I recently had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Japan with the MFL department. There were 15 students and 2 adults (thank you to Ms Zotova and Mr Adams for their help!). We were all on an exchange program with a Japanese school called Keio, a prestigious high school connected to one of the best universities in Japan (ranked third according to unirank 2024).

I believe that the exchange program is what makes the trip, especially at Bexley Grammar, so great! I first met my exchange partner, Issei, in late February this year when he came to England and stayed with us for a week as well as going to Cambridge as a school for a couple of days) and he got to experience British food, school and traffic (which was quite a shock I think).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had contacted each other before that, so we knew each other, but it was incredible to form such a close friendship with someone on the other side of the world. When I went to Japan, Issei and his family picked me up from the airport, and after a group photo, took me to their house. His mum had prepared an amazing meal for lunch, with two different types of noodles, steak, fruit and tea, and we started getting to know each other. It was a great opportunity to practice my conversational Japanese, and I surprised myself with how much of the conversation I was able to keep up with.

Throughout the four days I had with them (a weekend and two school days), I learnt more about the Japanese language, culture and general life, which was invaluable to my studies and to my personal knowledge of the country. There was even an election at the time, so I got to watch some of the coverage in Japanese! The family were so enthusiastic about me being there and all of my worries were gone within a matter of minutes after meeting them. Even their dog welcomed me with lots of cuddles.

As well as with the family, I was immersed in Japanese culture in school, where I experienced lessons from Art to Spanish, and activities from broadcasting a message to the entire school​, to Japanese extracurricular activities like Karuta (a card game based on memorising parts of Japanese poems). One of the things that was most interesting to me was classroom etiquette, which included it being considered rude to drink without permission, but completely fine to fall asleep in class, as it represents the hard work of the students making them tired.

As the final part of the trip, we went to Kyoto, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Harajuku, to explore even more of Japan, with its unique combination of vibrant and modern cities and traditional culture spanning centuries and centuries. We travelled by the world-famous Shinkansen (bullet train), catching views of Mt. Fuji and the countryside, and then dived into culture in a beautiful castle previously associated with the Shogun, and its surrounding natural beauty, all of which was breathtaking. To see these amazing sites was something I have dreamed of for years, so it was fantastic! And what would a trip to Japan be without karaoke (or maybe two... or three)?

I would like to thank everyone that had a role in organising the trip, especially Mr Adams, and my host family, and the other people on the trip who I have made memories of a lifetime with! Everyone worked together to make this an experience that is impossible to forget! I can't wait to stay in contact with my host family and hopefully meet them again soon!

Louis Luckman, Year 11