They have a channel called Mango Vlogz - Linked below so go check it out!!

她們有個叫Mango Vlogz的頻道 下面放了連結所以務必去看看！

They are doing a high school exchange here in Japan for one school year

她們在日本的高中進行一個學年的交換

I also did a short exchange for 2 weeks when I was in high school

我高中的時候也進行了兩個星期的交換

So I thought it would be cool to have a conversation together

所以我覺得一起聊聊

and answer your questions about doing high school exchanges in Japan!

然後回答關於高中交換的問題會很不錯

I asked you on twitter this morning and I got so many replies!

今天早上我在推特上發文 得到了好多回應！

So thank you so much guys

謝謝大家！

So I'm just gonna go through your tweets and we're gonna answer your questions!

所以我會滑推文 然後我們 要來回答你們的問題

Do you have to know Japanese really well to go on an exchange?

”你需要掌握日文才能進行交換嗎？“

Well I did an exam before I came

我來之前做了一次測驗

So they said you have to learn it for at least 2 years for my school

我的學校要求至少學過兩年日文

And even when I came it was still quite hard

但是我來到這裡還是覺得很不容易

And I studied for 2 years so it's probably better to be at least intermediate level

我學了兩年 所以或許有中級日語比較保險

So they had an exam and you had to be able to pass a certain level to qualify?

所以學校會有考試 然後你必須達到一定水準才能成為交換生？

Yep

是的

For me, I was only here on a 2 week exchange

像我 我只是來這裡兩個星期

and there were no requirements whatsoever

所以沒有什麼要求或條件

I actually spoke zero Japanese, I knew like 3 words

那時候我不會說日語 我只會三個詞

But I found that really fun? It was fun.

但我覺得那樣很好玩？真的好好玩

Because everything was new to me, I picked up lots of Japanese while I was here

因為一切都很新鮮 期間也學了很多日語

So if you're just going on a short exchange and they don't require a certain level of Japanese

所以如果只是短期的交換 而學校也不要求任何日語程度

Don't worry at all if you don't speak Japanese

即使不會日語也不用擔心

I thought it made the experience more exciting

我覺得這樣的體驗會更刺激

But in their case they're here for a year and they required it, so

但她們來這裡一年 也需要懂日語

It looks like every case is different, but you may be all right not knowing Japanese

每個情形都不同 不懂日語可能也沒問題

So check with your school

所以去向學校查詢

Are exchange students expected to learn the same curriculum as Japanese students?

“交換生會不會被要求和日本學生進行同個課程？”

I'm on a slightly different program to Emily

我和Emily的課程不太一樣

Because I'm a proper foreign exchange student, I have tests but they're in English

因為我是外國交換生 我的考試都是以英文進行的

So they're aimed at someone who's not native in Japanese

試卷是設定給非日語母語者的

Whereas Emily's are pretty much the same

但Emily的考試和日本學生基本上一樣

Yeah the same I think

嗯 應該是一樣的

Oh really, you're taking the same ones as the Japanese students?

是嗎？妳和日本學生做一樣的試卷？

Are the teachers kind of slack?

老師會睜一隻眼閉一隻眼嗎？

If you don't get a score as high as all the Japanese students, they're okay with it?

如果成績不如日本學生好 老師會說嗎？

They're okay with it

老師都沒什麼意見

They don't expect you to be perfect

老師不會要求你達到完美

We have teachers that will write the furigana on kanji for us

有些老師還會幫我們在漢字上注音

Because he knows we can't read it

因為他知道我們看不懂漢字

Aw that's nice

好好喔

Again, it looks like it's different for everyone and you'll probably have choices about what you wanna do

每個人都不太一樣 所以應該可以選擇

When I was here I didn't do any tests

我進行交換時沒有做什麼測驗

I did some schoolwork in class and they gave me some homework

我只做了一些課堂作業和家庭作業

But it was just a really short program

但那是非常短的課程

How much did it cost? Did your school pay for it?

“費用是多少？是學校幫你付的嗎？”

I had to pay all of it because I'm like a normal student

我必須負擔全額 因為我和普通學生一樣

And private school here in Japan is pretty expensive

而且日本的私立學校學費很貴

Pretty expensive

很貴

Our school is the most expensive in Tokyo

我們的學校是東京最貴的

Does the price differ for foreign students?

