Oki High School

Australia Exchange Programme

2014 Report

26 Feb (Wed) to 10 Mar (Mon) 2014

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１ Aims

① To foster a strong sister school relationship with St. Mary MacKillop College in Canberra, Australia.

② To discover the value of the Oki Islands Global Geopark and present about it, therefore spreading the word about the Global Geoparks Network.

③ To visit a site of geological heritage in Australia and learn about geotourism activities around the world.

④ To participate in cultural exchange and deepen cross-cultural relations with St. Mary MacKillop College.

⑤ To enhance awareness of the natural landscape and culture of the Oki Islands through exposure to a different country and culture.

２ Schedule

Duration:

26 Feb (Wed) to 10 Mar (Mon) 2014

Location:

Canberra and Sydney, Australia

Accommodation:

Sydney METRO HOTEL SYDNEY CENTRAL 431-439 Pitt Street Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia Phone : 02-9281-6999

Canberra COUNTRY COMFORT GREENWAY 46 Rowland Rees Crescent, Greenway, Canberra ACT 2900 Phone : 02- 6293- 3666 (Teachers)

Program participants (6):

First Year Asuna Ota Second Year Saya Fukumoto First Year Miho Sasaki Second Year Miki Makio First Year Anri Shiro Second Year Mizuki Yokoji

Staff (3): 克幸 Onda (Vice Principal of Oki High School) 教諭） 折坂 育子 Ikuko Orisaka ( ) Teresa Sadkowsky (Okinoshima Town Coordinator of International Relations) 2

Itinerary Day Date Location Time Details 1 26 Feb (Wed) Afternoon Assemble at Saigo Port

Depart Saigo Port 15:40 Ferry to Shichirui Port

Arrive Shichirui Port 18:05 Matsue Station by Transfer Bus

Arrive Matsue Station 19:00

2 27 Feb (Thurs) Depart Hotel 10:45

Depart Matsue Station 11:05 Airport Bus

Arrive Izumo Airport 11:35

Depart Izumo Airport 12:25 JAL Flight JL 1666

Arrive Haneda Airport 13:40

Depart Haneda Airport 14:10 Airport Bus

Arrive Narita Airport 15:25

Departure

Depart Narita Airport 19:55 Qantas Flight QF 022

3 28 Feb (Fri) Arrive Sydney Airport 07:15 Arrival Depart Sydney Airport 11:25 Qantas Flight QF 1477

Meet Teachers and Host Families at Arrive Canberra Airport 12:20 Airport Arrive Host Families Afternoon Students commence Home Stay

4 1 Mar (Sat) All Day Day with Host Families

5 2 Mar (Sun) All Day Day with Host Families

6～ 3 Mar (Mon) - All Day School Exchange 10 7 Mar (Fri) Assemble at Canberra Airport with Host 11 8 Mar (Sat) Morning Families Depart Canberra Airport 10:25 Qantas Flight QF 1468

Arrive Sydney Airport 11:20 Taxi to city center

Afternoon Sightseeing in Sydney

Sightseeing Blue Mountains National 12 9 Mar (Sun) Blue Mountains All Day Park Depart Sydney 19:00 Taxi to Sydney Airport

Depart Sydney Airport 22：20 Qantas Flight QF 021

13 10 Mar (Sun) Arrive Narita Airport 06:20 Arrival Depart Narita Airport 08:00 Airport Bus to Haneda Airport

Arrive Haneda Airport 09:30

Depart Haneda Airport 10:30 JAL Flight JL 113

Arrive Itami Airport 11:40

Depart Itami Airport 14:00 JAL Air Commuter Flight JN2335

Arrive Oki Airport 14:45

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３ Program

Day 1 (Feb 26 - Wed)

15:00 Assemble at Oki Kisen Ferry Terminal Departure Greeting Student Representative and Oki High School Principal 15:40 Depart Saigo Port Arrive Shichirui Port – Bus to Matsue Station

Day 2 (Feb 27 - Thurs)

11:05 Depart Matsue Station for Izumo Airport 11:35 Arrive Izumo Airport 12:25 Depart Izumo Airport Flight JL1666 13:40 Depart Haneda Airport 14:10 Bus to Narita Airport 15:25 Arrive Narita Airport 19:55 Depart Narita Airport Flight QF022

Day 3 (Feb 28 - Fri)

10:00 Arrive Sydney Airport - Immigration Presentation Practice at Airport 11:25 Depart Sydney Airport Flight QF1477 12:20 Arrive Canberra Airport

Students and Host Families at Airport

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Day 4 & 5 (Mar 1 - Sat – Mar 5 - Sun)

Sightseeing in Canberra with Host Families

Day 6 (Mar 3 - Mon)

