What the students told the closing ceremony is as follows.
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Between Two Homes
I was born and lived in a small town in *San Paulo, *Brazil, called *Itapechininga. When I was eight, my mother suddenly asked me, “Would you like to see where Japanese people live?”. Without thinking I *replied “Yes”. *Relying on my *relations in Japan I came here for the first time. I was really impressed to hear people speak Japanese but at the same time I remember getting angry when I could not *communicate. When I was nine years old, I started at elementary school. I couldn't speak Japanese but my *cousin, in the same class helped me.
When I *entered the fourth grade of elementary school I was in a different class to my cousin. I could only read kanji to the *level of a first *grader. I couldn't understand the lessons at all and every test I got zero *points. Someone said, “You *foreigners are all like this? Show some *guts!!” From that day I changed a lot, I felt “I don't want to lose to a Japanese *person”.
I always thought my * failure was because I was not Japanese. Now I know I am just the same as a Japanese person. When I came to Japan I had wanted to learn kanji as soon as *possible. I made more *effort than my Japanese friends. Now I have the *confidence that I am just as good as anyone else when it comes to kanji.
I have two points which I have to change. The first, is talking back to my parents. When I was in Brazil I always talked back to my parents. The second, is saying bad things about my classmates in a foreign language. If I want to be like Japanese people then it's no good to keep doing this. I want to change myself. I want to *respect my family, friends and Japanese people.
I want to work in *health care in Japan so I must study harder. I have two homes, one in Brazil and one in Japan. It's a gift from god. As a special person with a Japanese heart I want to live with *pride and make my dreams come true.
Do you understand ?
Translated documents will be avaiable soon.
