I am from Mongolia, and I love sharing my own culture with people around me while learning new culture and values. One of the main reasons why I decided to join the ICC Outreach Program at Waseda Setsuryo Junior & Senior High School is that this year marks the 50th year celebration of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia. A few months ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a lecture given by the former ambassador of Japan to Mongolia on the topic of deepening the future relationship between the two countries. Seeing the post for the Outreach Program on the ICC website, I was reminded of a part of his speech that left a deep impression on me, where he emphasized the significance of young people’s contribution in strengthening international relations. With the support of ICC and Waseda Setsuryo, I am beyond grateful that not only was I able to share my culture with the young students, but also got to experience new things that I have never realized before in fostering intercultural understanding.
Welcome event by Setsuryo students (photo by ICC)
On the first day of our program, I still remember the colorful flags representing us, the students from ten different countries, on the entrance of the dormitory. After greeting the staff and students of Setsuryo and getting our name tags, we participated in a welcome event at the auditorium, where we introduced ourselves and made flags of the countries we represent together with the local students. While drawing the flags and chatting with the Setsuryo students, I was surprised that one student had recognized the symbol on the flag of Mongolia, saying “This is called Soyombo, right? I like the symbol of Soyombo.” At the time, I remember being completely shocked, not knowing what to say other than “Yes, it is”. I was truly amazed that a young student not only recognized the flag of Mongolia, but also recognized the symbol on the flag and even knew its name. After the event, the students welcomed us in the cafeteria where we had dinner together. I remember that every minute of our stay at Setsuryo and the warm atmosphere of local students and staffs made me reminisce about my precious memories of study abroad in Japan during middle school as well as my time living in a dormitory while in high school in Ulaanbaatar.
On the day of our lessons, I really loved that in addition to teaching our own lesson about Mongolia, we also had a valuable opportunity to learn about Japan from a different angle, through the session fully organized by the Setsuryo students. We played fun games like rock-paper-scissor and a quiz about unique plants in Japan, and we also had a little Q&A session about topics which the students are interested in about Mongolia. During our lesson, my Japanese partner and I prepared an interesting quiz which each of the answer options relates to me and Mongolia, such as my favorite Mongolian food, my high school memories and my favorite Mongolian snack. Moreover, it was really nice to see the happy faces of students when we distributed a little booklet about Mongolian language and culture which my partner and I made. Another fun part of our lesson was when we played shagai (a traditional Mongolian fortune-telling game played with the anklebones of sheep), and students were so keen on playing with the shagai that they even asked about their test results and the weather on the day of the sports tournament. During the lesson, I was wearing the Mongolian traditional costume, called Deel, and was humbled to receive countless beautiful comments while seeing the passion in the eyes of the students getting to know more about Mongolia.
With Setsuryo students after the lesson (photo by ICC)
For me, the Outreach Program at Waseda Setsuryo Junior & Senior High School was a beyond wonderful experience. I was able to not only make my own little contribution to the next 50 years of Japan-Mongolia relations, but also get to know about nine other countries represented by my fellow participants. In addition, I learned that fostering the relations and mutual understanding between two countries is not just about officials designing a policy in a fancy room, but something that we all can make our own contribution to as individuals.
Overall, the Outreach Program was full of excitement and rewarding moments where I discovered a new side of myself. After the program, we had a great time together touring around Osaka. I am sincerely grateful to my partner, fellow participants, ICC, Waseda University and Waseda Setsuryo for making all this possible.
