A Heartwarming email from the M Family, A Longtime HIA Host Family

　Last Christmas, the M family, who has generously supported HIA as a volunteer host family and welcomed a total of eight visitors over the past seven years, sent us a heartwarming email.

Last summer, their eldest son, K, now a university student, spent two and a half months in the United Kingdom conducting research. During his stay, he was able to reunite with four former visitors who had once stayed with the M family.

Those he reunited with were Daniel, Dan, and Julia, who had visited Hyogo Prefecture from the United Kingdom through the “Oxbridge English Summer Camp Program,” and Alex, who had come from France as a “Hyogo Overseas Trainee.” All four had previously shared meaningful and warm experiences with the M family. Despite the years that had passed, they warmly welcomed K, showed him around, and created opportunities to meet new people during his visit.

The M family first began hosting seven years ago. At that time, K was a first-year junior high school student and was not yet able to communicate fluently in English. During this recent reunion, however, he was able to engage in many conversations and catch up, which was very meaningful for everyone involved. 

When HIA staff contacted Dan, he kindly shared fond memories of the time spent with K. K visited Dan in Norwich and spent a weekend there together. Wishing to introduce K to many unique aspects of British culture, Dan took him to a British pub and even made a traditional British pie from scratch, which he described as “one of the most delicious foods in the world.” While the pie was baking, they walked to Norwich Castle for a visit. As it was raining that day, they felt the presence of the castle’s more than 900 years of history even more profoundly.

They also played Mario Kart, with a playful rule that the loser had to drink a bad-tasting mystery drink as punishment. Dan jokingly commented, “I hope it didn’t put K off the UK too much...”. As a side note, Dan was delighted to receive powdered Pocari Sweat, which is his favorite drink, as a souvenir from K.

We also contacted Julia, who happily told us that she had shown K around the Cambridge area and introduced him to her friends. She shared that she still fondly remembers the amazing time she spent in Japan.

On this occasion, we also asked K’s mother about the changes she has observed in her son over the past seven years through their homestay experiences and this recent reunion.

— Through your hosting experiences and this reunion, what kind of growth or changes have you observed in K?

Beyond school-based English education, K was able to build friendships and communicate directly with people from overseas, which sparked a proactive interest in both English and international exchange. Fortunately, he was given the opportunity to study in the UK this time, where he reunited with the four former visitors and spent an enjoyable time together. He was also able to interact with their friends, which strengthened his confidence in communicating in English. He found these exchanges so rewarding that we heard him say many times during his stay that he “didn’t want to return to Japan.” We truly feel that this was a precious experience for him.

— Do you feel that these international exchange experiences have influenced K’s future path or perspective?

Yes, we certainly believe they have had a significant impact. K is currently studying in the faculty of Medicine, where he frequently reads academic papers written in English. In the future, he may engage with overseas medical technologies, patients, and colleagues in English and in international settings. We believe that these experiences have given him the confidence to take initiative and act more proactively. They have also broadened his perspective, enabling him to think beyond the framework of Japan.

Thank you very much to the M family for sharing this wonderful story with us. We were deeply impressed by the M family’s continued commitment to cherishing the bonds formed through hosting. We sincerely hope that these warm circles of international exchange will continue to expand in the years to come.

 

K (left) and Dan (center) Enjoying a wonderful time together at a British pub	”Meat & Potato Pie”, a traditional British pie, was a delicious success enjoyed by all!

 

Dressed in a crown and gown, they captured a memorable moment at Norwich Castle.	With Julia, who kindly showed K around Cambridge♪

 

※A Japanese version of this blog article is also available separately.