MEJIROGAKUEN

VOL.49Mejiro Exchange
Mejiro University (Undergraduate, Postgraduate)
Mejiro University College
Mejiro Kenshin Junior and Senior High School

Mejiro Gakuen
4-31-1 Nakaochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 161-8522 JAPAN
Tel. 03-5996-3131 http://www.mejiro.ac.jp

JUNE 2014

Study Trip to Australia

Kana (left) participating in French classat St. Aloysius College

I went to Australia for 10 days during springvacation. It was too short for me, but I reallyenjoyed this study tour. I went to Adelaide which isa very beautiful city. There are many buildings, andnature is everywhere.

My host family was very kind to me. My hostmother, Linda, is good at cooking. My hostfather, Michael, is funny and kind. My host sister,Michaela, is very cute. I watched “Frozen” withher. She sings very well. I enjoyed that.
One day we visited St. Aloysius College.
I joined French, English and math classes.
Studying French is my dream. It was exciting
but difficult for me. French pronunciation is
so difficult, but I really enjoyed my time there
because the students were very friendly to me.
I also felt that Australian people are very kindbecause when I took the bus to go to school,
people said thank you to the driver when they
got off the bus. I was surprised. I thought it
was very nice.
My best memory is going to Glenelg beach
because it looks like a resort area. The sea wasbeautiful. I played in the water. It was very exciting.

I am very happy I could go to Australia to improve
my English skills. This experience was wonderful
for me. I will never forget it.
Next year will be the 20th anniversary of thisstudy trip so I recommend it to anyone interested
in going abroad.
Kana Miyasaka
Senior 2

The closing ceremony with the principal Ms. Paddy
McEvoy, Ms. Margaret Dyer and host families

Mejiro Kenshin Sports Day

This year’s Sports Day took
place on May 13th at Tokyo
Budokan. It was such an
awesome experience!
Everyone tried so hard andthe activities were so fun. The
whole day was so entertaining!
I was really impressed with
Ellie (center) participating in
All of the students warming up for the event
how fast everyone was in the
the Tamaire event with her teamraces and how talented thecheerleading team is. It was
day in New Zealand, but that just made it a Tamaire was also really fun, as we don’t havereally nice to see everyone work together and more exciting and new experience. I partook in the sport in New Zealand. It was really intense
have lots of fun. Sport usually doesn’t interest the three-legged race and Tamaire, a Japanese when versing other classes, and funny to watch
me a whole lot, but this day was definitely an game where everyone throws balls into a basket the teachers and parents try it. I’m so glad I got
exception! Everyone was really encouraging on a tall pole. I was a little scared for the three- to experience this part of Mejiro and I will neverand supportive when it was my turn to partake legged race because everyone was so fast, but forget it!
in a sport, which was nice because I was a it ended up being really fun. I could see that
Ellie Saxby
little nervous. It was quite different from sports Mejiro Kenshin students have great teamwork!
Takapuna Grammar School

Studying Abroad in Japan

Tamaki (left) with her host sisterand friends at Disneyland

Whenever you hear thewords ‘language exchange’,
it conjures concepts ofinflexibility, packed schedules,
no communication withfriends, and overall a boringand mildly satisfactory trip.
However my six week stayin Tokyo was definitely noneof the above. Because I have
travelled to Japan manytimes before I wasn’t reallyexpecting much, but thisexchange surpassed all of this without doubt.
This exchange was the first time travelling by myself overseas; a different
country, different people and different lifestyle. I was beyond excited themoment I stepped off the plane and into Narita International Airport. The
thought of me staying for six weeks in the opposite hemisphere to my family
felt so surreal! I was greeted by my host family with a big welcome banner andlots of hugs. They were so affectionate and I literally became my host parents’second daughter!
During the winter holidays, I was taken to countless fun places. I spent a lot oftime with my host sister and friends around Harajuku, Shinjuku and Shibuya.
I would also say that I spent my Christmas Eve and day in the best possible
way, at Disneyland! I spent my Christmas Eve with my family who visited all
the way from Kyushu, and Christmas day with my host sister and her friends!

