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Fukuoka
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Asian-Pacific Children's Convention (APCC)
Junior ambassadors' stories
Sedef
After months of going to interviews, waiting for letters, going to orientations and buying gifts for our host family, the day finally came when I was going to start my 2-week journey as a J.A.
Our flight left at 8.30am, so we had to be at the airport at 6.30am. This meant we had to get up at 5am!
Most of my family were at the airport to say goodbye, even my best friend!
Before we left, we were all very excited, scared and happy to finally be leaving.
The flight took about 10 hours and 30 minutes. I was sitting next to Kezia and Abi. When we arrived, we were amazed by how hot it was! We had gone from freezing cold to sweating! We had 3 hours to listen to music, read and just relax until we had our flight to Fukuoka.
During that time, we also met the Australians. We introduced ourselves and found we were on the same 2-hour flight to Fukuoka.
When we arrived at Marine Camp, we had a quick coco-pop dinner, met our room leader and found out who we were sharing our bunkroom with. I was with Kezia.
The next morning I met the rest of the people in my bunkroom. All the New Zealanders had 2 Taiwanese, 2 Indian and 2 Malaysian.
The majority of the time at camp was spent in the 'Play Hall', where we did activities with mostly the Australians.
On one of the days, we did Japanese flower arranging. We also dressed up in Kimonos and had our picture taken.
The breakfast at camp was always what we called 'fluoro egg' with tuna, some strange yoghurt/paste/sauce and rice. The lunch and dinner always varied between curry and something European.
The next major activity during our time was meeting our home stay families. Mine had 2 daughters (one was 11, one was 6) a mum, a dad and a grandmother. We met at Osa Elementary, which was the school we were going to attend for the next 3 days, and introduced ourselves to the parents (our interpreter translated what we said). I found the first night the hardest because I was getting used to my host family and I was feeling a little home sick.
School was very different to New Zealand. The teachers were quite strict and kids served lunches in class from pans that had the food in them.
After succeeding 3 days at a Japanese school, we had the next activity, which was doing our kapa haka performance. It went really well, but the stage was quite small and we didn't get much room to move in.
I was very lucky, because my host family was good friends with Jo and Abi's host family. This meant we got to share some pretty cool moments together, like going on roller coasters together and water rides at the awesome Space World.
Space World is a gigantic theme park that has a 4D movie theatre, a really tall ferris wheel, a swimming area, a roller coaster that goes at 120kph and lots of water rides. I also had the chance to go to Marine World, where I got to go in the water with a dolphin!
I had the coolest time of my life in Fukuoka, and my host family was really nice. I hope I get the opportunity to go to Japan as a Peace Ambassador!!!!!!!
Ming Jinn Yap
In February 2008, I found out that I was one of the eight lucky people to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Fukuoka, Japan, representing Auckland, New Zealand as a Junior Ambassador.
On the 9th of July 2008, I woke up at 5am to start the 10 hour and 35 min flight to Tokyo, Japan.
When we got to the airport we were already late so I sprinted off with my parents to where the JA's were meeting. We went to check our baggage in and quickly sobbed our last goodbyes before we left for Japan. I wasn't crying because I was 101
per cent sure that I was going to see them again. So, Japan here we come!
We had a 5-hour stop at Tokyo where we first met the Aussies. Our next flight to Fukuoka was around an hour and 55 minutes so I slept though that. Finally we arrived at Fukuoka Airport where we met a paparazzi of people waiting to take us to Marine Camp.
When we got to Marine Camp, it was about midnight so we had a drink and our room leader showed us to our rooms. I was in a room with James and our room leader's name was Naoko. The Taiwanese people were already there. We went to bed straight away.
Some time in the next day, the Malaysians and the Indians were coming to join us.
Every single day we had egg and fish for breakfast. It tasted horrible!!!
We did all sorts of activities at Marine Camp, such as the morning meeting, sports day, flower arranging, free time, night parties and lots more. Marine Camp was amazing! In the middle of Marine Camp, we had the privilege to go to the Yamakasa Festival. It was amazing. The statues were so detailed and the clothing of the men was really weird.
