Azabu Exchange

Ten students recently expanded their horizons with a visit to the Land of the Rising Sun.

The midterm trip was part of Shawnigan's ongoing exchange with Azabu High School in Tokyo. 

On Tuesday, Grade 12 student Lena N. spoke about her experience in the Shawnigan Chapel.  What follows is an abridged version of her speech.

 

During the November mid-term break, I, along with nine other students, had the privilege to take part in the Azabu High School & Cultural Exchange Tour in Tokyo, Japan. As a group, we were excited to have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a different culture. We explored historical landmarks within the outskirts of Tokyo, such as the Great Buddha located in Kamakura, the majestic gardens of the Meiji Shrine, and the temples of Enoshima Island. Tokyo is truly a place where ancient and modern meet. We also explored the central areas of Tokyo where we enjoyed the neon-flickering of electric stores in Akihabara, the chaos of the Shibuya Crossing, and Harajuku, an area known for its teenage culture, vintage shops and trendy fashion boutiques. We not only enjoyed the sights and sounds, but the food was truly amazing! Our dining experiences ventured from sushi being delivered on a conveyor belt, trying several varieties of raman, to an authentic ten-course tempura dinner.  We were truly enamoured by the city life and food that Tokyo offered.

As if touring parts of ancient and modern Tokyo was not enough, we got a deeper understanding of this beautiful culture with the families that lived there. This was the part of the cultural exchange that was the most significant to each of us. Each member in our group was hosted by a Japanese family for five days to experience the lifestyle in a Japanese household. From the moment we met our host families, we were welcomed with open arms, and made to feel like a member of the family. We joined our ‘host brothers’ at Azabu High School where we experienced the school life in a Japanese classroom. The staff and students were so welcoming, and they had planned all kinds of fun activities and events so that we could get to know each other. We exchanged ideas and shared our lives. More importantly, we learned to make a connection with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, no matter how different we all appeared to be. For all of us, we created meaningful lifelong friendships with the students from Azabu and made lasting connections with our host families that will most certainly stand the test of time.

Thank you to everyone, especially Shawnigan, Mr. and Mrs. Lam, and the Azabu faculty, in particular Nakano-Sensei, for making this whole exchange possible. For those who are worried to try an exchange trip, do not be. Trust me…. It is one of the most amazing, fun, mind-opening experiences you will ever have.  

Arigatou gozaimashita!