Ashleigh (center) with her host mother and sister

I really enjoyed my time in Japan. Being able toexperience Japanese food, culture, people andplaces was an amazing experience. I really enjoyedgoing traveling to all different places and seeing
what Japan is like from an up-close perspective.
I really enjoyed staying with my host family andbeing taught all the different aspects of Japaneselife from them and also tasting all the delicious
Japanese home-cooked food! I loved being
able to go to a Japanese school and seeing how
different Japanese schools are from Australianschools. I really liked Japanese school and getting
to know everyone and sharing happy momentswith my classmates. When I first arrived in Japan
my Japanese wasn’t very good and I had no
confidence in myself, but after going to schooland listening and working on my Japanese I
gradually became more confident. I really enjoyed
the field trips the exchange students went on every
Wednesday. I really liked touring around different
places and being told about the history of places
and enjoying a few laughs along the way. All in all
I loved my exchange to Japan and would like tothank everyone who treated me with kindness andpatience. I can’t wait until I can go back to Japan tostart a new adventure.
Ashleigh Dobson
Ogilvie High School

My host family and I then road-tripped to Kyoto, where we spent New Year’swith their family. It was definitely the highlight of this whole trip; In particular,
the snow was the most incredible first encounter. Although I was accustomed
to the customs of Japan, the aspect that I was possibly most nervous for wasschool. As I go to an all-girls high school in Australia I was slightly nervous
attending a co-educational school, but my thoughts immediately changed.
The students were all so friendly, and they never failed to put a smile on myface! I made an enormous number of friends from different year levels, but I
also created a strong friendship between the other exchange students from
Canada and Tasmania. Of course, the school never ceased to amaze me how
caring they were of us exchange students. The school organised a special
timetable for the exchange students in which we participated in many different
classes; calligraphy, Japanese, music, art, and we also helped our grade in
English classes. We were also taken to sightsee, from Tokyo Tower to Studio
Ghibli. Towards the end of our stay, we had the experience of wearing yukata. I
must say that Mejiro is the only school I have enjoyed waking up early for!
To sum it all up this exchange was by far, the most memorable trip I have everexperienced. Yes, it was busy; the school days, the weekends and the holidays
but it was incredible nonetheless. I want to thank Mejiro for making thisopportunity possible for me, in particular, Ms. Morimoto, Ms. Strong and Ms.
Goto. I also want to thank my incredible host family; I could never have asked
for a better host family! Overall, it was such a special experience, I enjoyedevery minute of it and I know it will be one of my memories that I will keep withme for the rest of my life.
Tamaki Matsuo-Hoobin
Somerville House

During the winter in mid-December, Tamaki and I
went on exchange to Tokyo, Japan. The everyday
experiences broadened both my cultural understanding
and Japanese vocabulary during my stay. I am reallygrateful to have been given this opportunity.
My host family took me to various places including
Disneyland, Osaka and various places in theTokyo area. They were always supportive, andassisted me whenever I queried about something
I didn’t understand. The food was always amazing,
doughnuts and otoro alike, especially with New
Year's around the corner. Being in Japan, I wasable to apply my prior knowledge and learn newthings along the way – as well meeting manyfriends with similar interests.
I enjoyed school life at Mejiro Kenshin, be
it the intriguing classes offered to us exchange
students to the food available at the cafeteria.
The excursions I went to with other students werevery thrilling, particularly the Mori Art Museum andGhibli Museum. And the classes we took wereinteresting, and taught us a lot. The Japaneseclasses were stimulating, the calligraphy class wastruly fun and throughout our English classes we got
to go to different classes at times and see how they
From December toM arch t h is y ear, I
received the privilegeof experiencing life as
an exchange student at
Mejiro Kenshin. I stayedwith my host sister,Kaede, and her family,
whom I came to lovevery much. They cared
Yasmine (left)
for me and took me toand her host sisterall sorts of fascinating
places such as Disneyland, Toshimaen, Yokohama
Hakkejima Seaside Paradise and many shrines
and temples. We often talked and laughed together
and the closer we all got, the harder the thought ofleaving became.
I learnt a lot about the Japanese language andculture at school. Studying calligraphy and helping

