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Today was my very last day in Japan. I cleaned up my room, packed my luggage, cleared out the food in the fridge, and made sure to tidy up everything we had used during our stay in the dormitory. Once everything was packed, we were asked to go to the school for a closing ceremony and to say our final goodbyes to the teachers there. Since my flight was scheduled to depart around 9:00 AM, making it impossible to travel all the way from Sakado the next morning, a hotel near the

Today, we took a trip to the University of Tsukuba, accompanied by several students from Tsukusaka Senior High School. We started our journey at 8:30 AM and traveled by bus. The trip took about two hours, and when we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Ms. Eri and Ms. Nao. We were guided to a room where we received information about the day's agenda, which included a presentation about the University of Tsukuba. Since the Tsukusaka students are preparing for their transition

When we arrived in Sakado on the first day, specifically at our school, Tsukusaka Senior High School, SEA-Teacher participants were given a task, to create a poster comparing the implementation of education in Japan and home country. Preparation began about three days before the event. Nabil and I started by drafting a poster outline on Canva to visualize how we wanted the design to look. We also looked for additional references regarding how education in Japan leans more tow

My days in Sakado went on as usual, starting with morning homeroom activities. But, that day Ryo-sensei handed me an invitation to a tea party, like a traditional Japanese cultural experience featuring an authentic matcha tea ceremony. Then I asked the other SEA-Teacher participants if they had received the invitation, but they hadn't get the invitation. I double-checked with Bagot-sensei, and she confirmed that the invitation was indeed meant for all the SEA-Teacher particip

The most exciting moment had arrived, the teaching practicum in the third week of the program. I was assigned to teach two classes, which is in Class 2B (for three sessions) and Class 2A (for two sessions). Preparations had been made well in advance. Using the Indonesian high school textbook English For Change as a reference, I developed a lesson plan based on that book and tried to use the same approach as in Indonesia, known as GBA. Every afternoon after school, I would con

I observed two English classes taught by Kato-sensei and Mr. Compter. For a little background, Mr. Compter is originally from America and has been teaching at this school for over a decade. In his class, the students were focusing on English communication. Each student was given a piece of paper with a specific topic, which they handed to the teacher. The teacher would then ask questions based on that topic for two minutes. Afterward, it was the students' turn to ask the teac

School Poster in UTSS The first day of the program began with a visit by us, the SEA Teacher participants, to Tsukusaka Senior High School. When we arrived, Ms. Bagot and Ms. Regina accompanied us on a tour and introduced us to the teachers. I met with Ms. Arum, teacher from Indonesia that gave food to me and Nabil. The agenda then moved on to a meeting with the supervisor and homeroom teacher. Throughout this program, I was guided by Kato-sensei as my supervisor and Ryo-se

School Adress Senior High School at Sakado, University of Tsukuba 〒350-0214 1-24-1 Chiyoda Sakado Saitama JAPAN School Profil e University of Tsukuba Senior High School in Sakado (UTSS), or people called Tsukusaka Senior High School. Established in 1994 as a high school with an integrated curriculum, Tsukusaka has continued to evolve to meet the educational needs of today’s modern era. In 2019 recognized globally as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School and a part

The day finally arrived for us to leave the University of Tsukuba Global Guest House. We had gathered so many new and unique experiences here, and now it was time to move to Sakado, specifically to UTSS (University of Tsukuba Senior High School at Sakado). Our journey took about two and a half hours. Along the way, we enjoyed the highway scenery before eventually dozing off. Finally, we arrived at the Sakado Dormitory. When we arrive, we were warmly welcomed by Mr. Tatemoto,

SEAMEO, University of Tsukuba, and SEA-Teacher Participants Now it's time to share one of the most unforgettable moments of the symposium. Speaking together with Nabil at this event was an amazing experience for me. However, before discussing that exciting moment, let’s talk about the first day of the symposium, which began with a presentation by Mr. Nomura on the objectives of the event. As far as I remember, this symposium was a collaboration between SEAMEO and the Univers

Day 2 | 3rd February, 2026 Bus Route in Tsukuba Today started off a bit more relaxed. I took a morning walk around the university and the guest house area in Tsukuba. After that, I got ready because me and my friends were heading to the University of Tsukuba for an event. We took a bus in front of Azuma Elementary School, heading straight to the university campus in Daigaku Koen. Upon arriving, we were warmly welcomed by Eri-san. Guided by Nao-san and Nomura-san, we walked

Hello everyone! I am Zaki Syamsul Ghifari, but you can just call me Zaki. I am an English Education major at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). From the very beginning, I've had a deep passion for putting my English teaching studies into practice, and that is exactly where my journey with the SEA Teacher program began. If you are curious about this program and school, you can read all about it on the other pages of this blog. But here, I want to invite you to dive right