Japan Trip Enhances Cultural Awareness

Beach Middle School eighth-graders recently returned from their annual trip to Japan. During the 12-day tour the students partook in events ranging from a traditional tea ceremony to karaoke to an expedition to the emperor's palace.

The students' trip was part of a cultural exchange with students in Shimizu, a city in the southeastern part of the mainland. The Beach kids stayed with host families in the city and will likely host a student from Japan in October when the Japanese middle-schoolers arrive.

Japanese traveler Katie Personke stayed with a family for two days and began to feel at home. She said her family was welcoming and open.

"They were all really nice," said Personke. "They sort of treated you like royalty. It was sort of nice but it was sort of weird too."

Personke said her favorite part of the trip was staying with the family. Much of Personke's time was spent trying to communicate in her limited Japanese. She said her host family knew some English, but she got used to talking slowly and making gestures to get her point across.

Personke said the primary difference she noticed between Japan and the United States is that Japan is cleaner. She said she took off her shoes to go inside every building she entered.

Cellular technology a also more prevalent in Japan. Personke said everyone has a cell-phone, but computers aren't as high tech.

Though Personke found Japan quite different from the United States, she did find some similarities. During her stay she took to such uniquely Japanese activities as bowling and shopping, while teaching Mai, the teen she stayed with, important English phrase, like "okay dokay."

With all of her activities, Personke said she didn't miss the United States too much.

"I wasn't homesick," she said. "During the day I was busy, and then I went to sleep."

Augustine Syrovy said he was surprised at the close living conditions in Japan. His family lived in a small two-story house on a farm with parents, two boys, a girl and two grandparents living in the house.

Syrovy said the grandparents lived in their own room in the house that was largely separate from the rest of the occupants. He said they didn't interact very much with the rest of the family, or with him.

"It was really weird," he said. "They lived in the house, but it was like they had their own house. They did everything in there."

Syrovy said, however, that the rest of the family was friendly. He spoke few words of Japanese, enough to say hello and good morning, but they got along well.

Syrovy said the biggest differences he saw were the small cars, which all drive on the left side of the road. School buses were also air-conditioned, with comfortable seats. Syrovy also found a difference in eating the food.

"I knew I would have to use chop sticks, so I figured I would practice before I went," he said. "They said I was good. They said that a lot. 'You good with chop sticks.'"

One thing that stood out for Joyce Lewis was how proud the Japanese were of their country and culture. She said her family was into the traditions of the country, donning traditional dress at times and caring for the shrine in their living room.

Lewis enjoyed the Japanese tea ceremony and participated in traditional fencing, which involved dressing up in padded clothing to ward off the blows of specially designed wooden swords. She also enjoyed beating the traditional Japanese drums.

Lewis was also astounded at how giving her family was. She had brought uniquely American items such as University of Michigan T-shirts and hockey pucks to share with her family, but was surprised how many gifts she received.

"They really wanted to give you gifts," Lewis said. "Every time I would give my family a gift, they would give me one."

Elice Murphy said she enjoyed her visit and expects her counterpart to come to America in the fall. She said she found a lot that was familiar, from Shimizu's history to sibling rivalry.

"The brother was grumpy, just like my brother, so it felt like home," she said.

Though Murphy enjoyed her visit, she found herself appreciating the United: more and more as she went along. Murphy said one major difference was that women in Japan were treated worse than men. She also appreciated having a full summer off from school.

"Their school goes to six (p.m.) with their extracurricular activities, and they go to school every other Saturday," she said. "They go to school a lot." I said, "Thank God I live in America."

Published in The Chelsea Standard
Written by Eric Bowen, Staff Writer

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