Japan Tour

Last year we were lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to spend a week at Kariyakita High school in Japan. We were welcomed by the teachers, students and their families with open arms, they made us feel like we were part of their family and community within a short period of time. This time, it was finally our turn to do the same with them. Our sister school, Kariyakita High School, arrived at Melbourne airport at around 7:30 am on August 10th. They had a bus tour to Fitzroy Garden and Eureka Tower, where they had the opportunity to go shopping and explore before arriving at McClelland College at around 3:30 pm that same day. Host students and buddies were invited to the welcome ceremony, where they were able to present them with gifts and introduce themselves to either their buddy or the students they were hosting.

Hi, my name is Mackenzie,

I am lucky to have such an amazing experience to host two lovely host students, Sara and Lisa. I was so excited to meet them and to be able to bring them into an Australian home to experience life in Australia. On the very first night they had a nice relaxing night, after their big day of adventuring and for dinner that night we ate pasta. They really enjoyed their pasta and  we talked a lot on the first night, trying to get to know each other better. That night we planned so many exciting activities that they were eager to do! On Tuesday night we took them to Frankston pier to experience the sunset and they ended up having a sweet treat of ice cream and smores. On Wednesday, we took them down to watch the penguins at Philip Island which they really loved, they thought they were cute and small! They ended up watching the penguins making burrows and laying right underneath them! They loved the experience. On Thursday, we went to a storm game ( Rugby) and we walked across the yarra river which they thought was beautiful at night time. They really enjoyed the game and they were screaming and cheerful through the whole night, they loved the experience and would love to do it again. On Friday, we went out for dinner at Martini and Co. They loved the delicious food. They had a pizza to share which was Hawaiian and had all of it, not leaving a single piece. They were really full and fell into a food coma. On Saturday night, they came and watched me play local footy and let me tell you it was an experience for them. I asked after the game if they loved it, and they did. They thought it was really cool but they were scared that I would break a bone. After my footy game we took them to Moonlit Sanctuary where they got to feed the kangaroos and the wallabies. They thought it was such an amazing experience and would love to do it again. They ended up patting a koala named Cyclops, and their reactions were priceless. They said that the koala was very fluffy and so soft like touching a cloud. Afterwards we took them shopping and they got some souvenirs for their families and many gifts for themselves as well. They spent a total of 2 hours in Kmart, which is insane! At the end of the night we played card games such as uno no mercy and phase 10. These games were so much fun and we had so many good laughs and conversations to finish up their homestay. At the end of the week, I was in tears that they had to go home, I wish to see them again. I just want to say thank you to Lisa and Sara for coming into my home and I hope you have had such an amazing time and have so much fun just like my family!

Hi, my name is Bethany, 

I am one of the lucky few students who was able to host 2 students from Kariyakita high school. I hosted Mei and Soyoko, two lovely Japanese students who were eagerly excited to be here in Australia, as it was their first time abroad. My family and I had planned a week full of activities that we did with them. On the first night we played board games and had a BBQ, where they got to try kangaroo for the first time. Throughout the night, while playing board games, we were able to bond and learn about each other, we had a lot of fun, the night was full of smiles and laughter. On Tuesday night , we went shopping at bayside. We went to kmart and the girls bought matching Hello Kitty slippers. They were so cute! After a while we decided to go grab some drinks and head over to the beach. It was really cold but we had jumpers on so we didn’t feel the cold. We took a lot of pictures and talked about how beaches in Japan are only open during winter. After a little while we went back home to paint each other on a mini canvas that we had bought from kmart. I painted Mei, Soyoko painted me and Mei painted Soyoko. This was such a fun activity to do, as we aren’t artists so the outcome of the paintings were so funny. On Wednesday night, My brother Jaxxon, and his mates Ethan and Mia went to jubilee park with us to teach the girls how to kick a football, they were both really good at it! We taught them the rules of the game while teaching them how to kick, this was because on Thursday we were going to see Collingwood versus Hawthorn. They were slightly confused but after a little bit of translating they were able to understand how points are scored and what a handball and mark was. After a long workout kicking the football, we went to Hungry Jacks, while we were waiting for a meal to be made, we headed over to 7/11 across the road, as they wanted to compare convenience stores in Australia and Japan. They were really happy to see Onigiri and sushi, as they were really missing food from Japan. The following day, we went to the train station after school to head to the city to watch Collingwood versus Hawthorn. Before the game we headed over to Melbourne Central and walked around, we went to multiple stores but didn't buy anything. After an hour of looking around, we headed over to the game, and bought some hot dogs and chips for the girls to try. They loved the food and loved the game, it was a very interesting game, and they loved the uniqueness of it. On friday a couple of my school mates joined us for ice skating at the docklands, we headed over after the farewell party, where we played a lot of fun minutes to win it games. It was fun to see us all connected even though it was their last day at McClelland. We headed over to the docklands after the farewell party and caught a tram and train, everyone was looking forward to ice skating, many of us fell and got some bruises from it but it was such a fun experience. Finally on Saturday, we left the house at 8 am, we had a long trip ahead of us, we were going to the Great ocean road, we went all the way to apollos bay, where we stopped to have fish and chips, the girls loved it. It was so delicious, we decided to head over to the Dandenong Ranges where we went to a pub, and had dinner. The girls and I were very tired but during the car ride we were able to catch up on sleep. We headed to a place called the birds lookout, where we got to see a very beautiful view of Melbourne. It was a very long day, so after we had finished taking pictures of the view we headed home and fell asleep after helping them pack their bags and had a long conversation about our hobbies and showing each other pictures of our friends.