Exchange

Fukushima-New Zealand Exchange Programme

The 2006 Fukushima Summer School Programme for New Zealand High School Teachers of Japanese

Once again, Fukushima Prefecture hosted 2 New Zealand teachers of Japanese from September 24th to October 3rd for the inaugural 'Fukushima-New Zealand Summer School Programme, designed to build exchange between schools in the 2 regions. This time marked the 10th year that the exchange programme has been running, and Fukushima was pleased to welcome Trudi Wigg, from Bayfield High School in Dunedin, and James Feng, from St. Mary's College in Auckland.

The trip started in Tokyo - off the plane, one night in Ueno and then up at the crack of dawn to take the train up to Tomioka, a town of 16,000 on the coastal side of Fukushima. No time to rest, it was straight into the car and on to the first of the four schools we would be visiting, Tomioka High School. Tomioka is a school with an exciting sports programme aimed at developing world-class athletes, and have a particularly strong soccer programme in cooperation with J-Village. The school grounds were undergoing renovation at the time, but we were shown a model of what it would look like when complete, and it was very impressive, with a professional standard soccer field. After a tour of the school, each of the teachers taught a 1st year class about New Zealand. James used the internet and video to give a picture of New Zealand school and daily life, while Trudi quizzed the students on their knowledge of New Zealand and demonstrated a Maori poi dance.

Since we had come all the way out to the coast, it seemed a waste not to include some kind of marine-based activity. Hence it was decided that we visit 'Fukushima Aquamarine', an aquarium located in Onahama Port, Iwaki. The facilities have been designed to recreate the natural environment of the various marine animals, and the exhibits were beautifully presented.
The afternoon activity was a pottery lesson in Naraha-machi, a town long associated with the craft. It was the first time for both of the NZ teachers, but with the expert advice of the teacher they managed to successfully complete a bowl and cup.

The second school visit on the schedule was Soma Higashi High School, but upon arrival we were promptly informed that school had been cancelled that day due the torrential downpour which had stopped the train carrying many of the students to school.
We were fortunate enough, however, to be given a guided tour of the (strangely quiet) school facilities, which were amazing. Soma Higashi was built on a new location 4 years ago and as a consequence has some of the most modern and specialised facilities that I have seen anywhere in Japan or New Zealand.
While it was unfortunate to miss out on meeting the students, we used the afternoon to conduct a driving tour of the Soma area (again in heavy rain).

The final school on the Soma/Iwaki leg of the tour was Tomioka 2nd Junior High School.
Tomioka J.H. is a special school in that it teaches 3rd year students caregiving skills such as sign language, braille and first aid as part of the curriculum.
That evening the two teachers traveled to Fukushima City for a night in a traditional Japanese Ryokan, which by all accounts was very flash!

On the Friday morning the teachers were given the chance to try on Kimono, and perform a tea ceremony in them. While tea ceremony is supposed to be a relaxing pastime, anyone who has undergone the 20 minute ritual while sitting in the seiza position with 8 layers of kimono and sashes wrapped around them may disagree.

The weekend was spent homestaying with the families of Fukushima Commercial High School PTA, who put on a lavish welcome party for the visiting teachers on Saturday night, followed by some rousing renditions at karaoke, according to reports from those involved.

The final school visit on the trip was to Fukushima Commercial H.S., a school which trains students for the business world, as well as encouraging them to partake in sports and extracurricular activities. The NZ teachers were particularly impressed with the mock 'companies' which the students had set up, complete with their own offices, phones and faxes. The students carried out all the related book-keeping in English as well.

The final day in Fukushima was spent learning Ikebana at Fukushima International Association. There are a lot of specific rules attached to how arrange flowers in a vase, but with coaching from the instructor the teachers managed to produce an attractive design. The afternoon included a visit to Fukushima International Relations Groups and a meeting with the Governor's representative, Senior Policy Administrator Fujiwara. The busy schedule finally came to an end with a farewell party in the evening, which was attended by members of the Prefectural Office English Conversation Club as well as the International Relations Group and the Tea Ceremony and Ikebana instructors. After the first leg of the party we were accosted on the street by a plush giraffe, who convinced us to go along with him to his karaoke place. A relaxed ending to a fun and productive 2 weeks.

Talks are already underway to set up video conferencing between students from Fukushima and St. Mary's College, so the programme has already begun to show results.