Chosei High School Visit
On Thursday 21 August, Chosei High School’s (Nossal’s sister school) exchange students arrived in Australia. Twenty students and two teachers came from Chiba, and they first arrived in Sydney. After spending two days there exploring zoos and learning about Australian wildlife, they hopped on a plane to Melbourne, where they stayed for a week with their host families, from Saturday 23 to Saturday 30 August. After weeks of emailing each other and learning about each other’s hobbies and likes, we gained a deep understanding of each other.
They were hosted by a variety of Nossal students ranging from Year 9 to Year 12, and they spent the weekend together making memories with each other that will hopefully last a lifetime. Some memorable activities included hiking, shopping, bowling, visiting the Dandenong Mountains, and Phillip Island.
The Chosei High students attended a week of school at Nossal and participated in many fun activities. These ranged from getting-to-know-each-other activities with the Unit 1/2 Japanese students, school tours, language activities with the Year 10 Japanese students, and table tennis and football with the Unit 3/4 Japanese students.
They attended classes such as Art, Maths, Biology, and Food, where they applied their language skills in practical settings. In Art, they learnt about Aboriginal arts and created a small painting. They made popcorn chicken during their Food Tech class and later enjoyed their meal at lunch. These activities were a delight to have and allowed students to step out of their comfort zones and engage with both languages. For the rest of the periods, the exchange students participated in classroom activities and accompanied their host students to their various classes, in which they observed and participated.
During the week, both the Chosei exchange students and Nossal host students went on excursions to various attractions such as St Paul’s Cathedral, State Library, Melbourne Central, Fitzroy Gardens, Cook’s Cottage, and Dandenong Market. Chosei students got the opportunity to experience Victorian public transport and learnt how to use Myki to ‘touch on’ and ‘touch off’ when using buses and trains. This helped them gain new insight into how workers and students alike in Melbourne got to school and to their workplaces. They got to see Melbourne’s diverse multiculturalism, visit notable landmarks, and connect with Australia’s unique culture.
On Friday 29 August, which was the last full day of the exchange, we hosted a farewell party for the Chosei students and teachers in the last period. Family and friends of host students were invited to Nossal for this important moment of the exchange program. Farewell speeches were delivered by Kimberly Ikin, Noah Meure, Chosei students and teachers, and Ms Kamimura, Head of Languages Domain.
The Chosei students prepared a performance of a traditional Japanese dance called ‘Sōran Bushi.’ It was greatly appreciated by everyone, and they taught it to the Nossal students, who later also performed this dance during the farewell party. Ms Mackin also attended to send our Chosei guests off with gratitude, thanks, and small gifts.
Being able to host the Chosei exchange students was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We learnt about each other’s likes and dislikes and bonded over similar interests, and hopefully, these friendships we formed will continue for many years to come. Through this exchange, we also gained insight into Japanese culture and traditions, and it helped us develop a greater understanding and appreciation of different perspectives.
By Kiara Zhu, Year 9