Event Report (World Plaza ~Summer Vacation! Children's International Exchange Special~)
World Plaza ~Summer Vacation! Children's International Exchange Special~
On Sunday, August 18th, Sagamihara International Lounge held an international exchange event, "World Plaza - Summer Holidays! Children's International Exchange Special," at Soleil Sagami. This time, we welcomed guests Casio Campos and Ana Fujimoto from Brazil, Shu Hei from China, Rosamaria Sakda from Peru, and Hoang Nhuong from Vietnam, and the event focused on introducing the play cultures of the four countries of Brazil, China, Peru, and Vietnam. The event was a huge success, with over 130 people attending.
The event began with a segment titled "Experience Play from Around the World." Booths were set up for Brazil, China, Peru, and Vietnam, and each country's culture was introduced to the children in attendance through games, dance, and picture book readings, as well as games and games unique to each country.
At the Brazilian booth, we learned stories and songs about the three great Brazilian monsters, learned Portuguese words used in Japanese culture, and introduced traditional Brazilian games. At the Chinese booth, we had fun learning how to pronounce Chinese words, greetings, numbers, days of the week, and saying your own name in Chinese. We also twirled red handkerchiefs used at celebrations and festivals, and there was an interesting quiz about Chinese characters that have different meanings in Japanese. At the Peruvian booth, Rosamaria wore a cow mask and tail and danced with the children the "cow dance" that Peruvian children enjoy, and learned Spanish through games. At the Vietnamese booth, we were told about Vietnamese New Year's and read popular Vietnamese picture books, and everyone enjoyed playing games in a circle.
Many children participated in this "Play Experience from Around the World" event, enjoying dancing and games while moving their bodies. Afterwards, the children who participated in the event, along with the guests and volunteers, went on stage to give a presentation about their experiences at the booths of their countries. It was very impressive to see the children giving their presentations with such vigor and enthusiasm.
Additionally, many high school students participated in this event as volunteers, helping out the guests. They also enlivened the event with their youthful energy and power. We believe that the success of this event was largely due to the guests and the high school student volunteers, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to them.
Participants in this event made many favorable comments, such as: "I was able to experience games and pastimes from many different countries. We all enjoyed dancing and playing games together. I was able to learn about languages and cultures of countries I had never known before. This was my first time participating in this event, and it was a fun international exchange. I was glad that I was able to enjoy this event together with the various foreigners living in Sagamihara. As the number of foreigners in Sagamihara is increasing, I would like to see more events like this to promote mutual understanding."
Sagamihara International Lounge would like to continue to actively host international exchange events in the future, so we hope you will participate in our events.
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