Japan of the Japanese

I came into contact with this program through an alumni of World Campus Japan who had joined the previous year and although she told me incredible stories, it couldn't compare to experiencing it myself for me. There are multiple things that make this program so special for me. The group, the host families and also the activities all contributed to making my participation making a very unique experience and I will tell a little bit about each of them.

First of all, the host families. Every host family will take you as part of their family for one week and also after that. They are excited to learn about you, your country and customs and also are very willing to share theirs. You become part of their family. Even now I still keep in touch with the families I stayed with.
Next a little bit about the activities. Not every activity might sound as interesting as some others, but there’s a lot of variation and if you put in a little effort, it will pay back double. For every activity, there are people that made efforts to organize something worthwhile and will be an unique experience and they are incredibly fun and sometimes also very educational. Having activities daily for 3 weeks does sound very tiring, but every week there will be a day you’ll spend with your host family and a free day off where you can decide on your own how to spend it.
Then a little bit about the group. When I joined the program in the 3rd session, it started out as a group of fellow participants from different countries. Over the course of 3 weeks I learned a lot about them, their respective countries and I now call most of them my friends. During the program you spend a lot of time with these people and naturally you’ll get along better with some, but after I got back home, I missed every one of them.

One session is 3 weeks with a group of people you barely know at the beginning, and at least 3 different host families, the program is packed full of activities, but it doesn’t get tiresome at all. The people you’ll meet are very nice and usually like-minded people. This program asks you to give a little bit of yourself, but you’ll definitely be rewarded with one of the most unique inside experiences to Japan. And the chance of keeping in contact with AT LEAST one person who lives outside your country are incredibly high.