Sorry that I have not been able to get on to update the blog much over the past couple of days. We have been very busy. I will strive to put some more photos up today as well as the Day 11 & 12 diary entries which I have just completed.
Today is the last day we will have internet access before we head home. So if you wish to add any comments for your son / daughter, they have been very excited when we print them out and pass them on.
Thank you and see you around 11:30 on Sunday morning when we arrive on QANTAS flight 423 from Sydney. This is a domestic flight, so you can come down to the arrival gate to greet us.
Brad, Paul and Megan
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Day 12
Today started off at 7:30am where I woke up, had breakfast and got ready to go to school. The weather today would be the same as the past two days, miserable, chance of rain and low cloud cover. Today would also be a scary day because of the possibility of a Typhoon coming through Gojo. But in the end it didn`t happen.
School started at 8:40am with all students going to their home room for a brief period before heading off to the gym to hear campaign speeches so they could elect who is going to be the next Gojo School Captain. After the speeches, all students went back to their classrooms to commence period 2. My period 2 class was book keeping. Book keeping was an interesting class because I understood nothing. Period 3 was mathematics. Mathematics was fine, yet boring at the same time. Boring because I had already learnt what they were learning, yet fine because apart from English, it was the only class I understood. After math was ... I`m not actually sure what the class was or what they were learning.
After the `unknown` class was lunch. For lunch, a bunch of us went to the school cafeteria. I had an Obentoo, which is a bunch of Japanese food put into a lunch box.
After lunch, all the first year (Year 10) Gojo students had a meeting for the last two periods in the gym. So the Girton students who were in those classes spent their time in the Girton Staff Room.
After school, some students and their hosts went bowling. Which was great fun.
After bowling, my host family and I went to conveyor belt sushi, which was fun and delicious. After sushi, we went home and I was very tired so I went to bed.
The End.
Daniel McKenzie
Photos to come
School started at 8:40am with all students going to their home room for a brief period before heading off to the gym to hear campaign speeches so they could elect who is going to be the next Gojo School Captain. After the speeches, all students went back to their classrooms to commence period 2. My period 2 class was book keeping. Book keeping was an interesting class because I understood nothing. Period 3 was mathematics. Mathematics was fine, yet boring at the same time. Boring because I had already learnt what they were learning, yet fine because apart from English, it was the only class I understood. After math was ... I`m not actually sure what the class was or what they were learning.
After the `unknown` class was lunch. For lunch, a bunch of us went to the school cafeteria. I had an Obentoo, which is a bunch of Japanese food put into a lunch box.
After lunch, all the first year (Year 10) Gojo students had a meeting for the last two periods in the gym. So the Girton students who were in those classes spent their time in the Girton Staff Room.
After school, some students and their hosts went bowling. Which was great fun.
After bowling, my host family and I went to conveyor belt sushi, which was fun and delicious. After sushi, we went home and I was very tired so I went to bed.
The End.
Daniel McKenzie
Photos to come
Monday, September 29, 2008
Day 11
Tuesday started off like any other. We met in the Girton Staff room at around 8:30, then headed off to class with our assigned buddy.
First period I had music. The class just happened to be working on an English song. `Yesterday` by John Lennon. Dave and I were forced by the teacher to stand in front of the whole class and sing it. Everyone already thought we were odd enough, let along a `ranga` and blondie singing every note out of tune.
We then had Japanese. I couldn't understand a thing and I sat there quietly pretending to take notes.
Next was PE. I was very surprised by the changing arrangements. The boys would leave the classroom while the girls removed their uniform and changed into PE gear, all while there were clear windows outlooking the hall.
In the gym we were all arranged into perfectly straight lines before we began some form of fitness / aerobics. Also PE was an all girls class.
I was fairly hungry by now, and was annoyed that I still had one more class before lunch, English. Finally something I could understand. Though I was surprised at how difficult the work was. Sentences containing `ought not to` and things I would never use in a conversation.
At 12:45 lunch arrived. Starving from the rule of `no such thing as recess` I was keen to crack open my obentoo (lunch box).
I was relieved my family gave me a fork to eat with. We ate in the classroom and people arranged their tables into small groups. In my obentoo was some rice, followed by these sausage meat things.
After lunch all the Girton students had a calligraphy class. We wrote kanji and learnt how to spell our name in Kanji.
When the bell rang, we headed out for a hike of about ten minutes to a gym. Girton v Gojo in a volleyball match. We mixed teams, Girton & Gojo, boys & girls. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.
At 6:30 we all walked down to a restaurant where we were served beef and rice. Girton students talked more with the Gojo students and practiced our language skills.
I then went home and while watching Mr. Bean, my host mother made a delicious fruit, ice-cream desert.
After a long day, I headed to bed.
Anthea Johnston
Photos to come.
First period I had music. The class just happened to be working on an English song. `Yesterday` by John Lennon. Dave and I were forced by the teacher to stand in front of the whole class and sing it. Everyone already thought we were odd enough, let along a `ranga` and blondie singing every note out of tune.
