At the end of last term, Nazareth had the amazing opportunity to host a home away from home for six Japanese International Students, their teacher Noriko, and two support staff, who travelled from the region of Himeji.

Our Japanese guests were shown both our Kidman Park & Flinders Park Campuses, where they were able to interact with our Year 7 and Stage 1 Japanese classes.

“Having the Japanese exchange students in Adelaide was a fresh experience for me, as I was able to meet a group of students and understand their lives a bit better.” said Year 10 student Charlize.

She continues “they were so sweet and always seemed like they wanted to learn more.”

Our Year 9 & Stage 1 Japanese students participated in a Japanese Language and Culture City Day. The students started at the Adelaide Central Markets where they completed activities furthering their knowledge of directions in Japanese.

James shared one of his highlights at the Central Markets was when Ao (a Japanese exchange student) bought and tried a meat pie with tomato sauce. “He had a huge smile and said it was delicious.”

The next stop was the Himeji Gardens which was very sentimental as our Japanese guests were from the Himeji region in Japan. Finally, our students completed an ‘Amazing Race’ in the Adelaide Zoo.

Year 10 student Adam pointed out “I found it fun to interact and talk with people from another country, it was nice to talk to them (the exchange students) about interests and hobbies. I found it interesting how even though they were from another country, most of us carried similar interests, and often, we laughed together about mistakes, the language barrier, and jokes.”

“I found the day extremely enjoyable and found that I learned many skills and friends along the way ” said Year 10 student Ethan. “All the students enjoyed the day, especially the Japanese students, who explored the beautiful city of Adelaide” he continues.

Year 10 student Sebastian shares “spending time with them (the exchange students) was a fantastic opportunity to delve into Japanese culture” .

“I hope to meet them again and organise something similar so I can make more friends and bonds” added Year 10 student Janamjot .

Grace Gava (7-12 Leader of Languages) said, “it was a special day, with our new special friends and we are so grateful to have hosted them”.