HGK UK Trip 2024

  This was our last day for the Oxford summer camp.     We left the school at 5 am and headed back to the Heathrow airport.　    I saw lots of faces with lots of emotions: some looked like they did not want to go back to Japan from all the funs we had here in Oxford, while some seemed like they missed Japanese foods and wanted to go back.    For sure, all of us spent one of the most memorable days in Oxford and will definitely be a treasure even in the 20, 50, 100 years from now.   We are on our way to Japan and what waits in Japan is all the assignments and homework we had missed from the two weeks in Oxford.  We are grateful for all the friends, teachers, stuff, and the opportunity we had together and will continue to reflect on them back whenever we face some difficulties in the following years. We promise that this experience will forever be a trigger for our hard work from now on.  ＜I.Y.＞

   Today was the last day of classes.     In my class, we had a quiz competition in which all classmates solved quizzes that each group had prepared before.  The quiz was based on the theme of “teenagers,” and the countries and outlines were created freely. This quiz competition was a great opportunity to learn not only about the United Kingdom, which I visited as an exchange student, and my home country of Japan, but also about various other countries.  Classes ended in the morning, and the Leaving Ceremony was held in the afternoon. At the Leaving Ceremony, each class teacher handed over the grade reports of the study period to the international students. The prize-winning students also received sweets and other prizes. Among our Hiroo Gakuen Koishikawa students, Koharu and Yuka received awards.   It is a wonderful thing and I am very proud of it as a student of the same school. 　  After dinner, “STAFF vs STUDENTS” was held as a final oppor...

  Today we went to the University of Oxford to take pictures together and then went shopping at the City Center.   Since today was the last day of lesson, we played games in Teacher 1, prepared for tomorrow's presentation in Teacher 2, and went outside to play games. The weather was not so great, but I think we got to know our new friends and schoolmates better. At the Keble College, there is a church of sorts, and I listened to the organ and looked at the stained glass windows. The campus was very spacious and had beautiful lawns, and we all took pictures together.   The City Center, which I am used to going to now, was fun no matter how many times I went there.                                                                        <R.K.>

  Only two  days left until the end of my study abroad in the U.K. After my regular  classes, I went to the museum. The museum had a retro atmosphere. All the clothes and machines in old days were displayed. It was very fascinating to me!  In the afternoon, we did an art and craft activity where we painted bags. Some people just painted, while others wrote their friends' names or drew geometric patterns, and I think it was interesting to see how each person's personality showed up.  And in the evening, it was the long-awaited going to the Disco!  For me, it was my first experience in my life going to the Disco with friends, so I didn't know what to expect. Anyway I decided to join in with my friends out of curiosity.  The moment I entered the building, I was greeted by loud background music and flickering lights.   I was afraid of my coming to the wrong place because it seemed too high for me to jump the hurdle.  But I decided to dance w...

  There are two things I did today that left a lasting impression on me:   first, I had lunch with a Chinese friend from the same class named Ziye Li. While eating, we talked about our siblings and who we liked. We also took pictures together!  It was a very fun time and I think it brought us closer together. After that, we had some time before class, so we ate Chinese snacks together in the room. It was very spicy but delicious.  After class, my friends and I went to City Center to buy clothes for tomorrow's disco, but we didn't find anything we liked, so we came back without buying anything. However, I enjoyed shopping with my friends very much! Today was a good day for me to get to know my friends better. <S. U.> ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ 　Today was a very productive day. In the morning, I had the English lesson. It was a great lesson, listening to Ted talks and discussing and thinking about one issue with others. 　In the afternoon, I heard about nostalgia from g...

  Today, new classes have been announced. This is because all Argentine students went back to their home and had to reorganize the classes. Some had new teachers and new classmates, others stayed the same, and so on.   After school, we went to Blenheim Palace. This is a World Heritage Site located in Oxford City. Blenheim Palace was presented to the 1st Duke of Marlborough by Queen Anne and her benefactors in gratitude for his stunning victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.  It is a huge palace and also famous for the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill.   According to his note, he made two important decision in this palace, that is, to be born and to marry. And he said that he was happily content with the decisions he took on both occasions. We saw many historically valuable pictures. This year is 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill birth, and many tourists visited.      But it was too huge to walk around on a sunny hot ...

