Today was the culmination of all the Cross-Cultural Workshops! Each group presented a few advertisements they had found interesting. They explained what was unique or eye-catching about the ads and analyzed them to suggest what the target audience may have been. It was amazing to see the hard work and teamwork of each group.
Afterwards, we had our Closing Ceremony. Chancellor Mariko Bando gave a speech to kick it off, before we presented each student with a Certificate of Completion. There was also a special recognition for Ommura-sensei and for the interns. Two SSIP participants (Kate Pensak and Erina Gudono) each gave a short speech about their experience this summer.
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The farewell party came next. Chancellor Bando gave a toast to start the party and we all mingled with each other. The food was good and the company was better! It seemed that almost nobody could believe that SSIP was finally ending.
One of the interns, Ike, put on the recap video she had been working on for the last few weeks. It featured videos and pictures from the whole program and let us reflect a bit on all that had happened. The video was put together very well and enjoyable to watch. It’ll be nice to keep that video around to look at later on as well!
Finally, we passed the mic around to give each person the chance to speak a few words. Many people cried as they talked about how much fun they had and how other people had done so much for them. It was extremely moving. Even the coldest among us had to fight to hold back tears.
We thought that was the end, but it was not so! That night, almost all the international students along with the interns, Kurakata-san, and a CCW/JS participant met up at McDonald’s to eat Gudetama McFlurries together. It was a nice last moment. We stayed in McDonald’s until they asked us to leave since it was late!
Emiri, one of the interns, passed around earrings (both pierce and clip-on ones) that she had made, making for a great final omiyage for everyone! Even Kurakata-san received a pair. It was a memorable night. I’ll miss everyone.