SSIP 20日目は東明学林から鎌倉へ。精進料理を楽しみ、鶴岡八幡宮や鎌倉大仏などの観光をしました。渋滞のため十分な時間はとれなかったようですが、お守りを買ったり大仏のなかに入ってみたりとそれぞれに満喫したようでした。
最終日の21日目はCross Cultural Workshopの最終プレゼンテーションがありました。テーマ“School Education”について、国籍も文化背景も違う仲間同士でつくりあげた過程はそれぞれ山あり谷ありだった様子。生みの苦しみに悩んだグループもあったようですが、最終的には各グループ趣向をこらした完成度の高いプレゼンとなりました。
閉会式では、坂東学長より留学生とCross Cultural Workshopを履修していた日本人学生に修了証が手渡されました。送別会では、インターン生の石井さん・辻さんが作成したこれまでの写真のムービーが流れ、楽しかった３週間を皆でふりかえりました。別れが近いのもあり、何人か涙する学生も…。留学生にとってもただ日本に来て観光をするだけでなく、世界各国に「本当の友人」ができる貴重な体験であったことと思います。
最後に、インターン生として活躍してくれたEvelyn、Kathy、石井さん、辻さん。彼女たちの活躍なくしてはこのような充実したプログラムは実現しませんでした。ご協力本当にありがとうございました。
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Saturday, July 12
All Day Trip to Kamakura
Today was our full day visit to Kamakura! Despite getting stuck in traffic for a while, the participants were able to enjoy a traditional, vegetarian Buddhist meal for lunch. Later, they visited a temple, where they got their fortunes told and bought cute good luck charms! Some of the students also explored the streets for shopping, and bought sweet potato ice cream and more souvenirs! Our final stop in Kamakura was the Great Buddha statue, which some of the students were able to go inside of! Even though it was very hot, everyone was in bright sprits to be exploring the historical town of Kamakura!
Sunday, July 13
Cross Cultural Workshop (Final Presentations)
The first event of the day was the presentations of the final Cross-Cultural Collaborative projects of this year’s SSIP participants! Several of the groups improved tremendously from the practice presentations, and many of the revisions should the amount of work and dedication the students put into their plays. The plays ranged from serious to silly, but overall it really seemed like all of the Cross-Cultural students were able to learn about education and its importance. Each play was thought provoking and elicited discussion afterwards, which means the workshop was a success!
SSIP Closing Ceremony and Farewell Party
As part of the closing ceremony, Bando-sensei presented each international participant and Cross-Cultural Workshop student a certificate confirming their completion of the program.
At the farewell party, delicious food was provided, memorable pictures were taken, and many tears were shed. The staff and interns were able to give a speech about the program, and a short movie was played with photos and music as a reflection of the good times of the program. Many of the students expressed that this was not goodbye, but just a “see you soon!”, with some even planning a reunion in the future. As the party came to a close, the students began to part ways, but we said goodbye hoping that our paths will cross again in the future.
