Lucy Dabbs, Grade 12
UWC ISAK Japan
“Omg Pedro, I love your hair!” Gushes Marie (from France), shyly touching Pedro’s hair. Pedro (from Brazil) grins proudly, while Kristof’s face contorts into a jealous frown. “Heyyy, what about MY hair?” Kristof (from Slovakia) whines to Marie, crossing his arms in an exaggerated pout. I watch the scene unfold, standing to the side while my three friends argue. Suddenly, a chortle of laughter erupts behind me, and I recognize it as Hamid. With uncontrollable bursts, his laughing escalates until each of us joins in, unable to control a serious expression any longer.
20 Japanese children watching us from the audience begin giggling, too, and our workshop lapses into bouts of laughter. Our teacher overseeing the workshop, Mr. Underwood (from Australia) crosses his arms sternly but fails to hide the smile on his face.
Hamid (from Afghanistan) has a sense of humor like no other and manages to crack up even in the most serious of situations. Admittedly, running a Peace Building workshop at Hokkaido International School with 6-year old children cannot be taken too seriously though, especially when we’re showing “Peppa Pig’s Peace song” on YouTube.
After Marie and Kristof resolve their fake conflict over Pedro’s stylish hair, we transition from the demonstration to leadership activities with hula hoops, where the kids had to develop communication with one another to achieve the task. All in all, the workshop was a success and we also had the chance to connect with the kids during free time - something that I had forgotten existed after a year of the IB program at UWC.
It had been a while since I thought about ISAK and the IB. We’d left everything behind in Karuizawa 3 days ago when the school bus dropped us off in the middle (literally) of Japan, with nothing but our bikes and a van with water, sleeping gear, and some food. From here we’d biked along the coast until we reached a port and took a ferry to the Northern Island of Hokkaido. Totalling 300km so far, we biked through massive tunnels in the sides of mountains and alongside volcanoes. I’d become attuned to the sounds of cicadas, but still freaked out every time I encountered a giant Japanese wasp flying in my direction. Luckily, I was on a bike, and I was pretty fast. Not as fast though as Larry, who liked to remind me that as he zoomed past me and disappeared into the horizon ahead.
“See you, Dabbs!” He would call over his shoulder, his voice carried away by the wind. Larry and I lead ISAK’s student union together, a Candian and a Burkinabe with two very different personalities and opinions - especially about whether or not our school should have 24/hr wifi. But that’s another story.
With us were also Ms. Paddock (Math and TOK teacher from the UK), Mr. Lacoste (a Quebecois Math and Physics teacher now deputy head of ISAK), and Mr. Earwood (my Global Politics teacher from southern USA) who likes to put salt on raw cucumbers and make really bad dad jokes. In total there were 17 of us, biking across Japan and living out of the convenience stores, taking breaks in the parking lot and setting up camp each night in a new location. The trip was called the “Peace Ride'', with the mission of making it to Hokkaido in one piece and delivering a Peace Workshop to the students of Hokkaido International School. Now that we had, we would be heading back to Karuizawa to resume our positions as IB students.
That night, after we finished the workshop, we sat around the campfire. Mr. Earwood stopped telling dad jokes for a moment and asked us to share what had been meaningful to each of us about the trip. As we each spoke, the flames flickering across our faces, I felt… at peace. Earlier that night we had gone to the onsen and I felt clean for the first time in days. I had slept early last night, so I was attentive during the workshop and engaged in every conversation.
20 Japanese children watching us from the audience begin giggling, too, and our workshop lapses into bouts of laughter. Our teacher overseeing the workshop, Mr. Underwood (from Australia) crosses his arms sternly but fails to hide the smile on his face.
Hamid (from Afghanistan) has a sense of humor like no other and manages to crack up even in the most serious of situations. Admittedly, running a Peace Building workshop at Hokkaido International School with 6-year old children cannot be taken too seriously though, especially when we’re showing “Peppa Pig’s Peace song” on YouTube.
After Marie and Kristof resolve their fake conflict over Pedro’s stylish hair, we transition from the demonstration to leadership activities with hula hoops, where the kids had to develop communication with one another to achieve the task. All in all, the workshop was a success and we also had the chance to connect with the kids during free time - something that I had forgotten existed after a year of the IB program at UWC.
It had been a while since I thought about ISAK and the IB. We’d left everything behind in Karuizawa 3 days ago when the school bus dropped us off in the middle (literally) of Japan, with nothing but our bikes and a van with water, sleeping gear, and some food. From here we’d biked along the coast until we reached a port and took a ferry to the Northern Island of Hokkaido. Totalling 300km so far, we biked through massive tunnels in the sides of mountains and alongside volcanoes. I’d become attuned to the sounds of cicadas, but still freaked out every time I encountered a giant Japanese wasp flying in my direction. Luckily, I was on a bike, and I was pretty fast. Not as fast though as Larry, who liked to remind me that as he zoomed past me and disappeared into the horizon ahead.
“See you, Dabbs!” He would call over his shoulder, his voice carried away by the wind. Larry and I lead ISAK’s student union together, a Candian and a Burkinabe with two very different personalities and opinions - especially about whether or not our school should have 24/hr wifi. But that’s another story.
With us were also Ms. Paddock (Math and TOK teacher from the UK), Mr. Lacoste (a Quebecois Math and Physics teacher now deputy head of ISAK), and Mr. Earwood (my Global Politics teacher from southern USA) who likes to put salt on raw cucumbers and make really bad dad jokes. In total there were 17 of us, biking across Japan and living out of the convenience stores, taking breaks in the parking lot and setting up camp each night in a new location. The trip was called the “Peace Ride'', with the mission of making it to Hokkaido in one piece and delivering a Peace Workshop to the students of Hokkaido International School. Now that we had, we would be heading back to Karuizawa to resume our positions as IB students.
That night, after we finished the workshop, we sat around the campfire. Mr. Earwood stopped telling dad jokes for a moment and asked us to share what had been meaningful to each of us about the trip. As we each spoke, the flames flickering across our faces, I felt… at peace. Earlier that night we had gone to the onsen and I felt clean for the first time in days. I had slept early last night, so I was attentive during the workshop and engaged in every conversation.
Guest Writer - ISAK Japan |
I hadn’t even touched my homework since we left, allowing my mind to - for the first time in such a long time - truly wander, and fill itself with creative, imaginative thoughts. Each day as we biked I made up stories in my head and thought of ideas for random projects I wanted to do. Now, as we sat around the fire and I listened to each of my fellow UWCers speak as if for the first time, I thought about how far we came to get here and how hard we all worked to make this moment a reality.
The Peace Ride, a challenging 500km bike trip across Japan, taught me how important it is to take a break. Amidst the chaos of IB and all the amazing components of the UWC life, sometimes weeks can pass us by without a moment of just… being. I realized how powerful it is to let your mind be free, to daydream, and to spend time simply thinking. What I still don’t understand, though, is how someone can put salt on a cucumber... and what the big deal about Pedro’s hair is. |
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