Washington-Hyogo Teacher Institute

Hey all, Liz from Seattle here! I’m so excited to get this new blog up and running. On the blog, I’ll be sharing news about the work I do as a Coordinator for International Relations here in Hyogo, Japan.

I hope I can help readers learn what it’s like to be a CIR, how our work contributes to Hyogo, and what makes Hyogo such a great place to visit – and live!

Last month, I had the opportunity to help out with a really fun project as part of my work at the Hyogo International Association. Every other year, a group of teachers from Washington State (Hyogo’s sister state in the US) come to Hyogo for an educational tour as part of the Washington-Hyogo Teacher Institute. They visit elementary, junior high, and high schools in Hyogo, where they have the opportunity to observe and learn about the Japanese education system. They also participate in homestays in order to gain an understanding of Japanese daily life and culture.

For many of the teachers, this trip was their first time to Japan! When they return to the US, they will teach their students what they’ve learned about Japan and Hyogo to strengthen community ties between the two regions.

I spent three days very worthwhile days with the teachers visiting schools in Tamba, Kobe, and Akashi. The teachers enjoyed observing classes in a variety of subjects, eating school lunches, watching after-school club activities, and getting lots of one-on-one interaction with the students. They were fascinated by the similarities and differences between Japanese and American schools, and were full of questions for the teachers and administrators.

My duties on the tour were mainly interpreting. When I first arrived in Hyogo, interpreting made me nervous, but I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my two years here and really enjoy it now. On this tour, I interpreted speeches by school administrators, presentations by students, question-and-answer sessions, and more.

I felt very honored to be part of the tour – it was one of the most worthwhile projects I’ve ever worked on here in Hyogo. I always enjoy work that means going out into the community, meeting new faces, and promoting intercultural exchange on the person-to-person level. The teacher exchange celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and over 100 teachers from Washington have participated. When you think about all those teachers passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm for Japan to their students, you start to get an idea of what the impact of the program is.