Seiritsu International Education

Binita here!


Having been in Japan for two weeks now, I think I'm more or less settled down. The rhythm of school life isn't entirely a foreign one, but some of the food sure is!






I seem to have arrived just in time for the firefly squid season, and my host family entertained Chase and I with their own stories of catching some of these. They're usually deep-sea inhabitants, but they come up in great masses for their spawning season, which is the perfect time to haul in a nice big catch. Bewildered as I was to be eating the squid just as it was, I was reassured that firefly squid is unusual even to the average Japanese.






More information on the firefly squid can be found here!


Cheers!

writer: staff  date: 3:06 PM | Life at Seiritsu

It is finally getting warmer over here in Tokyo so it is becoming easier for everyone to enjoy the day!


This also seems to be true for the insects as well because the other night there was a particularly loud sound coming from outside that I noticed after eating dinner. It sounded like something had short-circuited, or something electrical, so I ventured outside to investigate the noise. After searching around for a broken telephone wire or a flickering street light I realized the sound was coming from a bush in the yard and after I shook it a few times a dark insect shape flew out and took off somewhere.


Although I didn't get a good chance to look at it I'm fairly sure it was a grasshopper of some sort. When I looked into it, it turns out that the city grasshoppers are louder than country grasshopper and that may be why it was so loud but from what me and Binita heard it sounded just like electricity!

writer: staff  date: 2:56 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello, nice to meet you! I'm Binita, from Canada. Though I'm currently 19 and a 2nd year in university, I've come back to Seiritsu after having participated in the 2010 Japan Experience to enroll in the Gap Year program for the next 9 months.






Thinking that I might like to be an English teacher here in Japan, I thought it best to see and experience for myself what Japanese high school life is like in order to get a better grasp on how I might go about teaching such students in the future.

In the 5 days that I've been here so far, Chase has kindly showed me the ins and outs of the area surrounding the homestay that we share, and I look forward to learning much more in these coming months!


Binita is enjoying life in Japan through our Gap Studies programme, which is specifically designed for High School/Secondary Education graduates and students considering going to university in Japan. The course offers a great mix of education, Japanese and English language development and lots of interaction with Japanese students!


If you want to come and experience Tokyo as well, click here for more details!

writer: staff  date: 2:42 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Connor O`Toole, I am 15 years old from Sydney, Australia.





I decided to come to Seiritsu because I believe it is the best opportunity available to me for both football and education. I have been in Japan for two weeks now, staying in the dormitory in Saitama with the other members of the Seiritsu Soccer Club. We have been training almost everyday for 3 hours, we have played two inter-club games and one trial game which we won 5-4!


Life in the Dormitory is very different to staying at home; each morning two first year students wake up at 5am to prepare breakfast for the others. Then we catch the train from Higashi-Washinomiya to Akabane at 7am which is approximately a 45 minute journey. Dinner is available between 6 to 8pm and at 9pm, each first year student has a cleaning task to complete, my task is to sweep and wipe the second floor hallway and the staircase. It is a very busy yet enjoyable schedule.


I'm looking forward to the next few weeks!


Connor has enrolled in seiritsu's successful soccer programme, which has not only produced Japan national team members Doko Mayo (Bronze medalist in 2012 FIFA women's U-20 World Cup) and Yuki Otsu (prolific midfielder in Japan's 2012 Olympic campaign where they reached the semi-finals, and now a senior national team member), but also helped launch the careers of several international students as well!


If you want to see how Seiritsu's soccer programme can help realise your superstar dreams, more details are here!


Peter
International Department Coordinator

writer: staff  date: 10:19 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Seiritsu's new school year started with the junior and senior high school entrance ceremony. This took place on a beautiful yet windy spring morning on Sunday April 7th.





The ceremony was held in the main hall, and was filled with newly-suited first years, their teachers and their families.





The principal, Fukuda Sensei, gave a speech and then the home room teachers were introduced. There are many new teachers this year!


After the ceremony, students and their parents went to their respective home rooms to be briefed by their new teachers, and then outside to have a class photograph taken.





After all the formalities were done, school club representatives handed out flyers to encourage their new schoolmates to join them. Some were very... creative!





Let's make this year an excellent one!


Peter
International Department Coordinator

writer: staff  date: 9:43 AM | Life at Seiritsu