KICL Summer Camp was by far the best time I have had in Japan in the 4 months that I have been here. Between the amazing activities planned, the only Japanese speaking rule and all of the amazing students that participated, we had a blast. Day 1 we met at 9:00 in the morning and took a scenic 3 hour bus ride into the countryside. The ride went fast because our 5 Japanese student volunteers made games and we all got to know each other. We finally arrived at the KICL Seminar House, which was a beautiful 10 bedroom house on a hill overlooking the ocean.
After getting settled and starting dinner we all packed up and headed to the beach! We played in the ocean, played games breaking watermelons with blindfolds on, and caught starfish.
When it got dark we collected all the broken watermelons and headed back to the seminar house. There we played card games, and told ghost stories with our teachers (in Japanese only) until we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore.
The next day we got up bright and early and cleaned up the seminar house before getting back on the bus. We then went to a beautiful temple and learned 座禅 or Zen Meditation. Two very nice monks taught us how to sit and what to focus on and we tried our best for 15 minutes. It was a really enlightening experience for everyone involved. We then got to ask the monks questions and relax with tea and cookies:
After that we headed to a very special beach with 鳴き砂 or "singing sand." The beach's sand made a strange "whoop" sound when you wiped your hands across it. We played in the sand for a long time, and weather was perfect for it.
After that we headed to a small town where we took a cable car up the mountain to see the views of the ocean and play in the small amusement park at the top. There were some of the most beautiful views in Japan I have seen so far.
Soon after we took the bus ride back home. It was much too short of an experience, and I would definitely want to do it again next year. We are so lucky to have wonderful teachers who set this up as well as the Japanese student volunteers to help!
-Cassy
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