The Toyota Shi Trevelyan Trust (TSTT) provides scholarships and bursaries that enable students from the United Kingdom and Japan to engage in exchange programmes for study and research. The mission is to advance international understanding and academic exchange between the United Kingdom and Japan.
This summer, the Toyota-Shi Trevelyan Trust is funding two ISH residents for a Beginners’ Japanese Culture and Language trip to Toyota City – Aichi Prefecture. After a call for applications, Peredur Morgan, an Economics major at the London School of Economics and Amira Elhamady, who is pursuing her Masters in Environmental Technology at Imperial College, emerged as winners and will be spending three weeks in Japan. They will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in local Japanese culture and learn Basic Japanese at Chukyo University, Toyota City Campus, and Nagoya City Campus. During their trip, they will be staying with a local family, enjoying home-cooked meals, and engaging with the community and culture with visits to local schools.
We sat down with Peredur and Amira to find out how they felt about the upcoming trip.
What was your motivation for applying for this exchange programme?
Peredur: ‘It seemed like a cool opportunity to go abroad. I have never been that far east, and I figured it would be a cool opportunity to immerse myself in a culture very different to my own (I’m from Wales).’
Amira: ‘I’m from Egypt and I just love travelling! I applied for something similar when I was 19 – the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) scholarship. When I was in America, I was part of many volunteering programmes which ignited my love for travel and exploring different countries. I also love to step out of my comfort zone.’
How do you feel about winning the scholarship?
Peredur: ‘I’m so excited to go because I will finish university and then a few weeks later get to go to Japan’.
Amira: ‘I couldn’t believe it, I applied for the scholarship a day before the deadline. I knew that there were only going to be two winners so what were the chances of me winning it? I’m so excited!’
What are you looking forward to about being in Japan?
Amira: ‘Living with the host family because it’s my first time to explore everything from my point of view. It will be interesting to see the people who live there. I’m excited to learn the language and meet new people.’
Peredur: ‘I think there is so much variety of things to do there, for example, traditional historical landmarks nearby Toyota City. The fact that I would be able to learn a language completely different to mine is great. I will also be flying back from Tokyo so I will be able to experience such a beautiful city very different to home’.
Congratulations to Amira and Peredur!
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