Japan Exchange Home Leg

Due to their busy schedules, the group of eight Japanese students – four boys and four girls – only spent one day at SPGS, so we strove to make it a worthwhile one. The exchanges were given a variety of exclusive classes to give them a taste of the breadth of study at SPGS. These included a maths lecture from Dr Vosper Singleton, a debating introduction from the VII debaters and a beginner French lesson. On the other weekdays, they embarked on day trips to the British Museum, Japanese Embassy, Harry Potter store at King’s Cross and even an excursion up to Cambridge! One of the highlights of my day was picking up my exchange from the station daily and seeing her excited face, keen to show me photos and tell me about her sightseeing.

Each of us also planned activities to do with our exchanges on the weekends and after school. Having seen such an array of places during my stay in Japan, I wanted to recreate that feeling for my exchange, and I had a lot of fun planning the itinerary! When they arrived on Sunday, I took my exchange on a bus and boat tour to all the bucket list spots in London. Throughout the week, we also went to play bowling together (she beat me by a mile), Battersea Power Station for ice skating, the London aquarium, and to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights show. We also both shared a love of k-pop so I requested one of her favourite songs at my k-pop dance studio to surprise her and she was thrilled – another highlight.

Though I’m disappointed my Japanese exchange experience has come to an end, I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities that came with it. I learned to be a caring, diligent host, adapt to the language barrier, and found a lifelong friendship and connection despite it. Thank you again to all the staff, particularly Ms Halliday that oversaw and made it possible for this experience to happen.

Julietta (VII)