On the day of leaving Marine Camp I was both excited and sad because that was the day of us going to our host family, but we were leaving Marine Camp.
The host family was amazing. At first, I was quite nervous and home sick but later on I got used to my host family. When I arrived at my host family's place I straight away gave my first present to my host mother, my dirty clothes!!! We all had a great laugh but next the real presents. One by one I gave out all my presents. For a big family present I gave them a sheepskin. They absolutely loved it and they put it on their couch. We had so much fun at our host family no words could describe it!
The next day was the first of our three-day visit to Osa Elementary School. We did so many activities there! At the end of the three-day visit, they did a special valedictory celebration for us. It was really cool and we got to sing the New Zealand national anthem to them.
Once again, the host family was awesome! We did so many things together such as: going to Space World, the Dinosaur Museum, going to their grandmother's house to stay and lots more other activities!
All was well until the last day of the whole entire exchange. I sobbed all the way through breakfast, all the way to the airport and when we had to say our last goodbyes I came bursting out with tears along with the other 7 Junior Ambassadors!
We were all right on the plane but we still deeply missed Japan and our host families. We safely arrived back to New Zealand, bringing our over-weight luggage off the carousel and jumping into our mums and dad's arms. We were so pleased to see them but we also had another family missing us in Japan.
This exchange was a once in a life time experience and I will never forget it. I think the 2008 APCC was a great success!
Amelia Law
Going to Japan to take part in the Asian Pacific Children's Convention (APCC) is an absolutely amazing trip.
When I learned that I had been selected as a Junior Ambassador, I was very excited and began counting down the weeks. Every orientation meeting we had building up to our departure, we would practise our kapa haka performance and learn to speak Japanese.
When finally we left on our 11-hour journey to Tokyo, I was excited. It was my first international flight and I could hardly keep still on the plane for the first two hours. Then I realised that I still had about 9 hours to go, so I had better stop wriggling and watch a movie instead.
When we landed in Tokyo, we met the Australian JA's and we were immediately friends before we even arrived in Fukuoka. We then had a two-hour flight down to Fukuoka, where we were greeted by excited Japanese volunteers.
By the time we arrived at Marine Camp, we were exhausted, but we managed to stay awake to eat Japanese coco pops and meet our room mates for the next week.
The next morning we were woken at six thirty to do some interesting exercises, then breakfast… fish, rice, soup and egg. Throughout the day, more children arrived and we made new friends from all over the world -Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, America and many other countries.
We played games like skipping elimination, truth or dare and invented new games to play all the time.
At Marine Camp, we got to try on traditional kimonos, arrange flowers and draw pictures of food from our country to swap with other children.
Every day at Marine Camp was different and interesting.
When I was with my home stay family, I went to Osa Elementary School with the other JA's from New Zealand and our host families. Everyone at school was really welcoming. They treated us like movie stars, wanting our autographs and using their best English to talk to us. We went to a different class for each lesson, learning different things like origami and maths. I really enjoyed the three days I was at school.
The week I had with my host family was amazing. I got to experience Japanese everyday life, which is one of the reasons I went to Japan. While I was with my home stay family, I lived in their apartment, which was quite a small space for 7 people including me to live for a week. It was really interesting to experience daily life in a Japanese family and see how children like to spend their spare time - like making origami and playing baseball outside.
There were rice paddies in every spare piece of land and many apartment blocks where I was staying. There were also lots of vending machines selling just about everything. While I was with my host family, I went to Space World, which is an amusement park in Fukuoka. It was amazing!
At the airport, everyone was in tears when we said goodbye to our host family and room leaders who were there to send us off. Being a Junior Ambassador and taking part in the Asian Pacific Children's Convention is a wonderfully interesting and unique experience, which I will treasure forever.
Kezia Molly Lynch
If you are an expert packer, can hide a sumo wrestler in your suitcase and don't mind being treated like a Hollywood A lister, then this is the experience for you!
