On
the 18th of January 2012, A few Leo’s from the Leo Club of Assunta
participated in the NOSE High School programme that was carried out in school. Before
the Japanese students arrived, we were arranged in two rows according to club
from Gate C all the way to the canteen. Soon after that, the Japanese students
and teachers step foot into our school and that was when the students begin to
play the ‘kompang’ to welcome them. We waved our Japanese and Malaysian flags
and greeted them as they walked in.
As soon as we reached the canteen we
walked to our assigned tables and met our Japanese partners. It was a little
hard to communicate with them but it was fun at the same time. Some of us
carried dictionaries around! After breakfast, everyone was called to gather
around the ‘dataran’ where we watched a wonderful performance by the band and
also ‘dikir barat’. They enjoyed it very much. Then, we took our partners up to
the gallery where we had the opening ceremony. It began with a speech by our
very own head prefect followed by another speech by a representative from NOSE
High School. Our own principal then took the opportunity to welcome all the
Japanese. The Vice Principal also gave his speech which was translated by the
tour guide.
The mood was enlightened as we took
turns to sing our school songs. We sang it loud and proudly. When everyone was
seated down, the performances began. A power point presentation was shown by
each of the schools showing each other the beauty of each of our cultures and
all the activities we have in school. When that was over, we continued with the
Malay mock wedding. The bride and groom were dressed beautifully and they were
followed by the playing of the ‘kompang’ as they walked down the isle. The vice
principal of NOSE High School and our school principal were invited up on stage
as the couple sat down on the ‘pelamin’ to bless them. The fashion show was the
next on the agenda. Students walked down the isle wearing traditional clothes
and short explanations were projected onto the wall for the Japanese to read. I
thought that it was very educational. The performances then continued with the
Malay, Chinese and Indian traditional dance. Everyone enjoyed it very much
especially the Japanese students. They were in awe after watching the dances.
The Japanese students then took their turn to leave us in awe by
showing us a karate demonstration. After that, the students were asked to get
up and stack the chairs at the side of the gallery. The gallery was then separated
into half. The Japanese students arranged themselves on the right hand side of
the gallery whereas the Assuntarians gathered on the other side. It was finally
time for the sharing of dances. The Japanese students danced to a song called
‘Doikosho, Soran’ and the teachers told us to sing along and so we did! Then we
thought our Japanese friends the ‘poco-poco’ dance. When the sharing of dances
were over, half of the students in the gallery played congkak while the other
half did henna. The bell was rung after the 20 minute mark and that marked the
time that we had to switch.
After another 20minutes, the
students got up and we had the sharing of songs. The Assuntarians sang ‘ Rasa
Sayang’ to the students and they sang a song to us as well in Japanese. The
emcees then told everyone that it was time to go down to the canteen to have
lunch. At around 1.15pm, the Assuntarians brought their Japanese partners up
onto their respective busses. When attendance was taken, we were finally off to
the Taman Jaya LRT station. There, we got onto the LRT to get to Central Market.
We took our partners all around and introduce to them many different things.
Then we boarded the LRT again to go to KLCC. We were allowed to walk around as
well for awhile. We were given a time to meet at the entrance. When everyone
was gathered at the entrance, we took turns to take a group picture with the
Twin towers as our background. Near the entrance, the bus was already waiting
for us. It then took us to the Hotel where we were suppose to have dinner. It
was around 5.30pm at that time. While waiting for our food to arrive, we took
the time to bond a little more with our partners and the other Japanese
students. We took many pictures too. When the food was finally served, we took
turns to take our food. After dinner, there were many performances by both the
Japanese and Assunta students. It was a very good day. Although we were all
very sad that it had to come to an end, all of us had a really great time and
we hope that the relationship that the students have made with each other will
last for a very long time.
Report
by,
Leo
Desiree Tan
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