Selina (second from left) with her host familylearn our language at school.
Everyone I met was very open and ecstatic inshowing me new aspects of things I never knew
about the country I love most. For example,
I learned that an hour’s worth of travel wasbarely anything and that schools in Japan havean extensive variety of clubs. Mejiro even has acheerleading club. I admit that speaking Japanese
all the time was difficult, but I am so happy I took
away so much from my exchange. I would love togo back to Japan again, perhaps on exchange,
but my first and unforgettable Mejiro exchange willremain the most inspiring of all!
Selina Spiliopoulos
Somerville House
the English conversation classes was a really great
learning experience for me. I often visited various
school clubs such as the basketball, tea ceremony,light music, kendo, manga and badminton club. I
was really glad to make many new friends at school.
When I was with them, I could never stop smiling. I
still keep in touch with them and am looking forward
to meeting with them again someday.
I felt really at home in Japan. It had been my
dream to travel there and experience life at aJapanese school for many years, so I am very
grateful to have lived out my dream and as aconsequence have created new ones. Someday
I plan to come back to Japan to work and live
there. Until then, I’m going to study Japanesereally hard to become more competent.
Yasmine Shabaneh
Ogilvie High School

Studying Abroad in Australia
Japan and difficult for me to understandI studied abroad last year from June tosometimes. Nobody knew Japanese so I
September in Tasmania as an exchange
spoke English all the time. I was able tostudent. I went to Ogilvie High School.
improve my English, and I thought that I
Ogilvie High School is very large. Bothwanted to study lots of languages and go
the students and teachers were very kindto many other countries in the future.
and friendly. At Ogilvie, I could choose myfavorite classes once every three weeks
Rin Suzuki
so I was able to attend a lot of classes
Senior 2
and make many friends. And throughconversations with my classmates, I was
I went to Tasmania, Australia for aboutable to speak English.
three months. I learned many things
My host family was very cheerful andthrough English.
kind. Four languages were spoken in the
There were five people in my host family:
house because my host father comes frommy father, mother, two older brothers
England and my host mother comes fromand sister. My host sister, Yasmine, likes
Vietnam. In addition, they were hosting
Chiharu, Rin and Kaede with their host sisters in Australia
Japanese very much so we watchedanother exchange student from China. So,
Japanese dramas on holiday. My hostI learned not only English, but also othermonths. I first thought that I wanted to go tobrothers, Omar and Sami were always kindforeign languages and cultures, which was very
other countries when I went to Canada on my
to me and taught me English. My family took
interesting and a good experience for me. I went
school trip last year. At first, I felt nervous andme to many places around Tasmania. I went toto many wonderful places with my host family. I
was homesick, but my host family was kind tosome national parks, a museum, limestone cave,
especially liked Hastings Cave and the zoo. At
me and I had so much fun thanks to them. I went
salmon pond, shopping, cinema and Port Arthur.
the zoo, I saw Australian and Tasmanian animals
to Ogilvie High School, which is my host sister’s
There is a lot of nature in Tasmania. I could see
like kangaroos, koalas, wombats, and Tasmanianschool. There were a lot of people from different
many stars at night. It was very beautiful.
Devils. On my last holiday, I went to Bruny Island
countries there so I was able to make friends
At school, I could choose my favorite classes. I
with my host family. We camped there. Therefrom many countries. We took classes like regularstudied Japanese, visual art, math, team sports,
was a very clear beach and beautiful view. When
students. We had math, student support, art,
English, music, health and fitness. I liked fitness
it was time to say goodbye, my host father andfitness, music, Japanese, and P.E. classes. I liked
class the best because I did archery, jumped onmother said, “You are our other daughter. Comemusic class the best because we were able toa trampoline, played golf and went bowling. They
home anytime.” When I heard this, I was reallypractice our instruments freely. I played the piano
were very fun.
touched. I had a very wonderful time in Tasmania.
in music class and it got me interested in the
During the exchange, I made many new friends.
I will never forget my experience there. Someday,
piano. On every Tuesday and Thursday, Ogilvie
I joined the scouts and got to make even more
I would like to visit Tasmania and my host family’sHigh School had Breakfast Club. Breakfast isfriends there. I slept over many times with myhouse again.
available for 20-cents for Breakfast Club
friends. I’ll never forget this experience. I want to
Chiharu Sato members. I loved the club, so I went to it every thank my host family, teachers and students I met.
Senior 2 time. Every weekend my host family took me
to various places. I was very happy to go to theKaede Aseda
I went to Tasmania, Australia to study for three bakery. Australian culture was very different from
Senior 2

