Fort Street Exchange

From 17 – 24 August 2024, Fort Street students studying Japanese from years 8 to 12 took on homestays as part of an exchange program with Suginami Sogo High School, Fort Street’s sister school in Japan.

The homestay involved feeding, housing, and showing our Japanese buddies around Sydney, a massive responsibility which the Fort Street students and their parents graciously undertook, but which nonetheless gave us the opportunity to get to personally know a native Japanese speaker and practise our language skills reciprocally, a real cultural exchange. That language practice was especially important for the year 12 Japanese class, who had their HSC speaking examination on the same Saturday that the Suginami Sogo cohort left Australia. It was a special and extremely beneficial opportunity for us before our last speaking test, and I was particularly impressed by some of the Japanese students’ dedication to working on and improving our conversation skills.

Exploring Sydney on the first day of the trip. Taken by Katherine Lee.

Beyond homestay, the Japanese students also came to school with us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. There they got to experience an Australian school environment for the first time, participating in class, making new friends during recess and lunch, and even spectating the basketball comp running at the time.

While we didn’t join Suginami Sogo when they went to Taronga Zoo on Tuesday, we did all go together to Manly on Thursday to get a taste of the Australian ocean. The day started off overcast but cleared up by the time we’d finished our fish and chips together, sitting on the Manly seawall in a long line across the beach. We also went up to North Head to get a view of Sydney. The view, high above the water, was absolutely breathtaking, an irreplaceable memory for both us and the exchange students and the highlight of the trip for me.

Everyone together at Manly.

The view from North Head. You can see Sydney way in the distance. Taken by Katherine Lee.

Knowing that I’d be spending the next day worrying about my HSC, Friday and the closing ceremony that ended it was particularly special for me. Mr Gillespie noticed that the Suginami Sogo students had become much more relaxed since they arrived on Sunday, and it really hammered home how close we had become over just a week, an idea which I found deeply moving. Seeing the Japanese and Australian students sitting together, chatting together, reading speeches in each other’s languages, and most importantly enjoying Mr Leondios’ sausage sizzle together right after was a testament to just how successful and enjoyable the experience was. I hope that we continue to maintain this relationship for years to come, and in particular that the students currently in year 9 and 10 get to enjoy homestay themselves next year in Japan. I myself look forward to returning to Japan in the future and meeting all of the friends I made once again.

Our last photo all together. Taken by Ms Wark.

Thank you so much to all the parents and teachers who took part in this exchange program, whether it be as a homestay or for taking the exchange students into your classes. Most of all, however, I’d like to express my gratitude to Mr Gillespie for his tireless dedication to arranging this trip, the homestays, and leading us during the period of the exchange. Without him this trip, as well as the one last year, could never have happened.

Nicholas Caus

Fortian 2024