During my time in Japan, I met many people I will never forget. My host family, the friends I made and places I've seen are people and places I will never forget. The traditional foods enhanced the trip so much, The sights, the people and the foods have made this trip so worthwhile.
The places we've been to, are incredible. A number of times I said, 'wow' about a piece of beautiful architecture is amazing. Everywhere you go, you notice fine details that really show the Japanese culture. In the airport, the carpets with cherry blossoms and koi designs. In the train stations, the artworks in the floors and the walls almost go unnoticed but they truly are spectacular. The shrines and the castles really show the traditional oriental designs and architecture, that bring the history of Japan to the present.
The people we've met and the friends we made at Isahaya Commercial High School are unforgettable. All our host families were so nice, kind and caring of us all. We learnt so many Japanese phrases while over there and our vocabulary has improved. The friends I made, were friends I will never forget. On the day of the farewell party, they gave me a book of memories and many of our students received similar books from their host families.
The foods we ate were amazing. Almost every day we ate traditional foods. We ate okonomiyaki, udon, sushi and so on. One of my favourites is the bento box. It is a pre-packed lunchbox that has at least one type of meat and three colours of rice - yellow, green and red. Our host families packed them of us on days we went to school. Other days, during our shopping and lunch times we bought bento boxes and sat down to eat on the Shinkansen (high-topped trains) and so on.
The experience we had in Japan was incredible. I encourage everybody who has the chance to take up this unmissable opportunity. We all enjoyed our time in Japan so much and want to return sometime in the future.
Mickaella Douglas
Year 9