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Tofu and foilet seats
students sample life in Japan

Fora group of Sidney travelers,
it’s lucky many Japanese speak
English.

’ By VALORIE LENNOX
Review Staff Writer

. Otherwise at least one of the
four Parkland. Secondary ‘students
who spent the spring break ‘in the

“country might still be there.

~ Stacey Swanson, 17, lost the rest ~.
_ of the group ona visit to the”
Ginza, Tokyo’s popular shopping
_ area, when she entered a store by ©
«oye door and left by another door.

*T had to phone the hotel.”

= : Luckily the girl. spoke English ‘and

‘told me what subways to take back:
to the -hotel:”.. Stacey was also ~
“helped:by English speaking
Japanese on the subway. °°”

“All of the students on the trip,
four from Parkland and.17 from -..

Claremont. Sccondary, are

- studying Japancse.. But a single
“ gemester of the language doesn’t

grant fluency, the students agreed.
“Most people spoke more —
‘English than we spoke Japanese,”
admitted Jane Campbell, 17.
They did find their
understanding improved —

dramatically during the four days .

-they spend living in Japanese
homes near Itami.

“Near. the end we could tell if

they were laughing at us,” said-
Stacey,
Colin Tate, 17, said his host

family tried hard to keep him from

@naking mistakes, Once, while
eating tempura, he dipped a picec
of fish into-the sauce intended for

“meat, creating an instant outcry,

The fourth Parkland student on

the trip was Lisa Lowrey, 18. T he
three girls are in Grade 12; Colin
is in Grade 11.

One of the most intcresting —

and uncomfortable ~~ experiences
was anovernight visit toa

Buddhist temple, The group toured °F

the temple, meditated and were |

~ @ treated to a vegetarian meal,

“The rice was really
~ wonderful,” said Jane, .
“That's all we ate," Stacey:
added. “IT took pictures of ihe
food we didn't cat.”
Tofu, gelatin and seaweed was

among the fare not touched ‘by

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Page A9

the students, who described the
dishes in stomach-turning terms.
In addition to enduring leg

cramps and cold feet from sitting

in.a yoga position while
meditating, the students were
struck on the shoulders cight
times.

These blows, they Jearned,
drive out evil spirits. “But they
hurt,’’. Stacey said.

Overnight the students slept on.

tatami mats and futons, boys in.

one room: and girls i in another. -
~-Jane. said their room was. .

decorated with flowers,

_ “Everything we had was flowers »
; and roses: and’ pink and-all?..
_ The boys’ room was plain, said se
Colin, with futons and blankets

folded against the wall until
night.
The baths at the temple: in the:

homes and in citics all received |

lop marks from the. students.
-Bathers take a shower so they

are clean before entering the tub.

“It’s -like:a big hot: tub that:
everyone gets into,”’ said Stacey.:

“Only they don’t got no :
clothes on,” rejoined Jane.

The public. baths are
segregated but public toilets are

not,.a detail which embarrassed:

the. students, The students also
learned to come equipped with.

toilet paper. Washrooms never © |

ran out of soap but. were often
short on toilet paper and paper
towels,

In addition to cleanliness, the
hot baths helped the students:
keep warm. There is no central
heating in Japanese homes, they:
discovered,

Families sit around the low
tables, with a heater under the
table,

Heras |
ED PO}

and a quill covering table,
heater and bodies,

2OTATO: FRESH’:
TABLES ta LAD Bs

Colin said the furniture looked
like it was cut from a single piece
of wood and was’ low ‘to the
ground. His first night.in the
home, he was invited to share the
bath and had to add cold water to. -

‘lower the temperature.

“Tt was so hot I could just
- “barely get in.’
The family bathed every night,
taking a shower, then enjoying a

private soak in the tub. Since the
. tub water was not changed
~ between soakers, Colin said his .
‘addition of cold.water meant the |.”
~ people, buildings ‘and landscapes.

- tub had to be reheated, for the
Text person.

“-The..second night he tried 1 lo _ 3

~ endure the usual temperature.
“He also discovered, in-a:

_yéstauranl; ‘a heated toilet scat to ~ Z

compensate for the lack of
central heating. «

He Iearned to wear slippers fi ino

the house and to walk barefoot.
“on the woven tatami' mats.
Stacey found the hospitality of
her homestay hosts
overwhelming and the standard

- cight-course meals impossible to

finish. The wife wouldn’t cat.
until everyone clse was finished. .

Colin thought the amount of
food seemed like more because it
was served in small, artistically.
arranged portions, He also
noticed the wife waited on the
table,

“T liked it,” he declared.

The students spent four days in
Kyoto, four days in Japanese
homes and four days in ‘Tokyo,
They left for Japan March 24 and
returned April. 4, Under the
Ministry of Education’s. Pacific
Rim program, cach student
received $200 towards the $2,290
cost of the trip.
Colin's souvenir of the wip iss

“how to use. it.

- blond hair,”

“At the Emerald Isle'’

Across from Safeway

(604) 656-0905

A JAPANESE JOURNEY by four Parkland Secondary
students and 17 Claremont Secondary students intro-
duced the young people to meditation in a Buddhist
temple, shopping in high-tech Tokyo and public baths,
among other experiences. In addition to their memories,
they brought back stacks of photographs, including this
scene of group members in a Japanese setting.

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portable color television, four
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bought for $165 Canadian.

He also. picked up a solar-
powered watch with so many
functions he hasn’t figured out

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Staccy and Jane found the
Japanese friendly and especially

- fascinated by Janc’s five foot,

10-inch height and blond hair
“Everyone: stared at Jane. They

took pictures of her because of the» -
said Stacey:. ” :

Stacey took photographs of

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“The scenery was_incredible. -
Everything was :picture- perfect...
She wanted to snap. everything.”.
oT think I did, ” said. Colin.

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