In January 2008, I was notified that I was one of the eight JA's chosen to go to the APCC in Fukuoka. On the 9th of July, at some ungodly hour of the morning, 7 other junior ambassadors, 2 chaperones, a peace ambassador and I gathered at Auckland Airport to depart on an amazing journey.
With tears in our eyes, we left our parents and boarded a plane for Tokyo, Japan.
We reached Fukuoka at midnight. We came through a gate that said 'Welcome to Fukuoka' and everyone had their cameras out and were snapping pictures of us. Then we had a formal picture of us all together and were given fans (it was steaming hot even in the wee hours of the morning!) and booklets containing information about Marine Camp.
At camp, I had a totally amazing experience. Being around 400 other kids from 50 other places is so much fun. Even if you don't speak their language you can still communicate, you just have to try a little harder and be inventive.
At camp, we stayed in bunkrooms and we had a daily routine we had to follow. I shared a bunkroom with 7 other JA's and we had room leaders on rotation - to keep an eye on us.
Our days at camp were pretty full on, but if we were ever bored we played bunk volleyball, had pillow fights etc. While we were at Marine Camp we also had two parties, went to the Yamakasa Festival in Fukuoka and participated in a sports festival.
At Marine Camp we had powdered egg square, salted fish and cabbage soup every day for breakfast. Lunch varied but usually it was a type of curry. Dinner varied too, but usually it was a type of chicken.
At school we did art, first aid, origami, dance, PE and math's. We had a great time.
My host family was totally fabulous! I had 4 host sisters and my host mum and dad. My grand parents also lived with us, in a two-bedroom house! My host mother and father spoke a little English, and I had my limited Japanese, so communication was interesting.
While I was with my host family, we went to a waterfall and river, to sunshine pool complex, ten pin bowling, out to dinner to a sushi train and a noodle waterfall bar, to the arcade, to a fire works display and to the 100Yen shop. The 100Yen store is the coolest shop in the history of the world! At the 100Yen store, you can buy literally anything from shoes to food. The 100Yen store is like our $2 shops except a zillion times better and all for about $1.20 per item!
At the end of my stay we all went to a large sports festival followed by a party - it was great fun.
I was so lucky my host family were lovely. They took great care of me (made sure I had lots of sushi) and we had a blast. They made me feel so safe and welcome.
With my host family, I had chocolate croissants, some chocolate cornflakes with milk or fried eggs with sausages for breakfast. We went to dinner one night where they have BBQ's built into your table, so you get raw meat off the buffet and cook it at your table. We also went to a noodle waterfall restaurant, where they send noodles down in a waterfall and you have to catch them and dip them in soy sauce before eating them. I recommend trying everything that is put in front of you.
I tried most things and I liked most of them.
It was very hot (33-35 degrees) so keep a drink bottle, hat and fan on you at all times!
Hannah
Watashi wa Hannah desu. Japanese is the best!!!
On the 9th of July 2008, by just leaving my parents, I took the biggest and best journey of my life. I didn't really miss my parents because I have been heaps of places without them, but some of the other kids were crying.
The plane was so boring. Ming gave me a running commentary of every single movie he watched for most of the flight, so it was not surprising I hardly got any sleep!!!
When we got to the camp, we had a small snack of the Japanese version of coco pops and went to our rooms. I was staying with two Taiwanese girls who became my best buddies at the camp, two Indians and two Malaysians. Our room leader Rie was so nice. She was Japanese and spoke simple English.
At the camp, there were lots of fun things to do, like dressing up in a kimono, ikebana (flower arranging) and not so fun Japanese baths. Heaps of girls got in this giant bathtub together, a bit like a spa.
On the last day of camp, we had a really fun sports day. Kazia and I drenched each other in water. Sports day was quite unfair because the boys got to do this really cool box thing while the girls ran with a pole.
When it was time to leave Marine Camp I cried so much. I started crying when my buddies from Taiwan left and didn't stop until we had left. I missed Rie so much after we left - more even than my own parents.