I think that studying abroad was the best experience I have ever had in
my life. I didn’t want to come back to Japan. Even now, I want to go there
again. I’ll never forget about the time I spent in Brisbane.
Keyaki Shimada
Senior 2

Keyaki and Hana with students at Somerville House

I went to study in Brisbane, Australia as an exchange student from June to
September of last year. The school I went to was called Somerville House.
At school I learned English, French, art, music and P.E. All the classes were
taught in English. It was hard for me, but my host sister and my friends
helped me when I didn’t understand. Japanese classes were very fun. The
students’ Japanese was very good. I also participated in Sports Day. It
was very different from Japan’s and I really enjoyed it. I also made a lot offriends at school. They were very kind to me and I enjoyed talking to them.
My favorite time of school was morning tea. It would be very nice if there
was something like it in Japan, too.
I was happy because I didn’t only learn English; I also learned a lot about
Australian culture and lifestyle. It was a great experience for me. I really miss
my host family. I made many wonderful memories with them, especiallywhen we went to the beach and the Gold Coast which was very impressive.

I studied abroad for about three months in Brisbane, Australia. The school I
went to was called Somerville House.
It was my first time to study abroad so I was very excited and nervous. I
stayed at the house of a family of four: my host father, mother, sister andbrother. They were very kind to me. They took me to many places. We
went to the park, zoo, beach, theater, ice skating and the city. I bought a
lot of souvenirs for my family and friends in the city. Brisbane is really abeautiful city. There are a lot of shops. I especially like the chocolate shop,
Max Brenner. I want to eat chocolate fondue at this shop again. Brisbane
also has beautiful beaches. When I went to the beach with my host family,
we swam in the sea and we made a mountain out of sand. I really enjoyedit. At school, I was able to make many friends. I was worried about talking
with friends because I couldn’t understand what they were talking about.
But they spoke slowly and clearly for me. I learned about art, P.E., math,biology, Christian education, economics, Japanese and English with myhost sister. During Japanese class, my teacher and friends held a surprise
party for us on the last day of school. We ate some snacks, played card
games, and took pictures. I had a wonderful time at school.
My friends were very kind to me. We went to the theater, shopping mall,and took purikura. I enjoyed it and I want to meet them again. Through thisexperience, I learned not only English, but also about differences in culture. I
want to study English more and become a good English speaker. I was able
to spend a lovely time in Australia. I would like to return to Australia someday.
Hana Moriizumi
Senior 2

Internship Program

Junko with Japanese language students at Ogilvie High School

This trip was my second timeto go overseas as a Japanesel a n g u a g e a s s i s t a n t t h ro u g h
Mejiro University’s internshipprogram. I went to Ogilvie HighSchool which is a girls’ school
and New Town High School
which is a boys’ school. Eachweek I worked at Ogilvie for 3
days and New Town for 2 days.
Both schools have students from
grades 7 to 10. The students alllove Japanese things like culture,
food, fashion, anime and manga.

exercises and tests for grades 7-10. I alsotranslated English into Japanese when
exchange students from Japan had difficulty
understanding English. Sometimes I helped
other teachers in classes such as French,
English, and history.

