Sendai「仙台白百合学園中学·高等学校」- Cracow Student Exchange (Hosting)
SKEP hoodies - proved themselves useful, it was bloody freezing
On the 17th of March, a group of 23 girls with their 3 guardians landed in Warsaw. A day later, they arrived in Cracow, very exhausted after but a couple of hours and a whole capital to sightsee. The rest of the SKEP (Shirayuri Krakow Exchange Program) time schedule was tight as as well – with Sunday being the only free day for us and our guests to relax, or plan yet another trip (the latter was obviously encouraged more). The rest of the week was also stuffed with trips, no less than 6 hours each, excluding the drive and meal times. The time spent in Cracow was rather intense – thankfully I decided to accompany my Japanese sister on almost every tour available, I simply wouldn’t be able to get to know her otherwise.
Warsaw and her “warm welcoming”
A typical day started off with a (vaguely specified) Polish breakfast prepared by the host family. Our Japanese guest, my mother and I then rushed to the Gimnazjum i Liceum Sióstr Prezentek for a morning organizational meeting, straight after which SKEP participants set off for a trip. Approximately 4 – 6 hours later we came back to school, and after a revitalizing meal prepared by the Sisters of a Presentation Order- another outing, a bit less physically demanding than the morning ones, more like a visit to the museum, for instance. Eventually, we were returning to school – a pity it was usually two to three hours late, along with the host parents’ obligation to wait for us in the lobby, without any notification about the delay. I find this aspect of disorganisation very disrespectful towards the people who enrolled in the exchange without any benefit in prospect – the host parents. With whom we usually arrived home past midnight.
Youngest girls from Junior High with our chief translator
All in all, each day spent with my new sister was very dynamic, healthily fatiguing, fun and highly enducational. I may complain about the SKEP organisers’ time management or their justifable lack of expierience, but… The language barrier between me and my non-English speaking sister was sometimes impossible to overcome. Ironically, we talked almost all the time – the discussed topic would just sooner or later fade into awkward laughter. Nonetheless I believe that during the SKEP week I’ve acquired a very important skill – I learnt how to deduce the general meaning of a conversation, basing on the vocabulary and grammatical forms known to me. It proves to be an extremely useful skill, especially in cases of not knowing the spoken language fluently. By the end of the exchange, my sister and I were able to carry out a normal conversation – I really do consider that a succes.
I miss her so much I even include pictures showing my face
IThanks to sightseeing and my sister’s insterests, such as shopping, I was able to show around and entertain her without the use of vocabulary and grammar that would exceed my level. What I did instead was inviting Japanese-speaking friends from IB2 – not wishing for a moment of peace, but yet another opportunity to tighten our sisterly bond. Just as she expressed her eagerness to make friends in our correspondence, I additionally invited my best friend for the shopping – which I spent sharing the ward with another host sister, with whom I got closer thanks to SKEP.
Our shopping spree crew
I hope our Japanese sisters did enjoy the free girls’ day out, no matter how tiring it seemed to me. Well, they keep mentioning it their letters – and as me and Gabrysia (the aforementioned host sister) have concluded, we’re both really glad, although not that willing to spend another dozen hours carrying a multitude of shopping bags.
Japanese lessons
JApart from constantly offering my help and care to the girl, she has enriched me with her knowledge, shown me a marvellous amount of things, given great presents and taught lots. I got a real yukata – known as a summer kimono! This gift was true surprise to me, regarding the price. I also got a calligraphy set and a couple of free lessons from, as it turns out, a professionalist. Also, lots and lots of sweets, magazines and other small souvenirs. I gave my presents at the end of our adventure, hoping to know my sister better, but during the actual exchange, I focused on girly things mainly – as here, in Poland, was her first time to make-up or manicure. We also spent a lot of time in perfumeries. I hope this stay was a nice change from the way she lives in, specified by the strict Shirayuri’s code of conduct.
Girls' main attraction (the Sukiennice)
GDespite the seemingly innocent nature of spending our time together, thinking of Sunday precisely, later in the exchange parents were informed about the seriousness of looking after the Japanese guests. All in good time, a day before the departure, Polish side of the exchange organisation explained in terror that under no circumstances, the girls shouldn’t have been allowed to spend their free time without supervision of an adult – literally right before our guests’ return to Japan. The situation looked indeed quite serious – Sendai Shirayuri is a prestigious school, and due to that, some of the girls involved in the exchange come from very influential families. Their involvement in the exchange was disscussed thoroughly, considered being a bit too risky – to the point of sending personal bodyguards in. All this without any word whatsoever to the host families themselves – directly responsible for the girls; potentially putting everyone in danger. I consider such lack of information of utter importance outrageous – and am thanking god that eventually, even despite our unawareness, nothing happened. In conclusion, this episode has me wondering whether I would like to participate in SKEP next year.
These two made me realise the Japanese have an amazing sense of humour
I accompanied my sister on every trip – except one. The schedule included a morning mass in Japanese at the Mariacki Church, and then a meeting with Cardinal Dziwisz. I, personally, do not believe in god – and, as I expected, when I tried explaining that to my sister, she would just laugh (and I’m pretty sure it’s not because she didn’t understand me) diminishingly. I started the topic because of my decision not to go there with her – knowing how seriously Japanese Christians take their religion. Not accompanying my sister was less of a faux pas than attending the mass and not crossing myself, for instance – I’m afraid that would have been taken as an insult. On the brighter side, after the mass and the meeting we finally managed to talk (more or less productively)!
In-group bonding during the second day, Wawel
IAnd thus, the student exchange ended. During this short time, many things have happened – I have made many friends, and I plan on keeping in touch with my Japanese sister, as we’ve sworn the oath of friendship (a very cute custom, popular amongst Japanese teenagers – much less sad than a normal farewell, I think), came to a conclusion that I can be a very responsible and mature person, but am able to have fun when suitable. During this time I have also made a very important decision, concerning my future life – as I was thinking about choosing a degree in Japanese Studies quite seriously. As through this contact Japan has stopped being but an idyllic concept to me, realising that I wouldn’t like binding my life to this culture has put me through a pretty tough time. I’m not saying that hatred’s all that’s left – quite the contrary, actually. SKEP has simply opened my eyes, previously clouded by my idealized vision of this country. No matter how hard it was for me – I am very grateful. I certainly would love to visit, or even work in Japan in the future, it’s just that this void formed after my perfect idea fell into ruin made me think what utter idiocy I could have commited, limiting myself to Japan only. I still have warm feelings towards it; I guess that’s what growing up really means, and why adults seem to become sadder with age – they realise certain things, and realisation is always followed by that void, as if you lost something important.
Sightseeing Wawel
SBack from the philosophical digression – even though our guests were completely different from me, I could find things we could talk about – and basing on them, create a relationship (a close one, in some cases). Despite its flaws, SKEP has taught me lots about friendship, or even getting to know somebody: it’s not about shared interests, or anything in common, really; to be a friend is to appreciate another person selflessly. Thank you for making me realise that, my new best friend! ♡
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