外國學生的學費有不一樣嗎？

Do you pay a different price than Japanese students do?

你付的學費和日本學生有不一樣嗎？

I didn't

沒有

I think mine cost a bit more because I had to do homestay

我的好像貴一點 因為我有寄宿

Right, so it includes the homestay cost

對 學費包括寄宿費

It's pretty expensive

所以蠻貴的

And you have to pay for your uniform, and a fee to get into the school

還要買制服 還有繳入學費

Because I don't take tests, so I have to pay to get in

因為我沒有考試 所以要繳入學費

And textbooks, they never give you the textbooks

還有課本 學校不會提供課本

As a student, are you allowed to work part time?

身為學生 妳們可以打工嗎？

If you wanted to get a job here?

如果你想在這裡找份工作？

Secretly...

偷偷地...

So you're not allowed?

所以不可以打工？

You could, but it's gonna be like a whole big meeting

是可以 不過會搞得像一個很大的會議

Ahh to discuss if it's okay to do it or not

商量是否妥當

So it's possible, but a pain in the ass

是有可能 但超級麻煩

They say sometimes for foreign students they can make exceptions

學校說有時可以通融外國學生

because you might have run out of money, before you finish school

因為你可能會在畢業前就沒錢了

So in that case it's ok

那種情況下是可以允許學生去打工的

It also depends on your visa

而且也要看你的簽證

Yeah you have to apply for special permission

需要特別申請

So it looks like it's pretty pricey guys

看來是很貴

I've never heard of any year long exchange programs that are free

我沒有聽說過有長達一年的 免費交換計畫

If you're planning on doing one maybe get a part time job

如果想做交換 或許可以找份兼職

And start saving up now

然後開始存錢

So you can help pay for it, maybe your parents will pay the rest

這樣才能支付費用 然後可以請父母幫忙出剩下的

If you don't know Japanese can you still make Japanese friends?

“如果你不會日語 是否能交到日本朋友？”

Yes!

可以的！

I think so

我想也是

For me it was really easy to make friends

我很容易就交到了朋友

Everyone's interested in you because you're like the cool foreign person

大家都對妳很感興趣 因為妳是很酷的外國人

So everyone wants to talk to you I found

我發現所有人都會想和妳說話

Did you have the same experience?

妳有類似的經歷嗎？

There's lots of people interested in foreign music as well

有很多人對外國音樂很感興趣

So they'll be the first to come up to you and be like "Do you know Beyonce?"

所以她們會上前來問說： “你知道碧昂絲嗎？”

Yeah yeah yeah

對對對

I don't think language is really a factor in making friends

我不覺得語言是交朋友的條件

You'll get around that

總會有辦法的

If you don't speak Japanese and you're trying to make Japanese friends

如果你不懂日語又想交一些日本朋友

It's a great incentive to learn Japanese

學習日語會是很好的激勵

and I feel that that will really benefit your language study

我覺得那會幫助語言學習

That's how I improved mine really fast

那是我進步的方法

Because I wanted to talk to these people but I couldn't

因為我想和這些人說話 但我做不到

So I would try to find phrases that I could use with them and study a bit

所以我會試著找一些能和他們 溝通的短語然後學習

How did you hear about the program?

“妳是怎麼知道這個計畫的？”

I already graduated my school

我已經從學校畢業了

So I finished school and then I decided to take a year off and go to Japan

我畢業後決定抽出一年時間去日本

Because I wanted to get better at Japanese before university

因為我想讓自己的日語進步再上大學

Mine's not actually through my school

所以我不是通過學校申請的

When I was looking online, all the programs were for America and Canada

我在網絡搜索 所有的課程 都是給美國和加拿大的

They didn't have anything for England

沒有針對英國的

Somehow I ended up on the Japanese embassy sites

所以我去到日本大使館的網站

The New Zealand embassy or something

進入新西蘭大使館還是什麼的

And I found a link to the school

然後我找到了學校的連結

So I actually applied to the school directly all by myself

我是直接向學校提出申請的

Wow that's cool!

哇 好厲害喔

So if your school doesn't offer anything, you can just apply directly

如果你的學校沒有這類交換計畫 可以向日本的學校直接提交申請

And she's not even a high school student, she graduated

而且她都不是高中生 她已經畢業了

A couple of you guys were like "Aww I graduated high school... dammit..."

有些人會說： “我高中畢業了... 哎呀...”

