Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to head away from New Zealand on an exchange program to Tokiwa High School in Japan for three weeks.
I left Dunedin on the 30th of November and spend the next 30 hours travelling to Kitakyushu.

Whilst there, I learned so much, including basic Japanese, like arigato (thank you) and ohaio gazaimasu (good morning). I also learned smaller things, how to eat with chopsticks, how to properly cook rice.

In Japan, I attended Tokiwa High School and took the opportunity to make life long friends with many of the students - we're still in constant contact now. I took classes such as Maths, Physics, Health, English and Classical Japanese. The first few days were very nerve-racking as only a few students speak English well - but for the rest of my time there, I had the best time of my life.

I would recommend this programme to everyone as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You will remember it for the rest of your life.

John Waters-Wilkinson