Penglais - Otemae High School Exchange
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Penglais - Otemae High School Exchange |
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| Otemae students who wish to come to Aberystwyth have to go through a competitive selection process involving a written application and interviews. In 2003 there were over 100 applicants for 6 places. Those students who are selected are the ones who will best represent Otemae school and Japan. |
Please scroll down to see the following:
Otemae students information sheet...
What host families wrote...
What Otemae students wrote...
Before Otemae students arrived host families received a list with some information about each student...
2003 Otemae-Penglais Exchange Students
Host families wrote..
Host Father: The enthusiasm of all the students was in stark contrast to the concept of moody teenagers and was an absolute pleasure to be amongst. 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.
Host Younger Brother: Having Mari to stay was a very enlightening experience. I enjoyed talking with someone so incredibly different to British people. It was comforting and at the same time curious to have someone so incredibly polite and happy. I found her extremely emotional behaviour surprising, for example I felt uneasy and was uncertain of what to do when she started to cry when she was saying goodbye. Overall I think that we as hosts and Mari as the guest learned a lot about each other's cultures and had many memorable and enjoyable experiences.
Penglais host partner (age 17): When Mari, a Japanese girl, stayed with my family in Wales we became friends instantly; I realised then how easily friendship can leap over the boundaries of geography and culture; perhaps these differences heighten our appreciation of our common humanity. I longed to travel to Japan, to meet people in their own homes, to understand something of their culture and share their experiences.
Host Mother: our family hosted two students from Osaka, Japan. I would thoroughly recommend that you consider it. The girls were charming, well mannered, well behaved and interested and excited about all aspects of life in the United Kingdom. They required very little ‘looking after', but were, once they got over their initial shyness, a very active and popular part of the family. They were self sufficient, but had a very touching innocence. They cooked for us on one occasion, which they researched and shopped for. They were delighted with our customs, such as tea, with wafer thin cucumber sandwiches, small cakes and china cups and saucers! They loved barbeques!
We had letters from their parents, who were very pleased and grateful for the opportunity that the exchange gave to them. I had no previous experience of the Japanese people and I found this a very profound experience bearing in mind the history of our countries.
Host Mother: Mari was a delightful guest – enthusiastic, cheerful, lively and willing to try anything. Although it was the first time she had been out of Japan she seemed to take everything in her stride despite being in such a different environment to her home city of Osaka.
During her short stay she became like one of the family and we were all sorry to see her go.
Any worries about what to give her to eat and how to overcome the ‘language barrier' were soon dispelled: she was less fussy than our own children about food and we managed to communicate with signs and basic English with a little help occasionally from Mari's electronic dictionary (which came up with some strange translations at times). During the day an itinerary had been arranged for the Japanese group by Mr Gilbey and in the evening and the weekend they spent time with the host families. Several group events were organised in the evenings by the host parents and all of us enjoyed these. The Japanese guests had a refreshing enthusiasm and ‘childishness' not often seen in teenagers in this country. It was good to see the Japanese group and the Welsh host students enjoying themselves together.
Otemae Students wrote...
Otemae exchange student (age 16): I realised that English classes were very important. Even if we cannot speak properly, people try to understand what we say. I think the most important thing is to express our feelings, and to communicate each other. British people are friendly, but we have to try to speak to people, otherwise people would stop trying to understand us. Just don't be afraid of mistakes. My host father said " we are family". I then felt I would come back to Britain... Now, I want to learn English to communicate with them, and make my dream come true.
Otemae exchange student (age 16): In my opinion, transportation of this town is very limited... if chldren want to go friend's house, their parents have to take them there. That's why the relationship among parents also get close.
Otemae exchange leader, Masako Kawaguchi: It was a morning market day in Machynlleth and a lot of people were shopping there. The eight of us, all wearing yukata attracted a lot of attention. The students seemed to enjoy being looked at as some of them wrote in their diaries, ‘I felt quite pleased because many people turned to us and said “beautiful…”
Otemae exchange student (age 15): At the party, Mrs Kakitsuka offered the host girls her yukata (summer kimono) to wear and we had our photos taken together. They looked very happy wearing yukata .
Otemae exchange student (age 16): I am very happy I am a member of your family. I remember my important memories here forever. I would like to come back to this home again. We are always a family. Thankyou very, very much.