Student Exchange begins at St. Mary MacKillop College

Junior Japanese Language Class: Junior Japanese Language Class: Japanese Language Class & Oki High Students help with MacKillop Students do Year 9&10 Science Class: self-introductions and participate self-introductions and interview Oki Islands Global Geopark in class activities Oki High students about daily life Presentation

Day 7 (Mar 4 - Tues) Sightseeing in Canberra City

Parliament House National Art Gallery Questacon Science & Technology Center

Day 8 (Mar 5 - Wed) MacKillop College & Japanese Embassy Visit

Ash Wednesday Mass Hospitality Class Japanese Embassy

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Day 9 (Mar 6 - Thurs) Excursion to Cowra with Japanese Class Students

Japan Peace Garden Cowra WWII Prisoner of War Camp

Day 10 (Mar 7 - Fri) MacKillop College

Meeting with Minister for Education Physical Education Class Farewell Party

Day 11 (Mar 8 - Sat) Farewell at Canberra Airport

10:25 Depart Canberra Airport 11:20 Arrive Sydney Airport, taxi to hotel in city center.

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Sightseeing in Sydney

St. Mary’s Cathedral Hyde Park Barracks Sydney Opera House Wildlife Park

Day 12 (Mar 9 - Sun) Blue Mountains National Park

7:22 Depart Central Station 9:24 Arrive Katoomba Station

Blue Mountains National Park

22:20 Depart Sydney Airport Flight QF 021

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Day 13 (Mar 10 - Mon)

6:20 Arrive Narita Airport Transfer Bus to Haneda Airport 9:30 Depart Haneda Airport Flight JL 113 11:40 Arrive Itami Airport 14:00 Depart Itami Airport Flight JN 2335 14:45 Arrive Oki Airport

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４ Student Reflections

Miki Makio

I had a really enjoyable experience and learnt a lot during the Australia Exchange Programme. I am really happy that I was able to participate. It was my first overseas school trip so I was a little nervous at first, but people in Australia are so relaxed and cheerful. I was relieved because my host family was really nice and they listened to me very patiently. I also had the chance to spend time with both junior high and high school students as well as join in their classes which was really stimulating. During everyday life in Australia I was able to experience Australian customs firsthand, and find out many differences between Japan and Australia. By traveling overseas I realized many good things about Japan, too, so I want to share those things with many people. The thing I felt most on this trip was that I want to be able to speak more English. Also, I want to utilize this experience and broaden my own horizons by interacting with more people from different countries. I think that my way of looking at things has changed a lot since this exchange trip. Lastly, I am very grateful to the many people who enabled me to have this experience. I won’t ever forget it, and I want to try even harder at school from now on.

Miho Sasaki

I took part in this year’s Australia Exchange Programme to see how much English I could speak and how much my English ability had improved after a year of study. By the time we were ready to depart for Australia I was getting more and more nervous, and I became unsure whether or not I could really last a whole week there. I was so happy to meet Laina at the airport, but I was only able to say about one in ten things I wanted to and I was really frustrated at my lack of English language ability. I thought to myself that the next students who take part in this exchange trip should definitely not go just to have fun. On this trip, we arrived on the weekend, so I had the chance to get to know my host family a bit before school started. I still couldn’t say a lot, but if I tried hard to convey what I wanted to say, with them trying to guess and understand me, we were gradually able to communicate with each other. On the weekdays we went to school and did our presentation, as well as visited a number of places and learned about Australia and the Australia’s relationship with Japan. Meeting with Australian students and talking with them, I was surprised about cultural differences and how fast they talked, but the time that we spent together was really fun. I really think we should continue this sister school relationship. The homestay time was over in a flash, and while it was really sad to part with everyone, it was a truly great experience that I will never forget. I want to make the most of it in my school life from now on. We spent the last two days of our trip travelling and sightseeing in Sydney. I felt like I could communicate quite smoothly when I was shopping, talking with people in the plane and so on. We also had a great time sightseeing in Sydney for a day thanks to Teresa’s sister who was our guide. During this trip I strongly felt that my English language ability was lacking. It was really difficult not being able to say all the things I wanted to. So, I want to make up for it. I am going to try my very best to be chosen to go to Australia again next year.

