Bonjour, buenos dias, guten morgen, boungiorno and good morning are just a few of the most common greetings exchanged by peoples around the world. These are the simplest yet most pleasing words a person may hear from a friend or even from a complete stranger in a place anywhere around the globe. And this time, it Ohayo Gozaimasu the parallel greeting of Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.
Just this summer 2006, the Ateneo de Naga University High School sent its 7th delegation to Hiroshima Gakuin in Hiroshima, Japan for the annual Student Exchange Program between the mentioned schools since 1996. Hiroshima Gakuin started sending students to Ateneo de Naga in 1996 while Ateneo began in 1999. It has since become an annual event for the two schools and in August 2005 Hiroshima Gakuin students last visited the Philippines and experienced life in Ateneo de Naga University. This summer I was among the group that the Ateneo sent to Japan.
For this year, the Ateneo sent 12 students (8 boys & 4 girls) and 2 teacher-companions to Hiroshima, Japan, Mr. Meljohn Tatel and Mrs. Jonalyn Locsin. Hiroshima Gakuin is a private and Catholic secondary school being operated by Jesuits in Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima Gakuin is an exclusive school for male students. The girls in our group went to Notre Dame Seishin which is also in Hiroshima, Japan. Notre Dame Seishin is on the other hand exclusive for female students. Secondary education in Japan is for 6 years – 3 years of Junior High School and another 3 years for Senior High School.
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Joshua (right) with his host father Dr. Tetsuo Nakashiwa (left) and host brother Keita Nakashiwa (center) |
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In the Student Exchange Program, host families are provided for each visiting student. The host families act as the visiting student’s secondary family while they are away from their own. And in my case, my host family during my stay in Hiroshima, Japan was the Nakashima Family with Keita Nakashima, a 2nd year Senior High School student of Hiroshima Gakuin, as my host brother. The Nakashima family has 3 children. The eldest, Takahiro Nakashima, had been in the Philippines 4 years ago and is now studying in Tokyo University. He was also an exchange student of Hiroshima Gakuin when he visited the Philippines. Keita Nakashima is the second child who also went to the Philippines last August 2005 also as an exchange student of Hiroshima Gakuin. The youngest of them, Syohei Nakashima, is a 3rd year Junior High School in Hiroshima Gakuin. The father of the family is Tetsuo Nakashima, a psychiatrist, while the mother is Yumiko Nakashima, a co-worker of Dr. Nakashima. During my visit in Japan, I resided in Kairouyamaminami, Saekiku, Hiroshima City. It was springtime when we went to Japan and the temperature averaged 23 degrees Centigrade.
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Joshua who is nicknamed “Big J” at the Golden Pavillon or Rokuo-Ji in Kyoto |
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We started our life on the Japanese soil on the 3rd day of May when our airplane touched down in Osaka. From Kansai International Airport in Osaka, we traveled to Rokko High School dormitory in Kobe so that we can take some rest before riding the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) for Hiroshima the next day. It was on May 4th when we first met our host families in the Hiroshima Shinkansen Station. The rest of the day was spent with our own host families at home. The Flower Festival of Hiroshima takes place every year on the 5th day of May. On this day was my first experience to watch a 4-hour baseball match in the Hiroshima Baseball Stadium.
May 6, 2006 was our first day in Hiroshima Gakuin when I was the first one to draw blood from our group because I was picked out by our teacher-companion to deliver an impromptu speech in front of the assembly in behalf of my other schoolmates. Our first day in school included our first Japanese Lessons wherein we had to learn some useful Japanese expressions that became handy temple which local and foreign tourists love to visit. After Kurashiki, we ventured to Ohara to see its renowned museum that houses priceless modern and ancient works of art dating back from the dynasties that once ruled over the Japanese land.
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Ateneo de Naga students with Hiroshima Gakuin teachers. |
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The 8th of May was the day when the formal welcome ceremonies were held in Hiroshima Gakuin to welcome us. During the ceremonies, Hiroshima Gakuin highlighted its incomparable performances in the art of juggling, kendo fighting, and orchestral music. It was then a classy show of performances from the host school for its visitors.
On May 9th, we visited the place that had caught most of my attention since my first step on the Japanese soil – the Peace Memorial Park. This place is one of the two spots on the World Heritage list around the world, other one being the place of the Holocaust in Europe. Aside from the fact that this place is a very interesting and beautiful place to visit, it is also a very touching and solemn location where everyone from whatever country is moved to offer dignified respect. Peace Memorial Park is known around the world because it was the place where the first atomic bomb was used against a human population. The Peace Memorial Park serves as a living and respected memento of the aftermath of this evil caused by mankind himself.
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At the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima with some Japanese counterpart student. |
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From May 8 to 12, we experienced and observed the typical school life in Hiroshima Gakuin in terms of academic, athletic, and social aspects. In school, we had to participate in their calisthenics which they call Chukantaiso. We had to perform the exercises on the school grounds with our body half-naked. It was such an unforgettable activity in school. After every school day, all students are required to clean the whole campus before going home or joining in their individual clubs and after-school appointments. This is the reason why Hiroshima Gakuin is such an ideal school for its cleanliness and conduciveness for studying.
During my short stay in Japan, I was able to prove why many people around the world admire the Japanese people and regard them highly for what they are. The Japanese people are a disciplined community which is largely the reason why Japan is such a very progressive nation not only in terms of economic standing, but also in matters like environment, technology, and socio-political aspects. Discipline is one very good value that a Filipino like me can learn from the lifestyle of the people of Japan.
Japanese culture has left a living imprint in my life. I was able to learn and speak a little Nihonggo; I was able to taste, savor, and even cook exotic Japanese delicacies and eat them using chopsticks. More important is to live through the innovative and celebrated technologies of Japan. All in all, our visit and life in the Land of the Rising Sun did not simply revolve on experiencing how to live like a Japanese. We have become bridges between two different cultures. It was our role to introduce and blend these cultures with one another and benefit from both as a whole.
Instinct and experience tell us that we have much to be grateful for. Indeed, we have much to be thankful for because our perhaps once-in-a lifetime encounter in Japan entails countless values that forevermore we shall cherish and treasure in our lives.
We still have plenty of time to grow as persons, travel and reach more places, and meet and connect with many more people. But I will never forget my stay in Japan. I will never forget the warm of the concern and affection of my host family. I will never forget the parting words of my host father during our last day in Hiroshima, “We hope that somewhere, sometime we will meet again…” I will never forget such moving statement as a sign of my gratefulness to my host family who took care of me like a true member of the family. And I really hope that someday and sometime, we will meet once again.
All these things remind me of what I said during my impromptu speech at the first assembly we attended in Hiroshima Gakuin, “We will learn much from each other… Everything that we shall experience and learn here in Japan would be dedicated all for God’s greater glory, our ultimate goal as Ateneans, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. AMDG
*The author will be in his senior year in high school this June. He is consistently among those on top of their class. He graduated from the Naga Parochial School also on top of his class. He is the eldest son of CRANE members Engr. Francis C. Alarkon and Engr. Maria Luisa Peña-Alarkon of the Provincial Engineer’s Office of Camarines Sur and is a grandson of the CRANE president. |
