UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

When I got back home from school that day, my mother showed me one letter. She said
from Ministry of Education, Putrajaya. I was shocked, took the letter, and read it. Again, I was
gobsmacked by the news that I am promoted to go to Japan for two weeks for their Students’
Exchange Program. The program will be held on July, 2004. All of my family members are
supportive and they helped me with the preparation. I was informed that there were 10 students
from Malaysia and two representatives from Ministry of Education. There were 12 members in
Malaysian Team altogether. Before leaving to Japan, all of us have to stay in Curriculum
Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur for two days for the final preparations.

We have our ‘zapin’ practice that night in Curriculum Development Centre (CDC). Two
days provided by the Malaysian government in CDC was long enough for us to get to know each
other since we were coming from different states. There were two representatives from Kuala
Lumpur, including me, two representatives from Selangor, and there were six of them from
Terengganu state, since Terengganu was elected to be the host that year. Eight hours of flight
made me miss my family so much. When we arrived at Kansai International Airport, it was 7.00
a.m. However, the sun shines brightly. It seems to me like it was 12.30 p.m. in Malaysia hours.
After that, we were heading to Hyogo Prefectural Ashiya International Secondary School. We
were given a short briefing regarding our stay in Japan. Each of us was given one buddy in that
school. In addition, our buddy’s family will be our host family, automatically. I have Kimura
Tomomi as my buddy. I went back to her home that day and her family members were
welcoming us warmly. We have a lot of chatting during that evening and they asked me many
questions about Malaysia. I felt very comfortable. I called my parents on that evening and said
that I was taken care here by Tomomi’s family and there was nothing to be worried about. Next
day, I went to Tomomi’s school, which is Hyogo Prefectural Ashiya International Secondary
School and met with her classmates. I learnt many new things. However, their learning and
teaching process were conducted in Japan even though it is an international school. I learnt
Japanese songs, how to play Japanese guitar and also how to cook Japanese foods. We exchange
our thoughts and Malaysian culture as well, as we have to perform our ‘zapin’ in a large number
of Japanese audience in one of Japanese famous Hall. Then, during the weekend, my host family
brought me to the historical places for sightseeing in Japan. We hit a lot of temples. One of the
most famous temple in Japan is located in Kyoto city. It is Kiyomizudera Temple. It has been
nominated for the Seven Wonders of the World but could not manage to make it to the final list.
In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. After that, we went to
Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion). A lot more temples to mention but I think it is enough for
me to point out these two big names.

When it was time for us to depart back to Malaysia, all of us felt reluctant. We hoped that
the flight schedule was delayed so that we could stay a bit longer. All of our host families
accompanied us to the airport. We said our last ‘good bye’ and departed with precious
experiences woven in memory...