We then had Japanese. I couldn't understand a thing and I sat there quietly pretending to take notes.
Next was PE. I was very surprised by the changing arrangements. The boys would leave the classroom while the girls removed their uniform and changed into PE gear, all while there were clear windows outlooking the hall.
In the gym we were all arranged into perfectly straight lines before we began some form of fitness / aerobics. Also PE was an all girls class.
I was fairly hungry by now, and was annoyed that I still had one more class before lunch, English. Finally something I could understand. Though I was surprised at how difficult the work was. Sentences containing `ought not to` and things I would never use in a conversation.
At 12:45 lunch arrived. Starving from the rule of `no such thing as recess` I was keen to crack open my obentoo (lunch box).
I was relieved my family gave me a fork to eat with. We ate in the classroom and people arranged their tables into small groups. In my obentoo was some rice, followed by these sausage meat things.
After lunch all the Girton students had a calligraphy class. We wrote kanji and learnt how to spell our name in Kanji.
When the bell rang, we headed out for a hike of about ten minutes to a gym. Girton v Gojo in a volleyball match. We mixed teams, Girton & Gojo, boys & girls. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.
At 6:30 we all walked down to a restaurant where we were served beef and rice. Girton students talked more with the Gojo students and practiced our language skills.
I then went home and while watching Mr. Bean, my host mother made a delicious fruit, ice-cream desert.
After a long day, I headed to bed.
Anthea Johnston
Photos to come.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Day 10
Story to come
Ben Hughes
Gojo High School has been putting photos of us onto their home page. The link to their website is
When you open up the page, you will see an area with the word `new` flashing up. Click on any of these links, and most of them will be pages to our students at their school. Please see below and follow the red arrow as to where you can find these.
More photos to come.
Day 9
After a lovely 8:30 start, a bowl of shrimp for breakfast and a short car trip, Ashlee, Daniel, Callum, Sophie, David and myself boarded a train with our respective host students for a forty minute train ride to Osaka. On arrival, finding an ATM became a difficult task, taking more than an hour to find. After cashing up, we all hit the streets to find a Sega Game Centre for a few games. Despite the heat in the game centre, we all managed to use several thousand yen. Now, everybody knows that a professional gamer needs a nutritious lunch, so we all headed over to McDonalds for a traditional Japanese meal consisting of a big mac, large fries and a large coke. Once our stomach was content, a simple walk to the karaoke bar went pear shaped, with floods of Japanese people flying towards us revealing the risk of seperation. Despite this, we all arrived at the Karaoke Bar. After one and a half hours of singing, we all moved to the games again.
Dance, dance revolution was always in use and was just as much fun to watch as it was to play. Unfortunately, all good days have to come to an end, so we all boarded the train back to Gojo. On arrival, the group split up for dinner. My lovely host family and I went for a five minute drive to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. There I found out the true strength of wasabi.
My first sushi contained a little rice, a little bit of prawn and an estimated twelve kilos of wasabi. My host family seemed mildly surprised wehn my face started turning into a red traffic light. Once my family pointed out that I chose the spiciest sushi in the whole restaurant, I finished eight other dishes before throwing in the towel.
All in all, a very fun day.
Timothy Gibson
Many students visited Nara Temple and saw other sites around Nara. These photos were taken by Bradley Rankin on the tour that the Gojo staff gave Mr. Frye, Mrs. Tannahill and myself.
The giant Buddha of Nara
The edging of a roof line.
A small remberence statue.
Dance, dance revolution was always in use and was just as much fun to watch as it was to play. Unfortunately, all good days have to come to an end, so we all boarded the train back to Gojo. On arrival, the group split up for dinner. My lovely host family and I went for a five minute drive to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. There I found out the true strength of wasabi.
My first sushi contained a little rice, a little bit of prawn and an estimated twelve kilos of wasabi. My host family seemed mildly surprised wehn my face started turning into a red traffic light. Once my family pointed out that I chose the spiciest sushi in the whole restaurant, I finished eight other dishes before throwing in the towel.
All in all, a very fun day.
Timothy Gibson
Many students visited Nara Temple and saw other sites around Nara. These photos were taken by Bradley Rankin on the tour that the Gojo staff gave Mr. Frye, Mrs. Tannahill and myself.
Mr. Matsuda (English Teacher) in front of a five story pagoda
Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Rankin in front of the pagoda
Mr. Uemura lighting incense as a sign of respect while Mr. Frye looks on.
The giant Buddha of Nara
Liz and her host family and friends at Nara
The temple that houses the giant Buddha.
A deer in front of a smaller shrine
A traditional fence line with magnificant decorative tiles on top.
Mr. Morikawa relaxing on our tour.
Looking down on Nara from a lookout vantage point.
Mrs. Tannahill and Mr. Uemura
Making mochi (rice cakes)
A traditional entrance to a house in Nara.
The edging of a roof line.
A small remberence statue.
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