Three students from Belait Sixth Form Centre, who were among the nine selected for the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) programme, returned on Wednesday and shared their experiences with the Bulletin.
Lau Jia Wen said the programme was fruitful in terms of experiences and knowledge.
“Throughout the programme, I learnt a lot about other cultures. I networked with students from ASEAN, China and Chinese-Taipei and Timor-Leste. Although some were not fluent in English, we were still able to communicate with each other quite well. Everyone was very friendly,” she added.
She also got to deepen her knowledge on the Japanese culture and found the people to be disciplined and punctual, which she and her fellow participants were able to adapt to.
Lau hopes to share what she gained from the programme with her schoolmates and friends, especially on being responsible, disciplined and punctual as well as implementing the action plan they came up with – a post programme requiring participants to introduce something they learnt from Japan to their respective countries.
“We decided to recycle used papers into tissue papers by holding a donation drive to get the public to contribute their waste papers, especially at schools, as students go through a lot of paper, which ends up in the trash bin.”
She added, “Instead of throwing papers away, they can donate it to Enevo, a local recycling product company.”
Lau also said, “We learnt about the culture at Minamiawaji, going to the puppet theatre and the Naruto Whirlpool cruise ship where despite strong cold winds, we were treated to a scenic view. It was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Ahmad Danish bin Haji Amirhalim found the trip interesting and he enjoyed himself.
“I learnt how respectful the Japanese are. Even with the language barrier, we managed to communicate with basic language skills. Even a few words made a difference,” he said.
Ahmad Danish also gain some insights into the history and technique of kendo from a high school’s kendo club and toured the Kewpie factory, which is one of the largest product factories for mayonnaise in Japan.
“The most valuable experience for me was the film festival, where I met people from different countries, enjoyed the anticipation of the winners being announced and networked with other ASEAN members, as well as those from Timor-Leste, Chinese-Taipei and Mongolia as well,” he said.
“I got the chance to meet so many people and that broadened my perspective on other countries. Although we did not win, seeing another team from Brunei win made me proud of my country.”
For Awangku Md Yazid bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Jafarouddin, it was a childhood dream to visit Japan.
“My favourite experience was the school exchange because we went to a Japanese school and learnt their culture and martial arts like kendo and judo. We got to experience what Japanese schools are like, and it’s very different from here. We were happy to be able to experience it.”
Despite coming from different backgrounds and nationalities, Awangku Md Yazid said they were still able to become friends and understand as well as learn from each other, which was a valuable experience for him. – Lyna Mohamad
