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| Translation of the article about the youth exchange in the City Bulletin,
Issue 5/2005, page 10 |
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The firm promise to meet again
The little future cosmopolitans |
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| Youth group from the sister city of Messkirch, Germany, visits Kahoku |
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During the seven days from Wednesday, March 16 to Tuesday, March 22, a group of
20 participants in the Youth Exchange Program (among them 3 chaperones) from the
sister city of Messkirch, Germany, visited Kahoku. In line with the homestay,
the group lived under the same roof with ten junior high school student host
families and experienced the Japanese way of life.
They attended classes at
Takamatsu , Kahokudai and Unoke Junior High School together, made an overnight
trip to the National Noto Youth Friendship Center, and conducted exchange with
the junior high school students of Kahoku while communicating in
English.
The group members also visited Umikkoland in Nanatsuka and the Ishikawa
Nishida Kitaro Museum of Philosophy where they deepened the understanding
for Nishida, who was the trigger for the sister city affiliation.
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| Kommentare der Gastfamilien |
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Kazuhiro Masuda (Unoke): I got used to English on a daily basis
I was very happy when we were able to talk by lining up single words.
When we could make ourselves understood we chatted, played, and at the same time
practiced our English, so I enjoyed it very much. It was a lot of fun to play
cards and other games from our two countries.
Nanae Sakurai (Takamatsu): I want to learn languages to deepen our friendship
Kathrin and Diana understood even the clumsy English I spoke, and there
were days when we three would have a fun chat after the meals. The two
are also learning French, and I thought that I too would like to study
languages more and deepen my friendship with them.
Ryutaro Takata (Unoke): The most fun part was the overnight trip
Everything was so much fun that it seemed a waste to sleep. We all had
a lot of fun playing volleyball and basketball together. Playing the Japanese
taiko-drums was difficult, but we had the chance to experience something we
usually can`t do. At night we played cards, and I was nervous, but everybody
explained the rules to me in a friendly manner.
Saki Sawada (Unoke): Next time I want to go to Germany
The Germans were
very friendly and it was easy to become acquainted with them. When we talked we
didn`t use a dictionary at all, cause we found that we could communicate well
enough by using the English we knew, which made me gain confidence in my English
language ability. I think it was really good we became a host family.
Asuka Mizukami (Takamatsu): I learned many things through the homestay
I
realized that it is not necessary to make things complicated and that it`s
possible to have a fun conversation with the English we learned in Grade 7. I
reckon that one will get better in the language when going abroad for one week
rather than attending English conversation classes once or twice a week. I
thought I learned a lot of things through the homestay.
Chika Nishitani (Kizu): Seeing their laughing eyes blew off my insecurities
Before I met them I was full of insecurity, but when our eyes
met they laughed at me which took away my fear. Because they were all friendly
we became friends quickly and even now we are exchanging emails as friends. I
thought that I want to improve my abilities to deepen the friendship even more.Chika Nishitani (Kizu): Durch ihr Lächeln war die Angst wie weggeblasen
Keira Sugimoto (Kizu): We spent very fulfilling days
In the beginning I
was full of insecurity, but as the days went by I found myself looking forward
to talking to them. It was a short but quality time. If I have the chance to
meet them again I would like to make even more memories together.
Mao Mikuni (Takamatsu): Bidding farewell to Leo and Kim was hard
They
didn`t understand Japanese, but in rudimentary English we could talk to Leo and
Kim, who came to our house. We became too good friends, so I was extremely sad
when we bid farewell. Next time I would like to visit Messkirch from here and
meet Leo and Kim again.
Shingo Yamamoto (Mori): Even when the country is different, the feelings are the same
We could make ourselves understood by using gestures and facial
expressions. We did a lot of sports together, and when I saw them having fun
talking to my friends, I thought that even if we live in different countries,
the things we think and feel are the same.
Hironori Imaki (Kizu): We had fun everyday so the time went by just like
that
The first day I was full of insecurity so that it went by without me being able to say a word. With the help of my brother I gradually got to speak more, and as we had fun every day it was over in no time. What I felt most was that English conversation was really very important.
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