The Student Association of the Japanese Language and Culture Bachelor’s Program at Diponegoro University (Undip), along with several officers and members of the Undip Japanese Language and Culture Student Association, has carried out HIMAGOES, an abbreviation for “Himawari Goes to School.” HIMAGOES is housed within the scope of Community Service, with the intention of providing Japanese language instruction to high school students in Semarang city. HIMAGOES took place throughout the month of August, with a total of four meetings.
The selection process for Shidousa for HIMAGOES was open from July 10th to July 16th, 2023. This year’s HIMAGOES was conducted in person at Semarang State High School 3, alongside students participating in the Japanese extracurricular (Mochi). The first HIMAGOES meeting occurred on August 9th, 2023, with Shidousa delivering a lesson on basic Japanese characters, specifically hiragana and katakana. The second meeting took place on August 10th, 2023, and focused on sentence patterns, particularly in the context of self-introductions in Japanese.
Subsequent meetings were held on August 24th, 2023, and August 31st, 2023, with the focus shifting to Japanese culture aspects, such as cultural festivals and traditional ceremonies in Japan. Alongside language instruction, the Student Association also promoted and explained their unique cultural festival, ORENJI, which is a hallmark of the Japanese Language and Culture Bachelor’s Program.
In the final meeting, Shidousa provided a lesson on fashion trends in Japan, including topics like Cosplay and J-Fashion. Throughout all the meetings, participants actively engaged in HIMAGOES activities, and Shidousa received support and guidance from the Sensei (instructors) of the Japanese Language and Culture Bachelor’s Program.
Through HIMAGOES, it is hoped that a strong bond is formed between the extended family of the Japanese Language and Culture Program at Undip and Semarang State High School 3. This activity is also expected to impart valuable knowledge to the participants who took part in the program and serve as a tangible effort to strengthen the relationship between educational institutions and the community.