This picture was taken after our class won the basketball game for women!
I am a young man who believes a real ambassador strives constantly to create awareness and harmony between cultures. As an ambassador I plan to challenge myself and others to forge cross-cultural relations and to be more tolerant of others. That is why I participated in AFS Program for a year in Japan.
Apart from Japanese family life, we, as an exchange student, will be spending most of our time in school. School is where we meet many new friends, new teachers, Japanese traditional festivals, sports, and also a place to brush up our Japanese language skills! Thus, school provides a medium for us in order to have a great experience in Japan.
When I first came to Takushoku Daigaku Daiichi High School located at Musashimurayama, I was very nervous about starting my new life as a Japanese student. So here I list some differences between Malaysia’s school life and Japanese school life. However, bear in mind that it is not the differences that I would like to emphasize but about how the differences give us a more wide perspective of views.
BUKATSU (Club Activities)
- I am so amazed of the spirit shown by Japanese students when it comes to bukatsu.
- In Malaysia, we only have bukatsu once per week.
- However, in Japan, almost all clubs practice every day.
- I join Kendo club and we practice every day! Even though it is tired but it also gives you a great oppurtunity in making friendships and to get to know more about Japanese cultures.
- I once asked my friends what make them practice bukatsu until at the night, and they answered me ‘Samurai spirit’.
COMMUTING
- In Japan, I used bicycle to got to school.
- And If it’s rainy, I will take train.
- At first, I found it hard to cycle from home to school, but now, I just fell in love with cycling (It’s good for building my muscle up).
- In Malaysia, bicycle is not widely used as students prefer to walk or staying at school hostel or using bus.
- Generally, in Malaysia, bicycle in only for sport purposes.
- Thus, I gain new experience in Japan. Besides saving the environment, it is also good for my health.
TAIIKUSAI (Japanese Sports Day)
- I was so happy to experience Japanese style of sports days for the first time.
- I joined Oonawa, which is played by many people. It was so fun and interesting that we had to cooperate with each other to win that game!
- We made hachimaki! We supported each other. I learned new sports like dodge ball, oonawa, Frisbees etc.
- In Malaysia, we compete by House System (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green), but in Japan, we compete by class! So this also a new experience to me!
- What made us more happy was that our class became the CHAMPION!