I am standing in the middle of a fish market; never before have I been so overwhelmed by such a wall of unusual smells.
Jostling about, the crowd is filling every space - around, between and behind the maze of various stalls.
No-one is shouting. All is politeness as the sheer volume of general conversation drowns my thoughts.
This is very much beyond any adventure I have ever experienced.
I turn and look all around. I look foreign. I feel foreign. I am foreign.
I am in another culture, another world away from home, and for the first time in my life, I feel that strangeness of being entirely different.
Over the summer holidays, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Japan to attend Tokiwa School in Kitakyushu, Japan.
How was this possible?Tokiwa High School pupils have been visiting The Catlins Area School since 1999.
They feel such a bond with us that several years ago, the Tokiwa pupils raised funds and set up a scholarship for one or two of our pupils to visit Japan each year, be hosted by a family, and go to school there for three weeks.
Now it was my turn and I was in for an amazing experience.
The first day was the scariest.
Imagine me walking in, as the guest of honour, to a large auditorium with a 700-strong crowd speaking little English, and me knowing only a few words of Japanese.
School in Japan is very busy and tiring.
Our days would start at 5.50am. We would catch the monorail to school and arrive by 7.30am for the first period of the day.
I participated in more than eight subjects, including Japanese and calligraphy, which I loved, and I learnt what it is like to be a teacher of English to many classes.
School finished at 3.30pm, when we'd clean our own classroom, and toilets.
After that, we would have club activity until at least 6pm.
My club activity was music, because my host sister played the drums.
I was also taught to play the drums a little, which was when I discovered my hidden talent - they told me I was a fast learner!
Music is a great universal language and a powerful unspoken way to communicate feelings and friendship.
Over the three weeks of my stay, I visited many fascinating places around Kitakyushu City.
I felt so welcomed and cherished by my host family that it was a great wrench to leave them.
When I was in Japan, I only saw one other European person.
I did feel a foreigner for the first time in my life, and it was not a comfortable feeling.
However, I do not want to lose that sensation because it will be a well of empathy I can draw on when I see or meet strangers in our land.
I learnt to appreciate and value Japanese cultural customs and ways of interacting.
I even learnt to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the fish market.
But more profoundly, I learnt that differences are only superficial.
A smile dissolves strangeness, the warmth of a welcome is universal and, despite language barriers, friendships can flourish amid laughter.
• By Esther McLay, Year 13, The Catlins Area School
