Study abroad leaves lasting impression
For over ten years, Keio’s Yochisha Elementary School has been providing students with valuable opportunities to experience the UK and make lasting international friendships. Through a partnership with the prestigious Dragon School, founded by a committee of Oxford University Dons in 1877, Yochisha students visit England, take part in classes and other activities with their British peers, and participate in various field trips to learn about their host country. Dragon School students visit Keio during the fall term.
The experience leaves a lasting impression, both on Yochisha students and their British counterparts. So much so, in the case of one alumnus, that he has returned to Tokyo after eight years to volunteer at Yochisha as an assistant teacher.
Babak Moussavi, known as Bobby (and other nicknames) to students, is currently in his gap year before beginning studies in philosophy at University College London. Asked why he decided to come back to Yochisha in this capacity, he replied: “The objective of [the British “gap year”] is to get some experience in the real world…so I thought, ‘What’s the most interesting thing I could do?’ I am the first from the Dragon School to do this, and … it shows the success that the exchange has been. For me personally, I knew it was a success the first time I came, which is why I kept coming back.”
Many differences are immediately obvious to visiting Dragons, from Yochisha’s uniforms to its daily routines. British students don’t speak much Japanese when they arrive and sports is one of the main ways they communicate. “Students are obviously fascinated by each other, and when it comes to a common language like playing football, anyone can understand that,” Moussavi says. Yochisha’s Vice-Headmaster, Mitsuaki Kato, who initiated the exchange in 1996, believes that “experiences in childhood can change, for the rest of our lives, the way we communicate with people from other countries. Pupils of both schools may not understand the other’s language, but that’s not a problem, because they can communicate and understand each other without words”.
With no previous connection to Japan, Moussavi chose the expedition to Tokyo because it was one of the furthest reaching and therefore most interesting of those on offer at the Dragon School. Already fluent in German and French, the 19-year-old is now determined to learn Japanese. “Studying it at Keio University would be an invaluable experience. If there was an [opportunity to do so], I would definitely take that up” he says.
When asked how he feels about his experience as an assistant teacher, Moussavi replies, “The thought that the school term finishes very soon is a depressing one. I still have over a month here, but working in the school is such a large part of the experience. I really enjoy the atmosphere, and the kids here are really special. One little girl came up to me at lunch yesterday to say: ‘I'm sad you are leaving’. I will miss them a lot.” Will Moussavi return to Japan again in the future? “I can guarantee I will,” he affirms.
