Happy Earth Village | Grade 4 × Hagiwara Elementary School (Japan)

Our First Online Meeting

To carry out our school-based international program, Grade 4 students joined the “Little Duck Postcard” project and started a friendship exchange with Hagiwara Elementary School in Japan.

Students from three Grade 4 classes in both schools will exchange handmade postcards with their Japanese buddies to share daily life and culture, and begin their friendship journey.

Before sending the postcards, both schools held a warm and joyful online meeting on Monday morning, December 22, 2025, so students could meet each other first.

During the meeting, students introduced their schools in a simple and fun way, took turns introducing themselves, and then enjoyed the most exciting part—free Q&A time.

Through sharing, students discovered many interesting cultural highlights.

They learned that the Hagiwara Elementary mascot loves hot dogs, and Japanese students also learned that the most famous mascot at Yung-Ning Elementary is the cute little duck.

From self-introductions, we found that baseball is the most popular sport among Japanese students, while Yung-Ning students especially like dodgeball and badminton.

At first, everyone was a little shy during the Q&A time, but soon the questions kept coming.

When Japanese students asked, “What is the most famous place in Taiwan?” Yung-Ning students answered together, “Taipei 101!”

When asked about the most recommended Taiwanese food, everyone replied happily, “Braised pork rice!”

When it was Yung-Ning students’ turn to ask about Japan, Japanese students answered together, “Mount Fuji!”

After a lively discussion, they also shared that their favorite school lunch is fried chicken, which is very similar to what Yung-Ning students love too!

Grade 4 students said they felt a little nervous before the exchange, but it was very fun.

They found many shared interests through self-introductions, and the back-and-forth questions made the exchange more natural and exciting.

Next, students from both schools will officially exchange postcards.

After this online meeting, Yung-Ning students have already seen what the postcards may look like and have started thinking about what they want to share with their Japanese buddies.

Let’s look forward to this friendship across the sea!

Special thanks to Grade 4 teachers Ya-Wen, Ying-Jun, Qiong-Yi, and Yu-Ling for their caring guidance and support—from preparation to the exchange day.

We also thank our school’s international education team for their help in making this meaningful exchange a beautiful beginning.