We are FIVA‚ an international exchange project at the University of Kitakyushu. This is our report on the activity held on November 29.
The tour began with a buffet lunch at Megami-no-Table‚ a cafe restaurant in Munakata YURIX. It was the first time that the trainees had eaten some of the dishes‚ and we enjoyed food-related cultural exchanges‚ such as explaining the ingredients in English and‚ conversely‚ learning about African regional dishes.
After lunch‚ we went to Nakano Kaze-no-Oka Orchard to pick satsuma mandarin oranges. We held lively conversations while eating the freshly-picked fruit‚ and everyone had a great time. The tour ended with a visit to Munakata Taisha (Shinto Shrine).

Looking back at the tour‚ many of our members commented that they had learned new things from joint activities with people from Africa‚ with whom they have few opportunities to interact in everyday life. However‚ some also commented that they found it harder than expected to make out what was being said in English‚ and that they had difficulty in conversing smoothly. In addition‚ we regret that we had not paid due attention to the religious backgrounds of the trainees during the planning stage‚ as some of them did not enjoy visiting the shrine. We keenly felt how hard it is to plan activities‚ and recognize the importance of advance preparations.

*1 FIVA
The aim of our activities is to realize “a multicultural society of coexistence.” Our main activity is the holding of get-togethers with international students of Kitakyushu YMCA Japanese Language School and trainees in Kitakyushu International Techno-cooperative Association (KITA) training courses. We constantly endeavor to convey the appeal of Japanese culture and language to people from overseas and support them in their life in Japan. We offer opportunities to actually experience different cultures and gain a deeper understanding of multicultural coexistence.