Chitose Shindoh
School of Culture and Media Studies
Hello, I’m Chitose, a first-year student in the CMS Japanese Cultures Program. I’d like to share my wonderful experience at the Photo Adventure event.
First, we gathered in a room near Okuma Auditorium and divided into groups of 4-5 people. We started with an icebreaker and found out that we all had different backgrounds including majors and ages. Two of our members didn’t speak Japanese well so we mostly communicated in English, with some simple Japanese. We talked about our hobbies and favorite pets. One member had a dog named Maru, so we named our team Maru. Our mission was to find where certain photos were taken and take our own photos at those same spots, within an hour.
Mission card (photo by author)
When the game began, we went to places we all knew first, like the statue of Shigenobu Okuma and the ICC Lounge. Since I take classes at Toyama Campus, many other places were unfamiliar to me. When we couldn’t figure out Mission 5, a member who has classes on the main campus said, “I know this place! I’ve used it before!” and guided us. It was a place called W Space, which students can use for group discussions. On the other hand, I knew many spots at Toyama Campus, so I could show my team the Milk Hall bakery and the library.
With my group members (photos by author)
With little time left, we searched for a stone with musical notes at Toyama Campus. None of us knew where it was, so we asked a staff member at the student hall, but she didn’t know either. Just as we were about to give up, a man with a musical instrument told us the location. Luckily, we found it and took the photo.
After an hour, we returned to the starting room. The staff counted the points to see which team won. We were surprised and happy to find out that our team won and received a small Waseda bear doll. We didn’t expect to win at all, but I believe we succeeded because we helped each other by communicating a lot.
Photo by author
Through this event, I learned more about Waseda’s facilities and made new international friends. It was a perfect event for spring. I highly recommend this event to anyone who wants to learn more about Waseda or meet people from different countries.
I look forward to joining more events hosted by the ICC!
Photos by author