Our bus pulled up at the school where we met our host families. Aika, my little sister, danced around singing and saying
'Welcome Hannah' (though I don't think she knew what it meant!!!)
At the school, we performed our haka, made some speeches, then went home.
My family lived in a tiny apartment; really really small!!! In my family there was Aika(4), Asuka(6), Yumeka(9), Yuka the mum and Masamichi the dad.
We had so much fun in my host family. We went to stay with the grandfather, who gave me heaps of presents. We also went to Spaceworld and rode the coolest ride of my life - with an 89-degree angle and a speed of 130kph. I sat next to my host sister and she clung to my arm so much the circulation was cut off!!! Every day friends came round to play and I just felt I was
'Hanna-ko', part of a Japanese family.
At the departure, I was so sad. I just cried and cried and cried. Sedef and I were basically bawling our eyes out. We didn't stop for ages after we left.
The flight was so boring!!! I was pretty envious of the business premiere class!!!!!!!!
Anyway, this experience will be the best of your life. It is just so incredibly fantastic. If you are reading this and have been chosen, you are so lucky.
I can't wait until I can hopefully be a peace ambassador. Going to Fukuoka really helped me understand the Japanese culture. One down, hundreds to go.
James
Being part of the 20th Asia Pacific Children's Convention in Fukuoka has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life! It is hard to know where to start and what to tell people about the trip, so I'll give you some of the highlights.
Going to school was really challenging but it was one of the most fun parts, because the school kids were really friendly and we got to try out lots of different things, like origami and Japanese face painting.
Also, getting to spend a week living with my host family was awesome. Learning about their way of life and just hanging out with them was fun.
The hardest things - getting some sleep at my home stay. Just imagine you are sleeping with five other people on a futon on the floor, (my whole family sleep together in one room) when suddenly your younger host brother rolls on top of you. You wake up, straighten his legs and arms out, and then not so gently roll him out of the way. The most amazing thing is he still went on sleeping!
The food at Marine Camp was also different - having tomato sauce on egg with fish and rice for breakfast was interesting.
Fun outings - the best two places I went to were Space World and going to the dinosaur museum. Space World had the coolest roller coasters and lots of gift shops to find things to take back for people. I ended up needing to buy an extra suitcase to bring everything back home again!
Weird stuff - having a bath with my host brothers, when my host sister decided to join us. Talk about a speedy exit
- I could have won the Olympic 100 meter sprint!
Also, when you are with your host family, stay away from MacDonald's burgers. Japanese seem to like sauces, and the McChicken burgers are no exception. They had tomato sauce, mayo and mustard laid on thicker than the chicken itself.
Things I will never forget - THE PEOPLE! I got to meet other kids from about fifty different countries, and made some great friends. Then my host family was the coolest. My host mum was so kind, and even though we couldn't talk much, we understood each other using sign language.
My two younger host brothers and host sister were heaps of fun and we played
baseball, soccer and sometimes 'Wii' racing games together.
Overall, Japanese people are really smiley, friendly and welcoming. They are extremely kind and go out of their way for you all the time. Plus, they are totally trustworthy and honest. Like you can leave your bag in a public place and no one would ever take it.
Japan is a pretty amazing place to go to.
So now that I am back home again, would I recommend this chance to people? For sure! Because it is loads of fun and you get to make lots of really good new friends from both Japan and other countries.
Did I get homesick? No, not really, but I did miss my own bed. Would I do it all over again? Definitely!!
So give it a go, it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sung-Woo
The awesome experience of a two week trip to the 2008 Asian-Pacific Children's Convention in Fukuoka – an unforgettable lifelong memory!
It all started off with a disaster! I woke up at 6.30am (we were supposed to meet at the airport at 6am), forgot to bring my sports shoes and we were stuck in a traffic jam! But luckily, I managed to arrive before the plane took off without me and my dad posted my shoes to Japan!
I was too excited to sleep in the plane. Eventually I ended up having no sleep at all! I felt a little sick, but there was backseat entertainment to help me out! Two of the best things in taking the plane were that we got special meals and a message from the pilot wishing us good luck.
