NEWS

On Saturday, November 1, I attended the "International Festival," the annual campus festival at Tokyo International University, and participated in and cheered on the "International Student Speech Contest."
The "International Student Speech Contest" is one of the special events at the International Festival, co-hosted by Tokyo International University and its affiliated Japanese language school. Four international students from Tokyo International University (one of whom was absent) and four students from the affiliated Japanese language school gave speeches on the theme of "Similarities and Differences Between Their Home Countries and Japan." Everyone delivered passionate speeches, and the quality was so high that any of them could have won an award.The Grand Prize was won by Ms. Ye Lin Han from Myanmar, known as “Han-san” at our school, who delivered a brilliant speech despite being surrounded by senior students from the university. Han-san spoke about Japanese culture, focusing on the sentiment of never forgetting to be grateful for everything, starting with the word “arigatou” (thank you)—a phrase every Japanese person uses daily.
After the speech contest, everyone enjoyed lunch at the food booths.Graduates from Myanmar who finished the Japanese language school this past March sold home-style dishes from their homeland, including “shiratama dumplings, cake, and Burmese tea.” They offered a 100-yen discount to current students at the school, and the students from Myanmar were able to enjoy the nostalgic flavors of home.
We spent a fun-filled day under clear skies where we could even see Mount Fuji from the speech contest venue.