A visit to Dunedin has already proved a memorable and at times emotional experience for 22 Japanese school pupils who are striving for eventual medical careers.
The pupils, from Ikubunkan Medical High School in Tokyo, have already had a close look inside an ambulance at a St John Ambulance station and also seen for themselves premature babies at Dunedin Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, visit organisers said.
And yesterday the pupils visited the University of Otago's W.D. Trotter Anatomy Museum, also as part of a fortnight-long cultural and English language assimilation programme provided by the University of Otago Language Centre and Foundation Year.
After this programme, which ends tomorrow, the pupils will attend 10 Dunedin high schools until the end of March.
Another group from the Tokyo school will then arrive and undertake further study in Dunedin.
The Japanese visitors have also enjoyed an interactive workshop with the nurse specialist educator from Student Health.
Another highlight has been a conversational experience involving 10 Dunedin high school pupils who gave up some of their holiday time to come and chat with the group.
Language centre and foundation year senior teacher Erina Brown said the visiting pupils had also commented on "how green Dunedin seems, and how clean the air is".
• Dunedin schools that will host the pupils are. -Kavanagh College, Taieri High School, Otago Girls' High School, Kaikorai Valley College, Bayfield High School, King's High School, St Hilda's Collegiate School, Otago Boys' High School, John McGlashan College and Queen's High School.
