Exchange students learn Japanese

Holy Trinity International School students have been learning Japanese Calligraphy whilst on their exchange trip to Boca Raton in Florida. They all learned basic Japanese greetings and characters and scored 100% on their tests over the month, showing their ability as budding linguists for the future. They were also challenged to create original origami and write calligraphy in their own styles, by Max Okada, the school’s teacher of the Japanese Language. Boca Raton has an important link with Japanese culture as the area was pioneered by Japanese settlers and farmers and there are important twinning associations between Japan and local Delray Beach. Boca Raton also has an important Japanese “Morikami” cultural centre and Botanical Garden, open to all visitors.

In addition to an exciting academic and cultural programme, our students took part in musical and drama performances, as well as having the opportunity to visit local art galleries, Orlando’s Universal Studios, Miami Seaquarium and the Everglades. Quite possibly their favourite excursion though, was snorkeling in the John Pennecamp Marine State Park, a subtropical coral reef that makes up part of Florida’s Barrier Reef, which incidentally, is the third longest reef in the world after Australia and Belize.

An amazing experience and the students are now recounting their stories and memories to the next intrepid group of travelers! Now that is “internationalism in practice” and those memories are based on sharing a month with students from over 30 different nations at our sister school, Boca Prep International School, in South Florida.