Saturday, July 23, 2022 at Izumisano Cross-cultural Association

Thirty-one people, mostly foreign members of ica and students of the Japanese Language Instruction Volunteer Training Course, participated in the language and culture exchange. Divided into groups, participants spoke freely about their own cultures and impressions of Japan in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

What was your overall impression of the language and culture exchange event?

• There were many people I had never met before. It was fun.
• I gave my brain a workout talking with people from overseas for the first time in several years.
• I was very happy to hear many people say, “I love Japan! I was very happy to hear many of them say, “I love Japan! I hope they will like Japan even more in the future.
• I was impressed by the way they were actively trying to communicate with each other regardless of whether their Japanese was good or bad. I hope that they will become more proficient.
• I was impressed by the fact that they have a clear purpose for living in Japan.
• The atmosphere was warm and easy to talk with. I was surprised that there were several Japanese who spoke Chinese.
• The topics of conversation were not only about my country and myself, but also about current issues and common interests.