Pembroke College Cambridge

Konan Internship

Carine (2015) took part in the Konan Internship organised by the Pembroke International Programmes Department in 2017. Today's blog is about her time at Konan. 

Hello!

As Pembroke’s International Programmes Department begins to recruit for the new cohort of Konan teaching assistants, I thought I'd take the time to speak about my own time at Konan and how much I enjoyed the programme! 

Pembroke College Cambridge Konan internship Kobe Japan

Konan is a unique scheme to Pembroke in which two Pembroke students in their 1st, 2nd or penultimate year of study go to Kobe, Japan, to assist Konan's English department. Both Pembroke and Konan subsidise the trip such that Pembroke students receive a flight subsidy, accommodation, food and a £500 travel award. The programme forms part of a cultural exchange in which Pembroke students are hosted in Japan and taught about Japanese culture and share their culture with Japanese school children. 

My trip lasted just under a month which allowed me to spend 2 weeks in Kobe as part of the Konan programme, and then work my way back north towards Tokyo, visiting Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, before my final stop in the capital. This allowed me to experience the plethora of Japanese cultural artefacts across the Kansai region as well as its trains! 

The most rewarding part of my trip was certainly my time at Konan. The programme was extremely well structured: we were introduced to the many staff, teachers and children that make Konan; had the fortune of tasting and experiencing many of the delights of Kobe; and were made to feel so welcome that we were able to join in the inter-school staff tournament! The other intern and I both had such an amazing time we were sad to leave, if only to realise that the rest of Japan was not like Konan and Kobe.

Next however was the part of the programme which allows students to visit the country independently after their stay in Konan. For me, this meant staying in tea houses in an assortment of Japanese cities, meeting other young travellers, and making many hikes in pursuit of temples and shrines. My travelling taught me a lot about Japanese lifestyles and society today. 

Overall, the Konan programme left me with a deep urge to return to Japan as soon as possible and now look at me - I'm studying on the Japanese Language Studies Programme at Nihon University, Tokyo (thanks to another very generous Pembroke scheme)! 

I would recommend all of you consider travelling and/or working in Japan if you can. The country is so beautiful, the people are so generous - I think you would be hard-pressed to not fall in love with the country.

I am very grateful to Pembroke and Konan for their continued commitment to ensuring Pembroke students are able to discover Japan. 

Carine

Latest tweets

Pembroke College Cambridge