International Students and Community Friendship Event
Kojin Area Sports Day
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Hiroshima City International House encourages the international students to proactively get involved in events in the Kojin area where International House is located.
This is to help the students develop mutual understanding and interaction with local residents and live there as members of the community.
Last year once again, the students participated in the Kojin Area Sports Day, held on May 26 at Hiroshima Municipal Kojinmachi Elementary School, near International House.
Residents from six towns in the Kojin area participate in this event, and the international students participated as members of the Nishi-Kojinmachi team.
There were 21 students from 5 countries (China, Mongolia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Syria) who joined in the event.
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International students proceeding into the venue
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The opening ceremony started at 9am, and each team proceeded into the ground holding their town's flag.
The international students were a little confused during the warm-up exercises, as they did not know the movements for the "Radio Gymnastic Exercises",
but they participated actively in the 3-legged race, ball-toss game, tug-of-war, soda-drinking competition and other fun games that followed, and interacted with the local people.
The final competition was the town relay, and the students ran their hardest as the crowd cheered them on loudly.
For each competition all participants received a participant's prize in the form of daily commodities such as soap, a broom or tissues, which pleased the students.
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The international students have participated in the sports day every year since International House opened in 2001, and it is now a fixture in the annual calendar.
In addition to participating, the students are also involved in the operation of the event as committee members, and the community now depends on them.
Six of the students joined in preparations at the venue from 7am.
While there was some confusion when the students could not understand the local Hiroshima dialect, they watched everyone else and copied what they were doing, to set up the tents, chairs and tables, and sort the prizes.
They also helped in the cleanup after the event, for which the local residents were very grateful.
Participating in this event also led to new friendships between international students who have few opportunities to talk to each other.
As they enjoyed competing together, cheered each other on, and ate lunch together, students from different countries got to know each other.
At International House we will continue to provide support to enable the students to proactively participate in events where they can interact with members of the community.
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| (Hiroshima City International House) |
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