【2日目】

〜代表生徒Sより〜

今日はボスニアでの活動の初日でした。朝、日本大使館を訪問し、日本大使から非常に貴重なお話を伺うことができました。これまで多くの国を訪問し、各国の大使館を経験された大使からは、異なる文化を持つ人々との関わり方、文化理解を深める接し方、そして言語を学ぶことの重要性についてお話いただきました。これからの異文化交流の中で役立つ視点を多く得ることができました。 次に、サラエボ第3高校での学校生活を体験しました。生徒や先生方に非常に温かい歓迎を受け、ボスニアの伝統的なダンスや歌など、多くのパフォーマンスを楽しむことができました。また、昨年や今年、この交換留学プログラムに参加した生徒たちの発表を通じて、彼らが何を学び、どのような体験を得たのかを知ることができました。今年の参加者の話では、日本とボスニアの文化や価値観の違いについて具体的に触れられており、私自身も日本の魅力を違った視点で発見することができら異文化の新たな発見を感じ取ることができました。さらに学校では化学と物理の授業にも参加しました。化学の授業では、生徒の意見や疑問を大切にし、実際の行動を促す先生の姿勢が印象的でした。学ぶ過程での実験や試行錯誤が重要視されており、学びの主体性の大切さを学びました。また、日本とボスニアで学んでいる内容が共通していることに気づき、異文化であっても授業を通じて繋がりを感じることができました。その後、各家庭で作られたボスニア料理をみんなでいただきました。特にパイ料理が多く、ボスニアではこれが主流であることを知りました。さらに、ボスニアでは1日2食が一般的であると聞き、日本の1日3食という習慣との違いに驚きました。食文化の違いを通じて、国ごとの生活スタイルの特徴を深く理解できました。夜には、異文化を示しながら互いを理解し合うことを目的とした劇の練習がありました。普段は異なる言語や文化を持つ私たちですが、劇を成功させるという1つの目標に向けて意見を出し合い、協力しながら練習を進めました。この過程で、違いを超えて共通の目的を持つことが互いを理解し合う鍵であると実感しました。ボスニアでの初日は、文化の違いや共通点を深く理解し、それを通じて繋がりを感じた1日でした。

〜代表生徒Kより（英語）〜

Today was the first full day in Bosnia for us. First in the schedule for us was to visit the Japanese embassy. It was an intriguing and incredibly helpful experience to be able to talk with the ambassador who has interacted with many people of different cultures. There we were able to learn many valuable mindsets and things to keep in mind such as how people can get a better understanding of a culture through learning it’s language or how we should interact with people during the stay here to get the best out of it. Next we went to Treća Gimnazija where we were met with a very warm welcome from their students and faculty. We were able to experience many traditional performances as well as hear about what the Bosnian students from the previous and current exchange took away from their stay in Japan. One thing I was surprised about was how improvisational or spontaneous things can be here; I was invited up to the stage with my pair and had to perform an unexpected speech. It really made me aware of the importance to be able to formulate ones own ideas and emotions into words quickly and still have it be articulated well enough for the message to reach the audience. Overall the event made me realize even further of the importance of this exchange in both a diplomatic and experiential sense. After the event we were able to join and see what they do in their physics and chemistry classes. It was interesting to see how they had been doing practically the same experiments and learning the same things. This really showed to us how even in different cultures the knowledge that we acquire can be a great connection. We were also able to go around several classes and conduct presentations. The group I was in was in charge of presenting Japanese culture in which we had an activity of folding origami ninja stars. Seeing that many students were enjoying this activity, I was really glad. I felt the these activities where one can teach another about traditional culture is an amazing way to build a connection between each other so it was amazing that we could do it. After this we ate a lot of traditional Bosnian foods that the mothers of this exchange had made for us, which I truly am grateful for as it was all amazing. We were all surprised at the difference in meals here; apparently they eat a heavy breakfast and lunch around 3pm and no dinner in most cases. We also had the chance to move around in their gym where many students were also able to experience rock climbing. We also danced a lot including the one we did at the Bosnia festival which was fun. Finally we practiced for a play that will happen soon, both centered around cultural differences between Bosnia and Japan and conveying the message of acceptance and understanding across different cultures. It was a day full of cultural experiences and new discoveries, which surely will help step up our remaining days of this exchange.