ICCP Buddy Pairing Event, May 9
On May 9, we held our first Buddy Pairing event. 24 local students and 13 international students (in total 37 students) joined the event!
If you are new to Diligent or ICCP, please go to ‘What is Diligent and ICCP?’ in the Table of Contents below to learn about our activities.
The Japanese version of this article is available here.
What is Diligent and ICCP?
ICCP (our circle) is one of the divisions of the circle called “UTokyo Diligent,” which was established in early 2023 but already has more than 450 members with 9 divisions. ICCP is the 8th division of it, focusing on interaction between local students and international students. For further information, please visit our website.
About Buddy System
Buddies are made among local students and international students.
Each buddy group is usually composed of 2~5 members and does activities together for a month: exchanging opinions about some scientific topics, introducing their own culture, sightseeing, etc… You can do whatever you want!
Generally, both local and international students have very few opportunities to interact with each other, but there are many local students eager to make friends with international students. So, if you want to make friends with local students, ICCP is the perfect place to go.
Event Report
In the event we made several groups, and local students and international students talked to each other about various topics.
For example, in one group, an international student from China and a local student learning Chinese were trying to talk not only in English and Japanese but also in Chinese. They were talking about the linguistic similarities and differences among the three languages in terms of grammar, vocabulary, characters and pronunciation. As for grammar, English and Chinese are similar but the pronunciation of these three languages are quite different. Actually, pronunciation is one of the most difficult parts of learning foreign languages, so it was a great opportunity to learn from native Chinese speakers how to pronounce the specific Chinese characters. Other than linguistic matters, they were talking about their own culture!
In another group, a local student asked an international student from Switzerland “Is it true that highways in Switzerland are used as emergency runways?” and the group members talked about military systems in each other’s countries, such as how the schools for Self-Defense Forces work, what do people in different countries think about troops, and what people do during conscription.
There was also another group where an Indian student answered a question from a local student who had seen a video of EDM being played in the background of a religious event filmed in India. The Indian student said that such things may occur on the way to the venue of an event, but the most sacred places are still strictly separated from the secular world. They also exchanged opinions about how people in Japan and other countries are becoming less and less pious, and whether the faiths of Indian people have been changing.
Having a talk with those from different cultures was an interesting and meaningful experience for everyone!
After the Event
Those who joined the event answered a survey about the buddy system, and we made the first buddy groups based on it. We will also create other opportunities to make buddy groups for those who could not come to this event.
Upcoming Events
May 16 : Discussion Session
The discussion topic is “Flu Vaccination.” It is a familiar topic for all of us, and discussing it with students from different countries should be interesting!
May 26 : Startup Quiz (Mainly Organized by JVA)
This is the perfect event for students curious to learn about the startup world. Enjoy the quiz game, acquire knowledge, and get prizes!
June 25 : Interaction with Students from Taipei Medical University
In this event, local and international students in UTokyo and Taipei Medical University will discuss educational topics. Such a multicultural event will be a valuable experience for all of you!
If you are interested but haven’t joined us yet, fill in this form to join UTokyo Diligent and ICCP, and we will invite you to our LINE group!
Writtten by Aritake.
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