I think it was okay up until 20 years old

我想20歲以前都沒問題

Oh really? Cool

真的嗎？

It doesn't matter about your age as much

年齡不是那麼的重要

I'm 18 but I'm in with the first years (Grade 10)

雖然我今年18歲 我卻是和一年級一起上課

They just put you in a class based on your level and where is most appropriate

學校會把你編入適合你程度的班級

I think many high school have them but they don't advertise them

我想很多高中都有這種計畫 但學校不宣傳

So if you're in high school at the moment

如果你是在讀高中生的話

I would go talk to your counsellor or just go to the office if you have an international office

可以和輔導老師商量或是到辦公室去

and ask them for opportunities for exchange

向他們詢問交換計畫的事

because you might have something and you just don't know about it

因為學校可能有提供機會 只是你不知道而已

And if your school doesn't have one, maybe look into the option like that

如果你的學校沒有這種計畫 你可以試試其它方法

Maybe graduate first and then go there after

像是先畢業再去

There seem to be lots of different ways to do it

有很多方法可以到日本做交換生的

I've heard some exchange horror stories, have you or your friends had any bad experiences?

“我聽說過很多交換生的恐怖故事 妳或妳的朋友是否有過不好的經歷？”

Not really

沒有耶

But our friend... there's this boy exchange student

但我們的朋友... 有個男交換生

This guy that came to our school

那個來到我們學校的男生

His homestay he couldn't go in unless he had a key

他寄宿的地方沒有鑰匙進不去

And they only had one key

而那戶人家只有一把鑰匙

So he just had to wait outside the house

所以他必須在門外等著

And just wait for them to come home?

就那樣等到有人回來？

Ok that's really bad

那好糟糕

My homestay's really nice

我的寄宿家庭人很好

They're really flexible and stuff

他們處事很有彈性

After the bunkasai (school festival) we had an after party

像是文化祭後我們有個派對

And she was just like "Make sure you come home late! Go have fun!"

她就說：“一定要晚回喔！盡情地去玩吧！”

She's really sweet

她人很好

How about school wise, have you had any problems at school?

那學校方面 有遇到什麼問題嗎？

A lot of gossip

很多八卦

Typical high school problems

典型的高中問題

Not really like an exchange problem I guess

不是交換計畫的問題

What if you have a problem with something?

如果遇到什麼問題怎麼辦？

Is it easy to find someone to talk to?

找個能商量的人容易嗎？

If you had an issue with your homestay would there be someone available to talk to?

像是如果妳在寄宿家庭遇到什麼問題 有沒有人可以商量？

Yeah

有

When I was doing my program, I didn't have any problems with my homestay - they were great

我在寄宿時沒有遇到任何問題 他們人很好

But we did have a counsellor in the school that we could talk to if we had any problems

但我們的學校有個輔導員 如果有問題可以面談

I never really heard anything too bad during my exchange

我在進行交換時 並沒有聽到什麼糟糕的事

There were a couple people who had really strict homestays

有些人的寄宿家庭很嚴格

So they wouldn't let them go out late

不准他們晚歸

Lots of the other students would go out partying and drinking

很多學生會出去夜衝喝酒

and a couple of the students, their homestays wouldn't let them go

然後有一些學生 因為寄宿家庭不讓他們去

So they were kinda upset about that

所以有點不高興

But they just had stricter rules for their children

但他們對自己的孩子設了更嚴格的規定

So they apply those to their exchange student as well

所以只是把規定也設在交換生上

So it really depends on the family

這要看家庭

I didn't really hear of anything bad

我沒有聽過什麼不好的經驗

When you're going through YouTube lots of things pop up like "HORRIBLE EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE"

在YouTube看得到很多 “超糟糕的交換經驗”

There's so many videos about horrible exchanges in Japan

網上有很多關於糟糕的日本交換的視頻

I hope this will give you an opportunity to hear about some good stories

我希望這回事一個聽到好經驗的機會

I'm also gonna make a video talking about my total homestay experience

我會製作一個關於我 賓至如歸的寄宿經驗的視頻

I myself didn't have any problems at all

我自己沒有遇到任何問題

My homestay Mom, she's not fluent but she understands English

我的寄宿家庭的媽媽 雖然不流利 但她聽得懂英文

If you aren't that strong in Japanese, make sure you have someone who knows a little bit of English

