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Junior high school students at the international summer camp in Japan |
The 21st international summer camp took place in Fukuoka city, Japan. Tran Nguyen Nhat Minh, a sixth-grader of Le Loi junior high school, was one of eight Vietnamese students joining the event. He talks more about his impression.
First challenge
The Vietnam’s nine-member group included one person-in-charge and eight outstanding junior high school students. We had done our utmost to prepared for the cultural exchange with foreign students.
Arriving at the airport, we had to face the A/H1N1 flu. When all came to the camp, there were 10 students kept in quarantine for they were tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus. The others were instructed how to prevent the flu infection.
We had to wear face masks all the time except eat and take a bath and photo and had our body temperature monitored daily. We were really worried for most of us lived away from home for the first time.
It was a pity that five of eleven programs were cut due to the spread of the H1N1 virus because I well prepared for “home stay” program.
My adoptive parents also visited me and took me to tour the city. We then went on a picnic in the countryside. We prepared for meal together and joined different activities. It seemed there was no gap among us at that time despite the spread of the A/H1N1 flu.
Lessons from reality
At the camp, the program I liked best was the “cross cultural understanding” one. Understanding a country’s culture helps us to know more about its lifestyle and customs.
Thanks to such a understanding we could experience the differences and learn how to accept them to have the best dialogue with people coming from other countries.
A Japanese student said he didn’t know Vietnamese but he could understand our country’s traditional culture to some extent through songs we sang and brocade bags.
When I explained the origin of brocade bags I presented them, they took notes to retell to their friends and relatives later.
Coming to Japan for the first time, I loved their lifestyle, but some still felt shy when taking a bath together.
I was also impressed by the food safety in Japan. We weren’t allowed to eat anything but food provided by the organization board. Fortunately, we could easily get familiar with their dishes.
The summer camp left us with a good impression despite the effect of the A/H1N1 flu. In the farewell party, all sang a song for peace together. Actually, we sometimes felt tired and homesick; thus, we only wanted to return to Vietnam as soon as possible.
However, we felt how time flies during the farewell party. We will forever remember all our foreign friends.
After attending the summer camp, I learned how to play and work in group and how to live independently.
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