
Uta from G7 and Sasana from G5 are two Japanese students who went back to Japan during the winter holiday last year. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, they were forced to be stranded in Japan, being away from the school and their father for a whole year.
Nevertheless, the girls and their mother made the year meaningful and memorable with their positive minds and attitudes. This semester, they were finally able to meet with their friends and teachers on campus!
We interviewed Uta and Sasana about this unusual year and let’s see what they are going to share:
Uta and Sasana’s mom, Yuka has been with her daughters in Japan and witnessed their growth during this year. She shared their experience and her gratitude to the school:
私達は去年の2月3日に日本に帰国して、当初4月には戻れるだろうと思っていたのですが、あっという間にロックダウン、渡航禁止状態になり、ビザ申請もできなくなり戻れなくなってしまいました。
We went back to Japan on February 3rd last year. We planned to come back at the beginning of April, while all in a sudden the country was locked down, no traffic was available and we cannot renew our visa.
初めの頃はコロナウイルスが具体的にどんな脅威なのかはっきりしなかったので、私達は帰国することを選びましたが、国に帰らずボストンに留まってくれた先生方と、彼らを支えてくれたボストンスタッフの方の決意と誠意に頭が上がりません。
At the beginning, we had no idea about how the pandemic would affect our life in China, that’s why we chose to stay in Japan. We would like to express our gratitude and respect to the teachers who decided to stay at BIS and keep it strong at that time.
オンライン授業も初めての試みなのに、いかに生徒が楽しく確実に授業を受けることができるか、先生方は動画を作ったりYouTubeで楽しくしてみたり、挑戦に挑戦を重ねて、毎日授業をしてくれました。オンライン授業は、学校が再開された後もボストンに戻れない子供達に提供され続けました。お陰でUtaもSasanaも遅れをとらず学年を終了することができました。
Teachers have spent a lot of time at the beginning of online learning, trying to deliver the best quality of class and making sure students enjoy it. The teachers overcame all kinds of challenges and made teaching videos every day to guarantee the teaching process. Even after the school resumed, teachers still offer online study courses for students who were stranded outside. Thanks to the online courses, Uta and Sasana finished their school year successfully.
Sasanaの担任Kate先生は、ボストンに帰れなくて寂しい思いをしているSasanaのために、クラスの友達と頻繁にビデオコールをさせてくれて、Sasanaもお友達との繋がりを感じることができました。
Sasana’s home room teacher, Ms. Kate Dore worried that Sasana would be sad as she couldn’t meet her friends. Ms. Dore was so thoughtful that she arranged frequent video calls for Sasana and her classmates.
日本語クラスのえみ先生、ようこ先生は、毎回ビデオコールで授業を進めてくれたので、わからないこともその場で聞くことができて、安心してオンライン授業を受けることができました。
Japanese teachers, Ms. Emi and Ms. Yoko, delivered live classes for my children so their questions could be answered immediately. My children felt very secured with the immediate responses.
Utaが日本にいるにもかかわらず、中国語を忘れずにいられたのは、Tan先生のサポートがあったからだと思います。
Besides, thanks to Ms. Tan, Uta’s Mandarin teacher, who helped Uta to keep her Mandarin study.
日本にいたにもかかわらず、2人の心はずっとボストンにあったように思います。
ボストンの先生やスタッフ、お友達が「いつ帰ってくる?」「早く帰っておいで」とずっとメッセージを送りつづけてくれました。どれだけその言葉に支えられたかわかりません。その繋がりがあったからこそ、合計28日もの隔離を受けてでもボストンに戻りたいと思えました。本当にありがとうございました。
Although staying in Japan, my two daughters missed BIS so much.
We have received regular messages from teachers, staff and friends of my daughters, like “When are you going back?”, “Please come back soon.” The words gave us great power and helped us to made the decision to come back to BIS even though we had to be quarantined for 28 days.
コロナだからこそ、人とのつながりを大切にしていきたいと思います。
Somehow, the COVID-19 provided us a new opportunity to think about and value the relationships between people.
It is International Women’s Day today, which makes our interview more meaningful. The persistence, resilience and indomitable spirits of the sisters, their mother and our female teachers not only embodies the school motto of “Embracing challenge, driving change.”, but also is a showcase of the theme of the International Women’s Day this year – #ChooseToChallenge.