Preparations for trip to Toyokawa 2014
By: Kritika Sharma, Delegate from Cupertino
A meeting, an application, and one interview later, 14 excited students found themselves on the journey to the 2014 Cupertino-Toyokawa Student Exchange Delegation. The road of preparation ahead involved Culture Classes to help us learn some Japanese language and etiquette, volunteering at the Cherry Blossom Festival, and also preparing a short performance to present once we arrive in Japan.
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Although delegates remained pretty quiet during the first language lesson, as the classes went on, we grew closer and closer, and the teacher’s struggle went from encouraging us not to be shy, to trying to get us to stop talking! At practice meetings for the performance, we shared our ideas and have come up with songs and dances to perform in Toyokawa, and continue to polish them up.
The Cherry Blossom Festival in April was a lot of fun, as we all had an opportunity to take on different jobs, while watching performances and eating Japanese food all in one weekend! An especially enjoyable job was making and selling cotton candy, and we all grew more comfortable with each other, creatively working as a team to vend various items.
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Another cool thing we got to do was go out for dinner with all the delegates and the two chaperones, Heather and Sean. We went to Azuma’s Sushi where we had the chance to experience a traditional Japanese meal, complete with Tatami seating, multiple courses, and Bento Boxes!
With the trip less than two weeks away, we recently received our roommate assignments, as well as information about our host families, and are now eagerly preparing gifts for them! We all are extremely thrilled to go, and can’t wait to bring a ton of precious memories back!
