By Nico Plantado; Photos by Nico Plantado, Camille Trinidad, and Atoy Albis

After a brief halt in the succession of exchanges, ten Ateneans successfully sojourned to the Land of the Rising Sun last April 25 – May 5, 2010 as part of the Ateneo de Naga-Hiroshima Gakuin-Notre Dame Seishin Mutual Exchange Program.

The Japanese counterparts failed to send their delegation of high school students and teachers in August of 2009 because of the A-H1N1 scare that affected preparations for the trip to the Philippines.

Most Japanese students who travel to the Philippines for the exchange program host in turn when their Filipino counterparts go to Japan for an immersion in Japanese educational system and culture.

Initially, after gathering a number of volunteers to host Ateneans for the 12-day homestay, the Japanese families of Gakuin Boys and Seishin girls welcomed seven boys (Shin Abonal, Nico Plantado, Henry Mejia, Tom Antonio, Wulfrano Ricafort, Garel Paredes and OJ Primavera) and three girls (Atoy Albis, Camille Trinidad, and Camille Ilan). They were chaperoned by Ms. Cathy Villaroya, Guidance Director, and Fr. Ruben Reyes, school chaplain.

In the eleven-day stay in Hiroshima City, the boys and the girls observed how classroom instruction is conducted. They joined classes and participated in cultural activities prepared for them – tea ceremony, kendo, judo, ikebana, and music (playing koto). Also, the group toured various United Nations-designated World Heritage sites in Hiroshima Prefecture such as the Atomic Bomb Dome and the iconic Otorii (Grand Red Gate) in Miyajima Island.

The trip to Japan was capped by the 12^th day climax of tour to Kyoto and Osaka. In Kyoto, the team visited the Golden Pavilion and Kiyomizu Temple which the students used to see only in encyclopedias and television shows. The last stop was the Oceanarium in Osaka.

Hiroshima Gakuin and the Ateneo de Naga Echange Program started in 1997 when it was initiated by the late Fr. Raul Bonoan, the first university president. Sending girls to the neighboring exclusive Catholic school for girls, Notra Dame Seishin, started only 2005 after Fr. Yukio Ushio and Mr. Dennis Tacla of respective schools organized the program.