Here is a wee something from Each of the girls at Yasuda Girls' High School in Hiroshima on their first few days:

For the few days I’ve been in Japan I can tell that this trip is going to be the best trip I’ve ever been on. And for the next three months I’m going to take advantage of this amazing opportunity that OGHS has given us and learn as much Japanese and Japanese culture as I can.
When coming to Japan I was unsure on how well I would be able to communicate with my classmates but since being at school for only a day I’ve been able to make many friends and everyone is keen on saying "hi". Students like talking to us to practice their English.
One of my favourite things from Japan is their bathrooms, in Japan they have a wet room for their shower and bath. A cool feature about the bath is that you can reheat the water instead of draining and refilling the bath. The water pressure in Japan is fabulous and the baths are always piping hot. So far I have had a very positive experience in Hiroshima and am excited about the future.
- Ciarstyn Williams Year 11

The near 24 hour journey was brutal (I'm sure for Katherine and Ciarstyn too) yet we survived and all made it to Hiroshima in one piece. This was a big step in our journey, and from this it was clear that this is a once in a lifetime experience, and I'll be sure to make the most of it. There's almost no way I can't.The days leading up to the trip, I became increasingly more scared of actually speaking Japanese. But from the trip so far, I have already picked up and learnt so much language that almost can't be learnt/taught in a classroom. The trip is providing me with real world experience.  I made a 5 year old kid fall in love with me and cry when we had to part ways, it was at a memorial service no less. More on that - on the 3rd of December, I attended my host mother's uncle's memorial service. Japanese memorial services are completely different to what I know, as it starts by the family praying and reading sutras while a shaman recites them. You then bow at a burning incense, to show respect to the deceased. It is a way to connect with the deceased spiritually, and I couldn't be more appreciative of the family's inclusion. Secondly, the family visits the grave site, where they clean the grave, place an offering on the grave (apples in this case) and burn a single incense for each individual present. Throughout this time, I played with my host mother's 5 year old nephew, who by the end of the day didn't want to let go of me and cried when we had to leave. A once in a lifetime experience for sure.
- Sophie Wong, Year 12

So far I have only been in Japan for three days out of the three months, but it has already been an amazing experience. It was definitely worth the nearly 24 hours straight travel to get there.
1.194 million people live in Hiroshima city which is only 906km^2. So it’s quite a lot denser than Dunedin. The biggest shocks for me were the height of the buildings. The apartment building I’m living in is fairly small and it has 11 floors! Another thing that surprised me was just how many people use bikes to get around the city.
On Monday we had our first day of school, it was so fun! Yasuda has over 1200 students and huge grounds. It has an elementary school, middle school, junior and senior high school as well as a university (although the university is on separate grounds) there are also large sports fields. Everyone was very enthusiastic to be our friends and practice their English on us.
- Katherine