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Sunday 21 April 2019

Kakehashi2018: Great to learn


In January, I had a great opportunity to visit Japan through a program called “Kakehashi Project”, funded by JICE (Japan International Cooperation Center). Kakehashi, means bridge in Japanese, indicated that the program is a bridge between Japan and other countries. The purpose of this program is to make lifelong friendships, develop lasting connections with Japan and tell our friends and families about our experiences in Japan. Most importantly, is to encourage an understanding of Japan and convey information about Japan to the public through participants of this project.

There were plenty of pleasant experiences throughout our trip. One of them is homestay. Before we met our homestay family, me and the other 2 girls were a little intimidated because we knew nothing about the family and we only knew that they a couple in age 71. We concerned our age differences and worried that we might have some barriers in communication. However, all the worries were gone as soon as we met them. The couple was super nice and welcoming. We spent the most wonderful two days with them, and I learned a lot about Japanese cultures. Other than learning cultures, we also got to know Japanese society more on micro-level. Unlike what we learned in Canada’s classroom, we actually got a chance to learn what is like to live in Japan and be familiar with Japanese’s daily lifestyle.

Besides homestay, we also visited some museums such as Edo Tokyo museum and Hokkaido museum. I’ve always had great interest in different kind of museums, therefore it was such a wonderful experience for me when we visited these museums. In these museums, I learned more about Japanese history and traditions. It was awesome to see how Japan developed economically and politically. And it was also great to see how Japanese people lived their life throughout the times. Everything we saw in the museums was all fascinating to me.

I’m so glad that I participated this program and truly honoured that I could show people what I’ve experienced and learned in Japan. Till today, I will still share my experiences with people I met. This trip also makes me want to visit japan couple more times just because I think there are more for me to explore in Japan.
See you! Japan!