Pugsworth in Japan

Hi all

and Welcome to my first post.

I've set up this blog to record my trip of Japan which starts tomorrow. This first post is a bit of background on the trip ahead.

I'm going as part of an Australian delegation on a Japanese government sponsered exchange program for young people with experience working with volunteers in the fields of youth development, aged care, and working with people with disabilities. There are four young people going from each area from Australia, the US and Sweeden plus a contingent leader from each country and of course local Japanese participants. I was invited to apply for a place by a contact from my previous job working with the Victorian Council of Churches but have decided to go representing the VicSRC (Victorian Student Representative Council) whom I've worked with for several years and had the most experience working directly with young people.

The exchange involves a weekend's conference or forum in Tokyo with all participants together sharing their ideas and experience with each other. Then the different areas of expertise head off in different directions. We in youth development are going to Nagasaki for a week where we will have the opportunity to visit places of Japanese cultural and historical significance such as the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Musuem as well visiting various youth centres and programs in Nagasaki. We will also get a chance to do this sort of stuff in Tokyo at different points before we all come together again for presentations and evaluation of the exchange and then return to our home countries.

So the adventure begins tomorrow. I'm really excited about it all. Today has been 35 degrees in Melbourne and the overnight low is expected to be about 20. Meanwhile I'm told Tokyo temperatures will be between 2 and 10, so I'm bracing for a shock.

Please feel free to post any comments you would like to on this blog, it is designed to keep in touch with people while I'm away.

but for now from me it's Oyasumi nasai (Good night)
James