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Saya Fukumoto

This was my first trip overseas and so I was really nervous about it. But as soon as I got on the plane with everyone I was only full of excitement. It was my first time overnight in a plane so I didn’t sleep very well but when I met Lara in the airport I realised that my home stay experience was finally starting. Everyone seemed really happy when I gave them souvenirs and from that time I started to feel comfortable with them. Mealtimes were also really delicious and fun. I am really grateful to my parents and teachers because not everyone is lucky enough to have the experience of being surrounded by English all the time. Thank you very much. I’m really lucky. At school, I was really happy that the junior students talked to us a lot and we had a really fun Japanese class. When we played ‘karuta’ the students listened really carefully to me speaking Japanese. Small children showing interest in me speaking Japanese made me realize how wonderful my language is. I was really nervous about the presentation we gave at school but when students smiled at us and said ‘good English’, I felt that our hard work practicing had paid off. Even in the senior classes Lara’s friends were kind enough to talk to me slowly and I think we were able to communicate with each other. This trip to Australia was an entirely new experience for me and I think I absorbed a lot in two weeks. More than anything, my world view and values have changed and I have grown to like English even more than before. The experience also made me realise the importance of listening and speaking English, not just learning how to write. In addition, I had previously decided that I want to work in management in the future, but after my experiences on this trip I have become really interested in foreign languages. If I have the chance again in the future I want to visit Canberra again. It was a really fun and I learned a lot in my two weeks there. Canberra is my second home!!

Asuna Ota

I learnt a lot during the Australia Exchange Programme. I was worried and nervous before we left, but when we arrived, everyone was really kind and supportive, especially my host family. My host family treated me like part of their family which made me really happy. They tried really hard to understand my vague English and listened seriously to me when I spoke. Thanks to that we got along well from the first night. I think the most important thing I realised on this trip is that if I don’t say the things that I think, feel, want to do and want to say out loud, then no one will know what they are. I am quite a shy person, so having to speak out in English was really hard for me. But if I didn’t I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with anyone or get close to anyone at all, so I tried hard to talk by using a lot of gestures. Finally, I was able to participate in and come back safely from this trip because of many people. I’d like to thank the students and teachers at MacKillop College, my host family, the students and teachers at Oki High School, the people in the Town Hall who were involved in this exchange program, my parents, and all of the people who supported this program. I want to meet my ‘Aussie family’ again and next time I want to speak better English with them. I also want use my experiences from this trip to grow in my English ability but also in other areas. I made many great memories. Thank you all very much.

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Mizuki Yokoji

At the start of the Australia Exchange Programme I couldn’t quite catch any of the English being spoken to me and it was really hard. However, there were many times when people wrote what they wanted to say on paper or used simple English to explain to me. From this experience I realized that it’s not only important to study at school, but to put in practice what you have learnt. In a homestay, you have to be able to communicate with your host family, so I had to think for myself and act for myself. Unlike with the Japanese people that I am surrounded by in my everyday life at home, in Australia many things have to be said out loud. Because of this I was able to become more assertive. There are also many cultural differences between Japan and Australia. I was able to broaden my perspective, as well as rediscover things I like about Japan such as food and ofuro (baths). When communicating with the students at school, I wanted to be able to talk much more about many different things but I wasn’t able to speak very well in English, which I regret. I think I should study English harder. This exchange trip was full of new experiences for me and I made many discoveries. I feel inspired to improve myself more and more. Overall I enjoyed myself, and I strongly believe that this program should be continued.

Anri Shiro

I am really glad that I had opportunity to participate in this year’s Australia Exchange Programme. During the trip I was exposed to many new things and learnt a lot. Before I met my host family I was worried about many things like ‘will they understand my English’ and ‘will I get along with the students at school’, but these worries disappeared right after meeting them. They listened carefully to my poor English and listened to me talk about Japan, whilst teaching me about Australia and English. I stayed with a really warm-hearted host family. At home my host sister and I worked on her Japanese homework together, I talked about the souvenirs I brought from Japan and about Oki Geopark, cooked dinner with my host mother and we practiced my part for the presentation we gave about Oki in school. On the weekend they showed me around Canberra and we went to a lot of different places. At school I took part in Japanese, maths, photography, physical education, and hospitality classes. Both students who studied Japanese and those who didn’t, were interested in Japanese and kindly explained what was happening in class when I had trouble understanding the English. It was really interesting to see all the differences between school in Australia and in Japan. For example, in Australia students finish classes early at 3pm, and all students have computers which they use in class. We also successfully presented about the Oki Islands Global Geopark to MacKillop students, which was one of the goals of the trip. During preparation and practice for the presentation I was able to rediscover many great things about Oki and learnt a lot. This trip was a success all thanks to my family, the teachers who guided me, my seniors and friends who went to Australia with me, all of the people and teachers in Oki who supported us, as well as all of the students, teachers and everyone we met in Australia who treated us so warmly. I am especially grateful to my host family who were so kind to me every day. Whilst I felt communication barriers over and over again, I realized that having the courage to try and put your thoughts into words is really important. I also realized that my English language ability is still poor. It hit home that I had gotten over-confident in my English tests at school. I now have the incentive to work even harder to improve my English ability for next time I go on exchange abroad. 11