Taiwan

Ritsumeikan Uji Junior High School I.M

This ASEP program was really good in many ways. I am really glad that I participated in it. This is my report.

I had a great time in Taiwan. It was my first time going there, and the home-staying and all that were new to me. I have never been good at doing presentation in front of many people. I even get nervous every time when I speak in front of only 30 people. I think I did pretty well in the presentation my team and I did in this trip. Out of all the work, the rehearsing was the toughest part. The preparation of the script and roles were not that hard. Truth be told, it was easy for us Rits (Ritsumeikan Uji) students and hard for the Sanshin High School　students because they almost had the whole thing ready when we met. Although it was not perfect, it was enough to save us a lot of time for rehearsal. We changed and played around with some parts together until it was good enough. After getting the preparation ready, we started to rehearsal in Sanshin High School, but before all this, the school welcomed us with a magnificent ceremony.

In the ceremony, there were marching bands going on, students singing, and most of all, the wonderful speech made by the school principal. Ms. Takebe (one of our teachers from Rits) also made a speech in front of all the students. I was really amazed and felt happy by all this because as far as I know, there are not many schools that throw big ceremonies in these kinds of situations. There was one more surprising welcoming. The school principal and some teachers took us to a VIP ROOM in a restaurant, in a hotel! Anyways, back to the rehearsal. We went through it over and over until it was almost perfect. At first, it felt really hard because I was the main character in a play that took part in the presentation. I have only acted in plays when I was 6 and 7 and those plays were not that important. This one was different. It was really important. I did not want to raise my voice and overreact. I was quite shy at that point. After four or five rehearsals, I finally put myself together and started a bit, by bit to raise my voice and overreact. It felt really weird repeating my lines over and over again. When I got it almost perfect, I was quite exhausted. The next day was the day I was doing all this for. In the presentation, I did better than the rehearsal. My body felt that it was the last time I was ever going to do a presentation with this member. I felt a bit of sadness then.

The biggest relief in this trip was the home-stay. Before I met my home-stay family, I was actually scared to death. I did not know exactly who they were like, what personalities they had and if they are going to be strict or not. When I met them and got to know them, I felt really glad! They welcomed me very much and they took care of me like I was part of their family. Miku (my home-stay friend) had his grandparents at his house and they were really kind and happy people. They could speak a bit of Japanese so it helped sometimes. Although Miku’s family members could not speak English very well, I had no problems because Miku helped me out. I did not see Miku’s mother a lot but she was kind. Miku’s father always sent us to school early in the morning by car for rehearsal. If it was not for him, we would have been tired from the morning! Miku’s little sister was cute. I don’t know why but she sometimes followed me. One morning, I woke up and she was standing on the doorway! That was really surprising. Everyone was great and I feel really thankful for Miku and his family for everything they have done for me. Not many people let strangers stay in their house for one week. They were really, really kind! I really mean it.

As I said earlier, I am glad I did it. I suggest many of you who have futures waiting in front of you, to make more chances and paths for your future by participating in these kinds of activities. It is a good experience and a good way of making friends all over the world without using Facebook. It is never a loss for you and you can be one step ahead of normal people.

Thank you to all the people who set this program up for us.