Students from Japanese Floating University Arrive at Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus was recently visited by 60 Japanese exchange students who arrived in Perth aboard a “floating university.” The students were from Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, WA’s sister State, and have been studying the Indo-Pacific region while aboard the ship Fuji Maru. Spending a day on the Notre Dame campus, they were shown around Fremantle’s historical West End, enjoyed a traditional Australian Barbecue for lunch, taught some AFL football skills and performed some of their own cultural dances and songs for the University community. “The Hyogo Floating University visit is a wonderful program for both Australian and Japanese students,” said Student Life Officer, Phillipa Goorah. “The opportunity to meet students from another culture allows a connection to be made where we can learn about one another and form relationships.” One of the highlights for the exchange students was meeting children from Lance Holt Primary School, which is also located in the West End. The children watched the traditional Japanese dancing and had morning tea with the group, exchanging homemade welcome cards and talking to the students about their visit. “The children were great at breaking through the communication barrier. We felt involving the school broadened the representation of our Fremantle educational community,” said Phillipa. The Hyogo Floating University visits every second year and invites 20 students from Western Australia to study on the ship for their Japan to Perth leg. This is the fifteenth time the Fuji Maru has stayed in Fremantle