During my Modern Languages Course/Trip to Japan, we visited Kamloops’ sister city, Uji. There we were able to experience a homestay for 4 days, and practice our Japanese in a new, immersive way. We were able to visit an elementary school and be in class for the day in a grade 6 classroom. Here, we experienced what it was like in a typical day in a Japanese class. We were able to interact with the students with our basic level Japanese, and they were really intrigued with talking to Canadian students. We played with them at recess and enjoyed the day together. There were some culture shock moments, such as there are student representatives in charge for making the class lunches each day (with help from staff), every class is involved in cleaning the school and keeping things in order, and the overall generosity and care of the students of supplies and each other.
This newspaper cutout was sent to me from my host mother. This was in the Uji newspaper, May 24, 2017, and it shows (top left: myself, Elycia, Lorina) practicing our Japanese calligraphy in the classroom. In the bottom right, it showcases me walking during our kimono fashion show at the Uji Friendship Center during our Welcome Party. I was honored to wear my host mother’s kimono during that fashion show.