  I went to the city center today. I went with ten people.  First, we went to the big supermarket. We wanted to go to the shopping center, but there wasn’t. Also we were hungry, because we walked a lot, so we went to the hamburger shop and we ate.   After that, we went to the west gate) to go shopping. I didn’t buy anything, but others bought clothes, water, etc.   We wanted to go to the museum, but there was no time because it was closing at 5p.m, so we couldn’t go there. And, we went back to our house.    After we ate dinner, we went to pajama movie night. I was able to do a lot of things and it was fun! <Y.N.> 返信 転送

  I got up at 6:45 this morning and I washed my clothes. However, the dryer was broken, so I went to my friend's house and borrowed a dryer.    I had breakfast with my friends and then went to the Tower of London and the shopping mall in London.   On the bus, I looked at Big Ben and took photos of it.    It was really nice!   After having dinner, my friends and I went to the City Center and bought something.     The shop was almost closed, so I was able to buy my hoodie at lower prices than usual!    It was an awesome day!                                     <M.U.>

     It was a very sunny morning today, and as usual, cold. Today, we spent an hour in class preparing for our presentation in front of the class, and then presented it in the hall in front of everyone. I was able to finish my presentation without too much trouble since I usually do presentations in class at Hiroo Koishikawa.  It was worthwhile to work on the slides last night with my friend from my group of the presentation. In the second period, we played a game called "stop the bus," which I had never played in Japan, so it was a lot of fun. I was very happy to be able to be friends with my classmates during this week because we often asked each other questions and had discussions in class. After class, I went to have lunch with a friend from the same class. Since she is from Germany, we had a lot of fun talking about the differences between German and Japanese culture and school systems.  After that, we took a taxi to go strawberry picking, which only six of...

I n the morning I ate two slices of bread with butter. Also I ate it with bacon to. I think British bacon is too salty. But I found to eat bacon with bread is good. After a while my friends who is from Germany came my table. He ate cereal. I said him eating cereal for breakfast is not major in Japan. He said your mom is busy and I remember my gratitude for my mother. Actually this week's theme in St’ Clare’s Oxford is “Gratitude”. So in the class, we made a presentations about gratitude culture in own country. I made the presentation about Shichigosan. It is the a festival to give thanks to Gods for the growth of children.  After the lunch break we went to the Ashmolean museum in the city centre and found a art about gratitude. After school I went to shopping and bought potato chips. I think British food is not good and I brought Japanese snacks. But I want to try eating British snacks.  And I found it is not bad.  After a while I walked with two friends who from Poland. ...

  It was a bit chilly this morning at 15°. We had classes from 9am to 12.30pm and then had lunch.  This is the day we ate lunch outside for the first time, but there were so many ants on the table that I felt sick.      After the afternoon classes, we went to eat ice cream. I had free time until 6pm when we had a meeting, so I played Jenga in the dormitory common room and after the 6pm meeting we played UNO again in the dormitory common room.  I was happy to see Chinese kids and other overseas kids who passed by and joined us. Afterwards, we had dinner and participated in dormitory activities, but it was optional, so we had a sweets party in our room. I was happy to eat Japanese food for the first time in a while.                <R.T.>

  It was drizzling this morning. It doesn't rain much now in Japan, so I felt it fresh. This morning I had breakfast with my roommate, but we arrived earlier than the cafeteria start time, so we had to wait a bit.     In the afternoon I went shopping with my friends and visited three supermarkets, and was surprised that there were three supermarkets within walking distance.  Also, as I walked around Oxford yesterday, I noticed that many people eating ice-cream and other cold food. I wondered if people wanted to eat it because it is much cooler and easier to spend time in than in Japan, but it is dry.  Today was the first day that I had morning and afternoon classes. The teachers  were different in the morning and in the afternoon, but both were friendly and I enjoyed the classes very much.                                               ...

  I went to Oxford University today. The buildings are so beautiful there  and I felt a different culture from Japan. I could feel the "different culture" in every single part of the city! Many British buildings are made of bricks and they all have a different atmosphere from Japan.   It was as if I had wandered into a picture book world! I also felt different cultures in the UK outside of the buildings.  For example, the poses of people at traffic lights are a little different. There are homeless people, and the bicycle paths are very wide, etc... It would be too much to write everything down, so I'll just leave it at this (LOL).  People think that the food in the UK is not good, but I think it doesn't taste bad. However, I thought it would be nice if there was one more thing I could do to make it taste stronger or thinner! I have made new friends and am living a fulfilling study abroad experience!                  ...

After a long flight(more than 20hours, we landed at Heathrow Airport at 8:00 a.m. We arrived safely at St. Clare Oxford around at 10:00 a.m. The temperature was 17°C  with no humidity and it was nice and cool. In the morning, each boarding house was announced, and we carried and unpacked our belongings. After lunch, we had a brief recreation at 2:00 p.m., followed by dinner and a reception at 7:30 p.m. Students from Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Korea, China, Turkey, and many other countries attended. They all tried to speak actively in English. We returned to the dormitory at 9:00 p.m., and the person in charge of the house explained to us how to use the dormitory, and then we went to bed. Everybody was very tired and sleepy. Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. the class will start .                                                        ...