At the end of Term 3 I was given the opportunity to travel to Japan with 16 of our Year 7 and 8 students. We were professionally managed by our Japanese language teacher, Suzanne Jeffree, and also well cared for.
We had 10 days to experience a beautiful country filled with history and culture that opened our eyes to an amazing part of the world. There was so much to admire about the way people in each city went about their day to day lives.
Tokyo is a modern city, demonstrating an organised metro train system that ran like clockwork. All the kids were amazed at the lack of rubbish bins in public areas like the train stations, but still there was absolutely zero litter on the streets, platforms or trains. The respect that the locals showed for their environment was inspirational.
Kyoto, the old Japanese capital, is full of stunning historical sites. There are more than 1200 ancient temples scattered throughout the city, totally integrated within the main city and out in the suburbs. One of our main activities that was thoroughly enjoyed by all was a long bike ride out to a Buddhist retreat surrounded by a bamboo forest. The respect and care that drivers give bike riders on the road was a blessing given our kids have no fear on two wheels regardless of the fact we were in a different environment.
Hiroshima was the city that brought us back to earth, given the harsh history that we were all reminded of with images of victims from the 1945 atom bomb raid. A local gave us a short guided tour that gave us some evidential insight into the effects of the bombing on that terrible day that, in war, brought about victory in the most horrific way. We took a tour of the Hiroshima Peace Park where some of the kids took a lot of time reading the sad stories of victims in the memorial museum. As we walked later in the day, the teachers and myself were impressed by the conversations that the boys were having among themselves and with us.
During the 10 days we had two football matches; one with a college team and the second with a football club. Although the results weren’t in our favour, the level of friendship and respect shown amongst all the players was nothing short of an overwhelming success as was the breaking of the language barrier via the world game. In both games our hosts were amazing in their sincerity, generosity and welcoming nature.
I will carry the memories of this trip as one of the best highlights of my life. A special thanks to all the kids who behaved so well and demonstrated a maturity that developed as the trip progressed. Thanks to Soozie for being an amazing guide and translator. She showed so much patience and professionalism as our ‘goto’ person in literally everything we experienced.
Sayounara
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