Penglais - Otemae High School Exchange

A report by the Family of Sian Williams on the 2003 visit

Well it was a high energy 2 weeks with a school exchange from Japan, and that was as hosts to just one of them, Ayako, in our home. As parents we were expected to provide food and a bed during the week and provide something to do for one weekend. We have 2 children at Penglais and our daughter Sian was the same age and very curious about Japan and its culture. Ayako had a good understanding of basic English and we could clearly see the benefit of the conversational side of the language developing during her stay. Unfortunately our Japanese progressed very little.

The enthusiasm of all the students was in start contrast to the concept of moody teenagers and was an absolute pleasure to be amongst. I have selected a few photos as an example of some fun and interesting things that we did during their two week stay.

During the school week there were several social gatherings during the evenings at the homes of a few of the hosting families. Here most of the visitors smile over the evening meal in the garden.

Our weekend was based on a few light hearted conversations about what Ayako might like to do.

Horse riding, mountain walking and visiting castles were high on her list and what we ended up choosing to do.

A few photos of the walk up Cader Idris shown here with a particular favourite of mine, Ayako next to the lake against the backdrop of the sheer cliffs of the east facing slopes below the ridge up to Cader. The other resting/posing after the climb up the gully, seen starting on the far right hand side of the lake on the previous picture.

The day, indeed the whole weekend, was fantastically sunny and mostly clear.

The following day we headed for the north Wales coastal castles of Conway and Penrhyn.

There was enough contrast between the two castles to give Ayako a clear feel for the two periods of history during which they were built. We had a great weekend doing some of the touristy trips that we had never got around to doing and thoroughly enjoyed the excuse to show here around our little bit of Wales.

As a family we really enjoyed the other family hosted evenings and the following photos generously show the fun that was had and some of the things we did! 

Most of the hosts daughters dressed up in Kimonos and I managed to catch a few of them in one picture. 

After some delicious food the fun events of crazy croquet and golf began and its clear who the winners were!

The odd game of garden sized Jenga (I think it was called) was a hit with a few more than seen here caught messing it up.

There was also a visit to the beach

We all had a great time and one that I would be happy to repeat, the Japanese girls were a credit to their school and country and a pleasure to be with. Their enthusiasm for everything was boundless and very infectious.