!

To say that the scenery around Uda was beautiful doesn’t begin to do it justice! It was amazing! Since Uda is located in such a rural area, there was a lot less English than there was in Omura. Therefore, many of us were not quite sure what adventures our Host Family Day would hold. The answer was simple: Ninjas.

About an hour away from Uda is Ueno City, which has Ueno Castle…. And a Ninja Village. It wasn’t only me and my host family that went. Eve and her host father, Frank and his host mother and host nephew, and Shao and Tanja and their host mother all joined us.

At Ueno’s Ninja Village you can learn about real ninjas, how they lived, their equipment, and special features of their house! Also, for 500 Yen, you can dress up like a ninja all day long! Although this sounds like tons of fun, I had heard from someone else that it was not as fun as it might seem. Therefore, I was a little hesitant. However, this day was the highlight of my trip to Uda.

For a short time, we 5 foreigners were an elite ninja assassin clan! As ninjas we ate udon, explored Ueno Castle, threw shuriken, and took pictures with some tiny ninjas! The rest of the day was spent stealthily moving from tree to tree, finding the most ninja-esque poses possible, and doing things that would just look better if it were done by ninjas!

I have to say this might have been the best Host Family Day Ever!

(Ciara Smith – Alabama – United States)

We got to the temple and there was a Monk waiting for us to teach us Zen, as soon as we got there, we [...]]]>

This day we had a pretty good idea of what we were going to do, we didn’t know it was going to be as challenging and difficult as it was.

We got to the temple and there was a Monk waiting for us to teach us Zen, as soon as we got there, we went to the tatami room where the altar was with the statue of Buddha. Everything was prepared for us to be there. The Monk then started with his explanation about the Meditation Technique.

Some of us knew what to expect but the majority of us were just nervous to do something wrong in such a perfect environment, you could hear a needle drop.

There we were at the temple with a Monk with a wooden stick on his hand standing in front of us waiting for one of us to move so he could punish ourselves hitting us with the stick on our back. The sound of the “punishment” was very loud and truly scary. My jaw dropped when i saw him do it to the person next to me.

Zen… meditation technique that taught us to listen to our hearts and thoughts through concentration.

Two sessions of 15 minutes of immobility for us was a life time and a nightmare for a few nor for the 28 year old monk who was teaching us about Zen, his longest period of meditation is 8 days and a few hours.

To end our day we had a pretty big dinner party with all [...]]]>

After a long day of activities from rainy visit to temples to Big Buddha, from seeing a sword maker to listening to a banjo player, it was a day full of new experiences for the participants of World Campus – Japan.

To end our day we had a pretty big dinner party with all the host families, LOC members and World Campus – Japan Participants at a temple which was also one of our host families’ house, there was so much food, from things we never tasted to things we were already used to eating. Everything from eggs to beef, from sushi to nato (fermented beans), from sashimi to fruits, from beer to sake, from green tea to juice and water, from chicken to guacamole (Mexican avocado deep)… all on one long table.

Once again we had the opportunity to use our senses in Japan, a country with unlimited choices when it comes to food. WCJ enjoyed trying new things and seeing familiar things on the table.

After dinner we danced to the rhythm of the banjo played by one of our host dads, a true sign of cultural globalization!