1994 School Magazine

155

61ns' Grainniar School ionsbaiie 1994

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1,993/9, i^ BGGS JAPAN To^R I was early in the nToming of December 10, 1993, when nine blazer, jumper- and two-pairs-of-stocking-clad Gram- mar Qins braved the summer heat 10 arrive at Brisbane airport Tiley were most of a parry of eleven girls who were to spend six weeks in Japan on eXchange BGGS has long enjoyed sister school relationships with Tsushima Girls' HiglT School (HITayama Gakuen, near Nagoya), antl Matsusaka Girls' High School (Umemura Gakuen, Matsusaka), and eachyearsome Years 10 and 11 students spend CITrisiinas and New Year' in Japan at the two schools Arriving at Nagoya Airport later that night, our senses were ;155;11/11ecl I)y The coldest weather we had experienced in a long lime. The girls staying at Tsushima were collected by host millilics, and the Matsusaka girls boarded a bus for a two-hour lidc to Matsusaka. Shoes had to be removed before boardino inc I, us - a sign of the next six weeks to come! TITe first night was spent being immersed (drowned, in some

Japanese obentoo, or lunchbox, before setting off for three weeks' holiday The holiday included Christmas and New Year, both very

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Jut'cbe//e Andeisoii ajid bel' bos! SISie!' 111 find, '!Ibiia/ A1hioiios

different from the celebrations we knew from Australia. Christ- mas is not a public holiday in Japan, and it was quite disconcerting to some 10 find Christmas lunches of instant noodles being served. But any hard feelings <0f which there weren'I many) about Christmas were forgotten about a week later when New Year arrived New Year celebrations involve nTaking mochi, a traditional

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(L-R). D Dino!I, A. Geddes, IM Anderson, S. Byo1, ,?, A. Cob, t rind A. Witso, I ,,/IMa!sjisnkti

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cases) in Inariy of the Japanese customs. Shoes are not worn inside 110uscs, girls may not sit cross-legged, chopsticks are The evciyd;Iy eating utensils, and it is traditional (but nor always practised, today) to sleep on the floor on ITeavy mattresses callec111/10/7 Our first week was spent at school, having a taste of Japanese schooling. Students bowed 10 the teacher at the beginning and end of every lesson, something unknown in our At1st Tallan school life. But Grammar girls, take heard In Japan, one is not only permitted, but required, to change for P. E. in the classroom! We learnt when and where to make the six or eight changes of shoes generally made during the school day; we learnt to shume along corridors in our coloured slippers as fast as any Japanese; and we sampled the delicacies of the spectacular

cake of pounded rice, toasted and eaten with soy sauce and seaweed; dressing in kimono; visiting shrines in the freezing cold at night; eating New Year soba (buckwlTeat noodles) and sushi; counting The New Year in; and generally going coin- PIGtely and utterly crazy willT excitement, along willI all the Japanese television personalities, who put on a New Year Special which lasted most of January I on one of the television stations. 1994is the Year of the Dog, and special New Year cards (called 11^:^ featuring dogs of all sorts were printed, written, sent and received by the htindred. it was quite an exhilarating time Apart from this, however, the IToliday was spent sightseeing (one group went to Tokyo Disneyland!), visiting shrines and shopping centres, meeting friends, and Iazing around at home

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