Making Friends at Hiyoshigaoka High School

The Kyoto Language and Culture Program is underway into our second week, and the students were quite excited about this week. One of the highlights that they were looking forward to was visiting an actual local Japanese high school and interacting with the Japanese students.

When we first entered the high school, everyone was very surprised about the shoe lockers and changing out of their outdoor shoes. The leaders told students to make sure to wear socks, because Japanese schools use indoor shoes to walk around the campus. Our students also brought a lunch, or bento, to eat with the Japanese high schoolers. Although some of the students on both ends were nervous to talk to each other, everyone quickly opened up and became good friends.

We all enjoyed activities in the Hello Village, a floor of one of the school buildings dedicated to all English activites for the week. The students enjoyed a nostalgic summer fair and participated in a speed-conversation cafe. By the end of the festivities, students had exchanged contact information and lots of good laughs together. I heard some of them making plans to sing karaoke and hang out in their free time! What an exciting day of international friendships!