Japan trip designed to give EC teens insights on culture, nature's power
Students to visit Japan
Eau Claire Memorial Japanese language students, from left, Sydney Wolfe, Samuel Jackson, Sheyengphia Her, Alex Delakis and Aiyzah Javaid will travel to two Japanese cities, Tokyo and Sendai. Some North students also are part of the group, which will work on projects related to the 2011 tsunami.
Posted: Monday, February 25, 2013 11:26 pm | Updated: 8:02 am, Tue Feb 26, 2013.
Twenty-three Eau Claire high school students are set to embark on a trip to Japan, where they'll assist ongoing efforts to help the nation recover from a devastating tsunami and learn more about the nation's culture.
The students will depart Monday and will spend two weeks in Japan, living with host families and working on community rehabilitation projects.
Although two years removed from the devastating natural disaster, many Japanese communities are still working to return to normalcy, said Hiroko Nagai, a Japanese language teacher at Memorial High School, who help organize and is chaperoning the trip.
"People are still living under harsh conditions," she said.
Students from both Eau Claire Memorial and North high schools who are enrolled in Japanese classes will make the trip. The students said they are excited.
"It'll be fun to use the skills we're learning (in class) in a real setting," said Memorial student Alex Delakis.
Nagai said the students will plant gardens and repair damaged libraries, among other projects aimed at helping communities improve their quality of life after being hit by the tsunami.
Memorial student Samuel Jackson said he's excited to be able to lend a helping hand to folks hurt by the tsunami.
The Laurasian Institution and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, both of which promote cultural outreach to Asian nations, organized and are financing the trip under a program called the Kizuna Project.
The Eau Claire schools are two of just eight in the United States making the trip, said Kristin Craker, Memorial High School partnership coordinator.
The Eau Claire students will split their time between Tokyo and Sendai — a northern Japanese city that was hit hard by the tsunami.
They will be doing volunteer work while they're in Sendai. And they'll have opportunities to do some sightseeing while in Tokyo, according to the Kizuna Project website.
Swedien can be reached at 715-833-9214, 800-236-7077 or jon.swedien@ecpc.com.
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