如果你的日語不好 一定要確保 你的寄宿家庭有懂一點英語的人

Otherwise it's gonna be really difficult

不然會很難熬

I did get a book beforehand from the homestay company

我事先有從負責寄宿的公司那裡 拿到一本冊子

And it said things to be careful of, like cultural differences

裡面寫了要注意的事項 像是文化差異

So in Japan you have to eat all of your food

像在日本你必須把食物吃完

Right right

對對

And if you don't they might think you hate their cooking or something

如果你不吃完 他們會覺得 你不喜歡他們做的菜

So it said make sure you explain that first

那本冊子說你必須先解釋清楚

That's nice that they gave you a book

給妳們準備這種冊子好好喔

When you leave it's so sad, everyone cries

離開時後感傷 大家都哭了

Yeah

嗯

I still talk to my homestay! It's been like 12 years and I still talk to them

我還有和我的寄宿家庭聯絡！ 12年了 我還和他們保持聯絡

Yeah they're really nice

嗯 他們人真的很好

What does your school uniform look like?

“妳們的校服是怎樣的？”

You can either wear a ribbon or a tie

可以戴領結或打領帶

Oh you can choose! That's neat

可以選啊！好好

But for special occasions you have to wear a bow

但是在特別的日子就必須戴領結

So the bow is more formal?

領結比較正式嗎？

The boys have different colours... red, green, white, blue

男生的有不同顏色... 紅色、綠色、白色、藍色

And the boys are just a tie right?

男生只有領帶對吧？

Just a tie, yeah

只有領帶 嗯

You have to wear a blazer on formal occasions

在正式的場合還要穿外套

That's really cute

好可愛喔

And everyone has their little name written inside

每個人的外套裡都有名字

The name's embroidered on the inside

名字繡在了裡面

And then the school logo on the front

然後前面是校徽

We have our PE wear

我們還有體育服

For sports classes

體育課用的

PE is fun

體育課很好玩

Our summer uniform

夏天的校服

So the uniform changes throughout the seasons

校服每個季節都會換

Cute little sweater vest, and then you wear a collared shirt underneath it

可愛的小背心 底下要穿有領的襯衫

Show them the skirt, the skirt is so cute

給大家看看裙子 裙子好可愛

The colours are so nice

顏色好漂亮

Do you wear it this length? Or do you roll yours up?

妳會穿這個長度的嗎？還是會捲起來？

I roll it twice

我會捲兩次

Yeah I roll it twice too

我也是捲兩次

If you wanna make your skirt shorter you can roll it up a little bit

如果要讓裙子短一點 可以捲起來

Some girls will do it long on purpose, because that can also be cool

有些女生會故意穿得很長 因為那樣也可以很酷

And what do the socks look like?

那襪子呢？

They're grey knee highs

是灰色的長襪

No one wears them knee high

但沒有人穿到及膝蓋那麼高

That's so funny

那好好笑

Apparently currently the style is to not wear your socks really high

因為現在流行不把襪子穿得高高的

So they'll roll them down

所以她們會拉下來

When I was in... god this makes me sound so old

我在... 天 這會顯得我很老

When I was doing my exchange, the slouch socks were popular

我在交換時 很流行泡泡襪

The white slouchy socks

那種白色的泡泡襪

Everyone would have the really baggy socks and they'd slouch them up

每個人都會穿很鬆垮的襪子

I'll put some pictures so you can see, but like gyaru style

我會放上一些照片 但比較像辣妹風

Nowadays I guess you don't really see that

現在應該很難看到了

When I first started I was like, Oh it's Japanese high school!

開始的時候我還想： “日本的高中！”

So I had them like, up to here!

所以要穿很高 到這裡！

Like I had seen on anime and stuff

就像在動漫裡看到的

And my friend was like, no that's really uncool you gotta stop

但我的朋友說： “不不 那很土 不要那樣。”

Stoppp what are you doing

“住手 不要那樣。”

What are the rules for appearance?

“儀容有什麼規定嗎？可不可以染髮和化妝？“

Are you allowed to colour your hair and wear makeup?

“儀容有什麼規定嗎？可不可以染髮和化妝？“

Nope.

不行

So do they think this is your natural hair?

學校認為那是妳自然的髮色嗎？

Yeah and then the brown starts showing

嗯 然後褐色的部分開始出來...