I tried to help out in any way
that I could. I was happy tohelp the teachers and students.
For example, I helped make

Junko Kusumoto
Alumnus, Department of Japanese andJapanese Language Education
Mejiro University

Studying Abroad in Canada
When you think of Vancouver, what comes tomind? For me, I recall the five months I spent
there because it was one of the most significant
experiences in my life.
I went to Vancouver to study for five months. I
had never been to a foreign country before soeverything that I learned and experienced was
new and fresh. It was also my first time staying
with a host family. In the beginning I was afraid
and lacked the courage and resolve to makethe most of my trip. When I realized this I began
trying everything. As a result, I was able to makeGen (second from left) with friends
at West Vancouver Secondary Schoola lot of friends and learn about Canadian culture.
I also learned many other languages such as
Spanish and Chinese from my friends. In return, I taught them Japanese and about Japanese culture
because they were really interested in Japan.
Thanks to everyone around me, like my teachers and friends at West Vancouver Secondary School,
my homestay family and my own family, I was able to experience so many things. I really appreciatethem because without their support, my trip would not have been as substantial as this. I will neverforget this special experience because I was able to improve my English and grow as a person. If I
have another opportunity, I would like to study abroad again.
Gen Shoda
Senior 2
When I arrived in Vancouver, I was so happy because I
had wanted to go back after my junior high school trip to
Canada. Studying abroad was difficult because I could
not understand nor speak English very well, but I wasvery happy when I was able to converse with people. So I
learned about the pleasure of talking with others.
I studied at West Vancouver Secondary School for about
three months. The school was multicultural with many
people from different countries. I was able to make friends
from other countries. I took nine classes. I could choose
the classes I wanted to take. My favorite class was
photography because I enjoyed learning about it and I
Mizuka (second from right) at theChristmas market with friends
made many good friends.
On the weekends, I went out with my host family or
friends. One day, I went volunteering with my host family to serve food to the homeless. It was myfirst time. Afterwards, I felt a real sense of accomplishment. Another day, I went to the Christmas
market with my friends. The decorations, different kinds of food, and big Christmas tree wereamazing. I had a great time.
I had an awesome time abroad because it was nice to meet people in Canada and I enjoyed mynew experiences. I want to thank everyone who helped me, especially my host sister, Haruka. She
helped me improve my English skills and grow as a person. I want to see her, my friends and teachers
again. In the future, I want to develop my English skills more and more and make the best use of myexperience abroad.
Mizuka Miura
Senior 2

During the school holidays, I traveled around
Australia. I really enjoyed it. I met many nicepeople at the backpackers, made friends, andwent to see the city together with them.
I had a great time during my internship and will
never forget this experience.

Studying Abroadin New Zealand

Sonoka (right) with her host sister

I studied in New Zealand at Takapuna Grammar
School from August to October of 2013. Mylife there was really exciting. At the end of myfirst week of school there was an event called
International Evening. The students performed
dances and songs from many countries at thisevent. Because I took a class on Maori culture,
I danced the haka, a traditional dance of New
Zealand, on the stage too.
All of the students there were very active and at
first I was often surprised by the class style andatmosphere because it was entirely different fromJapan. However, there were many foreign students
from various countries and I could talk with themand spend very interesting days together.
I was really well taken care of by my host family,
the Sprays. When we had a school holiday, I
went on a trip to Wellington and Rotorua withmy family. They treated me like their own
daughter. They listened to my halting English
and understood. I was really impressed by theirkindness. I still remember what they said when
I went back to Japan, "Return here anytime
because this is already your home."
This exchange has been a very valuable
experience for me. I met many people anddiscovered new things. I want to thank everyone
for giving me this opportunity to challenge myself.
I cannot wait to return to Auckland one day andvisit Takapuna Grammar School again.
Sonoka Shimamura
Senior 2
VOL. 49 JUNE 2014

Mejiro Exchange is published biannually by Mejiro Gakuen.
Views expressed in the ME do not necessarily reflect thoseof Mejiro Gakuen. Comments and submissions invited.