This was my first trip to Japan. Moreover, it was a cultural exchange. This means that it was not only about visiting beautiful places and enjoying the good view, but also about learning many things. Firstly, we arrived at Tokyo, where we spent one day. Everything was very interesting and unusual, and even in this huge and modern city I could see the elements of traditional culture. The next day we went to Kanazawa by shinkansen. I was impressed by the beauty of the city with its green gardens, high mountains and fast rivers But as I said, we came not only to observe, but also to learn. We had four classes with Anastasia-sensei, and we learned new grammar patterns, practiced reading and speaking, and also learned more about the sights of the city - Kenrokuen and Kanazawa Castle. It was very informative. We also had a campus tour so we could visit the university library and chemical laboratory, where we gained insight into the history of the university. It was a very busy schedule. After classes, we could spend time with Japanese students. They showed the city, told us about student life, all the little things, so it was very interesting and, of course, it was a good opportunity to practice Japanese. For two days we had classes and then another part of the program began. We learned about the biodiversity of Kanazawa gardens and parks, and also participated in the tea ceremony! We visited the garden of the Shinrensha temple, where we could observe the biodiversity of the garden through cleaning. We also visited two private gardens and Kenrokuen, and then compared how people took care of them. Based on this information, we prepared a presentation for the symposium. At the symposium we learned different views on how to solve the problem of the gardens loss. That was such an intense part of the training. No less interesting was the entertainment part. I visited many places, ate incredibly tasty food and enjoyed communication with Japanese. It was truly a dream trip!

Cleaning the Sinrensya garden

Tea ceremony