Redeemer Record, July 2012 - Redeemer Lutheran College

REDEEMER RECORD | COLLEGE neWS | 17Japan Tour 2012It was an early, yet exciting start to our first day of holidays arrivingat the Gold Coast airport at 6.00am ready to fly to Cairns. Thenafter having our last taste of Australian food in Cairns, we boardedour long flight to Tokyo. When we finally landed in Tokyo thatsame day, we were all a little nervous as our Japan homestayfamilies were there waiting to take us home. However, being putstraight into a Japanese home was amazing, and a great experiencewe wished went for a much longer time. Japanese houses are verysmall and close together; they don’t have backyards and mosthouses don’t have space to park cars. They walk and catch the trainto travel places. We spoke as much Japanese as we could to ourfamilies and learnt a lot of new things:They have heated toilet seats, they bow a lot, they eat a lot and theyare very polite and kind people. It was hard to say goodbye, but goodto see everyone and speak some English again. We firstly headedto Kyoto by bullet train which they call the Shinkansen. Kyoto hadbeautiful Cherry blossom displays, castles and was also very cold!After Kyoto, we travelled to Hiroshima. We saw the remains ofthe Atomic Bomb and the Peace Memorial Museum, learning a lotmore about that tragic day for Japan. In Hiroshima we also visitedMiyajima Island where we took pictures in front of the famousRed Gate, saw deer everywhere and shopped and ate some greatfood in the street markets.After Hiroshima we caught busses, trains, the Shinkansen andwalked extremely far to a small place called Iga, the birthplaceof “ninja”. Surprisingly Iga had one of the nicest hotels withbeds. They also did have a great sushi train which had every kindof fish on sushi you could imagine. Tokyo had more beautifulEaster Egg GiftsOn Wednesday 28 March, a group of five Year 11 students fromthe Community Service Committee embarked on a journey toBethany Christian Aged Care. Our primary purpose of the daywas to hand out small Easter egg packages to the elderly as anEaster gift. We spoke to numerous residents that welcomed uswith open arms and did not hesitate to share their inspirationalstories and advice with us. One of the eldest residents, aged100, spoke to us of her gratitude for friends, family and otherpeople in the community that helped throughout her life. Shemade us realise how important appreciation is and how luckywe really are to be living in such a wonderful community. Thevisit reinforced that even a small amount of effort can go a longway and even a smile can brighten someone’s day.Cherry blossoms and lots of great markets for shopping. We wentto Tokyo Disneyland which was awesome, and had a subwaychallenge. The subway challenge was our four groups being givena subway route map, four places to visit and take a photo of andthen be back on time. It was hilarious running through the stationslike maniacs trying to beat each other to the finish line, and weall finished before our deadline. Our last day in Tokyo was just asbusy as the first, but sad that we were leaving such a great placethat we had grown so used to. Our homestay students met us atthe airport and said goodbye as we flew to Cairns and back to theGold Coast. I’ll never forget my time in Japan and definitely know Ihave made some special friends and hope to go back soon!Savina SimatovicYear 12Shave for a CureIn what has become almost a ‘rite of passage’, over 30 seniorboys participated by either shaving their heads and/or waxingtheir legs in support of the Leukaemia Foundation. Over $5,000was raised by these young men which is an incredible effort!Such events involve the contributions of many people. Thanksmust also go to the School Spirit Committee and Mrs Dart whoran a drinks stall during the event, the maintenance staff forassisting with set up, Mrs Buck in the Business Office, and MsBerlin, Mr Sharwood Biedermann, Mr Georgiou and Mr Arnoldwho either coloured, shaved or waxed! Staff and students fromthe Queensland College of Beauty Therapy and Matters In Greygave up their time to rip, shave and trim.In honour of our past teacher, Mrs Karen Rowlands, the CommunityService Committee would like to donate the proceedings from thisgreat event to the Leukaemia Foundation. Donations can still bemade online at http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/redeemerlutherancollege?langPref=en-CA