EIL Intercultural Learning

I`m trying to think of a word that would adequatley sum up what the past week has been like, and I`m afraid I`m drawing a blank! Perhaps it is that my Enlgish vocabulary is now hiding behind my (very limited) store of Japanese words, but I think the most likley explanation is that the word simply does not exist!

On Monday I began school, which was intimidating to say the least. Begining in a new school is always a challange, but when you can barley understand what people are saying it seems terrifying. However, my fears were completely and utterly unfounded; everybody, students and teachers alike, was so friendly and paitent - even when I needed things repeated about seven times before I fully understand them! I think I`m begining to settle in and find my place here, though the lengthly explinations are still necessicary!

Currently Seiryo - my school- are holding their end-of-year culture festival, or `bunkasai`. The students have speant weeks, if not months, preparting for the event, and without a doubt it has paid off. Personally, I have never seen such enthusaism being put into something school related - the attitude of the students here is absoloutly fantastic. They seem to really want to try their hardest to make it a sucess, and feel proud to belong to their school. For four days the school is utterley transformed; posters, ice-cream stands, stages, and even a giant arch outside the enterance which the students built themselves! Throught the day various events take place; from a guest-speaker talking about the environmental problemes that we currently face to groups of sixteen year-old boys dresses in girls` clothing dancing to Britney Spears, there is certainly plenty to keep one occupied! Furthermore, each room in the school building is taken up by one of the after-school clubs (bunkatsudou) who get a chance to show off what they`ve been up to for the past year. Again, the level of dedication and hard work left me speachless (and not just because I didn`t know enough Japanese to express my thoughts!) I hope to follow up with a some photos as soon as I can get my hands on a USB cable, as, in this case, I truly think that pictures can say far more than words.

Last night I had my welcome party, hoseted by M.E.C (EIL`s partner in Japan), where I gave a presentation on Ireland in (very bad) Japanese, and also recieved a various welcome speeches. It was such a lovley event, and I never cease to be amazed by how kind, giving, and welcoming these people are. I really felt that there were listening and interested in what I had to say, and was left with a very... warm feeling inside, thought that may partly have been due to the delicious spread of Japanese cuisine that was provided.

I`m afraid that if I write anymore I`m going to start opporating in English again, so I`m going to leave it at that for the moment. Hope to update again soon,

Until next time,

Rebecca.