In the morning, we had a buffet at the hotel, and then classes 1-6 headed to Matsuyama High School, and classes 7 headed to Jianguo High School.
Classes 1-6 were treated to a welcoming ceremony at Matsuyama High School, performances by each other (Matsuyama dance, Asaka cheering squad and student cheers), school introductions, presentations in each room, activities to get to know each other, lunch boxes, a walk around the surrounding historical and cultural buildings (a tobacco factory from the former Japanese colonial period, a botanical garden), a puzzle solving game, and many other things.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the principal of Matsuyama High School, the teachers, and students who prepared everything for us.
(This was the first time that the teacher writing this post had received such hospitality. I was moved by the enthusiastic welcome. I think many of the students felt the same way.)
After that, we toured the city, including Yongkang Street and Longshan Temple. We bought souvenirs at the fashionable shopping streets on Yongkang Street, and at Longshan Temple, we were overwhelmed by the intricacy of the design, and everyone had their fortunes read (the God of Love was popular lol).
For dinner, we enjoyed dim sum. There were so many delicious things, including dumplings and xiaolongbao, that we finished it all in no time!
<Student impressions>
・I made my first overseas friends.It was so much fun to hear "You kawaii" being used all over the place, as if the Japanese word "kawaii" was the official language.The Taiwanese students were very active, and I was able to talk to all the students in my class. We had a great day talking about Japanese anime and music, deepening our friendship through Chinese games of telephone, and enjoying Taiwanese specialties such as stinky tofu and bubble tea.
"I'm so open-minded. I love you!"
・I'm really bad at English, but I'm glad I managed to keep talking to the Taiwanese students, and it was a great experience!! Thank you to the teachers at Matsuyama High School and Asaka High School for supporting me and preparing an exchange event that even someone like me who isn't good at English could enjoy. I was moved by the fact that many Taiwanese students could speak Japanese and English fluently, and I was happy that we were able to call each other "kawaii"^^ I'd like to meet Taiwanese students again!
・Through my interactions with the Matsuyama High School students, I realized that my English skills were lower than I thought. I usually study grammar and read long passages to prepare for tests, but when it came time to converse, I realized that I had not mastered practical English. I had a hard time even understanding the fluent English of the Taiwanese students, so I wanted to improve my English communication skills. Also, from the time that Kyoko-sensei contacted us the other day, I could see that the teachers were really talking to us until late at night. I'm sure the roll call was hard, and if you have to do your own thing after that, you probably don't have much time to sleep, but even on the bus there were a lot of announcements, so I'm really grateful to the teachers for taking care of us even though you didn't have time to sleep. I'm so grateful to the teachers. I'm sure the remaining two days will be busy and difficult, but please take care of me. (Thank you for letting me take photos 😭)
・Before the exchange with Matsuyama High School, I was a little nervous about speaking all in English with the students I was meeting for the first time in this school exchange. However, the students from Matsuyama High School gave me a high-five at the beginning and always treated me with a "let's have fun" attitude, so I gradually opened up to them and before I knew it, I was able to communicate naturally. In the end, I was able to make friends with the local students, so I realized the influence of the atmosphere and its applicability to English learning. If I have a similar opportunity again, I would like to create a bright atmosphere like this one.
・Today, the third day, I interacted with students from Matsuyama High School. I interacted with students from Matsuyama at Asaka High School in December last year, and I was amazed at how fluent they were, wondering if English was their native language. There were also students who could speak Japanese, so I was thoroughly baptized. However, in this exchange, I was more proactive and used a larger vocabulary than in the previous exchange, and I was also able to exchange LINE IDs, which made me really happy. Thank you very much to the teachers and students of Matsuyama High School for welcoming me so warmly. Thanks to that, I was able to interact with them without feeling too nervous and have fun. Finally, I would like to thank the teachers at Asaka High School who planned this exchange, especially Mr. Ema and Mr. Furuyama. The success of this exchange is due to the extensive preparations that you made in advance. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you very much.