Finally, the day of departure came.

Since I live far from Tokyo, I had not met the other participants in person. I was a little nervous but since I had participated in the pre-seminar study groups via Skype, I felt a little more comfortable.

We departed in the morning from Narita airport heading to Ho Chi Minh City.

During the flight, we folded origami cranes to prepare for culture night which was going to be on the third night. We weren’t sure how it was going to go but we were all very excited. We were having so much fun and before we knew it, we had arrived in Ho Chi Minh City.

After arrival, we changed planes. I was surprised at how close Phnom Penh was – only 40 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City.

Right after we arrived at the hotel, it was dinnertime!
This was the first time we were meeting the participants from other countries. I was nervous since I don’t speak English that well but after the delicious Cambodian dishes were placed in front of us, everyone started to relax and introduce themselves and we told each other how we learned about this seminar.

After dinner was the opening worship service and orientation. Everyone became more relaxed after some games and dancing. I am looking forward to the workshops that begin tomorrow!

Suzuna Iida (Participant from Japan)