The five days of camp were fabulous! I was in room W107 and our cool room leader was Taka. In our room, there were kids all the way from India, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The food was delicious, except for breakfasts, which were always eggs, fish, rice and soup.
One of the events that we had at camp was the Yamakasa Festival. It was quite new and interesting - you might want to search that in Google.
At sports day, we played fun games and spent most of our time having water fights.
Another highlight at camp would have to be the party where we danced on stage, sang
'we are the bridge' and had heaps of fun.
During camp, we did a lot of gift exchanging, playing in the recreation hall and making new friends.
For the first few days, we felt nervous about bathing naked. But after a while, it turned out to be alright.
The last week of the trip (which I spent with my host family) was incredible! My host parents treated me like their own son! I was really nervous at first, but got used to the family in only about a few minutes! We played Nintendo Wii, DS, and PS2 practically everyday!
We had a barbeque on the 3rd day, and I really loved it. We visited game arcades, sushi train restaurants, Fukuoka Dome and Space World! I loved the carnival games, arcades and used up all my yen at the 100 yen shop.
My host mother was a really great cook, because I greatly enjoyed the meals she made for us!
We also had fireworks every night and we thought they were beautiful! I think I had the best host family ever and I still email them all the time!
Saying goodbye was the worst part of our trip. Most of us, including me, found ourselves crying, not wanting to leave. As we walked past the departure gate, we all waved to our host families until we could not see them. It was a really difficult moment for all of us… I still miss them sometimes.
I hope my host family visits us in NZ next time.
Overall, it was a fantastic, incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I hope I can return to Japan next time as a Peace Ambassador.
Kane Tele'a
I still remember the day I received the phone call from Abby to say I was going to Japan. I was one of eight that had been chosen to represent New Zealand as a Junior Ambassador at the 2008 Asian Pacific Children's Convention.
The months flew by, and in that time we learnt some Japanese language, a little bit of the culture and also a kapa haka item which we were to perform over in Japan.
Before we knew it, Wednesday the 9th of July 2008 was finally here. The day we had all been waiting for. We were ready as ever to embark on a trip of a lifetime to Fukuoka, Japan.
'Last call for Tokyo' was heard over the loud speaker, so we said our last goodbyes to family and friends and in a split second, we were airborne. We felt like movie stars straight away because the pilot had announced our group over the plane's intercom and to top it off I was allowed to hand out lollies to the passengers along with the other Junior Ambassador, Ming.
We had to stop over in Tokyo to catch our next flight to Fukuoka. This is where we met the Junior Ambassador's from Australia. We finally landed in Fukuoka and straight away we felt the heat! We collected our luggage and headed off to Marine Camp, which was to be our home for the next couple of days.
The camp was awesome. We got to meet children from all over the world, but trying to communicate with them was a bit tough. We even tried making up our own language with hand signals.
An eye opener was the dreaded Japanese 'bath' time. It didn't take the Kiwi's long to ditch the clothing and join the rest of the group.
Sports day at camp was great fun, I really enjoyed the game where we had to hop inside a big cardboard box and try to crawl as fast as we could.
For me the highlight of my trip was finally meeting my home stay family. We had been in touch before the trip by way of e-mail and now we were saying hello face to face.
They were a family of four. My host brother's name was Ryo (who was 7) and my host sister's name was Chise (she was 3). Kyoko and Masakazi were my host parents.
We did a lot of fun things together. They took me out to dinner to a sushi bar and also to a Japanese noodle restaurant. They taught me a lot about the Japanese culture. I did not feel out of place or even homesick because it was like a home away from home. I am sure I will see them all again one day. Saying goodbye at the airport was not easy and there were a lot of tears flowing that day from everybody.
Lastly I would like to say a huge thank-you to Jo and Abby for selecting me as one of the eight Junior Ambassadors. It was an experience I will never forget, and to anyone lucky enough to go
"YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BLAST".
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Updated April 2009
