chris and todd

Interviews With Exchange Students Todd and Chris

This year's Exchange Students from the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) are Todd Karr and Christine St Hilaire. They belong to the Faculty of Foreign Languages, and are taking Japanese Language and Culture courses. We are very curious to know about them and how they like Sapporo and Sapporo University. We interviewed them separately.

Talking About Japan

BY NAOMI KAMIGUCHI

Todd says, ﾒThe language always worries me.ﾕﾕ It is what he cares about most in his daily life. As for the other things in his life, he simply said, ﾔﾔVery good.ﾕﾕ This is the first visit for him so it is natural that he cannot understand Japanese so much, but he has completely gotten used to living in Japan. That is because he is positive.

He is very interested in Japanese history. He said, ﾔﾔI like the period of the Second World War the most because of the way it has affected the history and relations between Japan and the U.S.ﾕﾕ

He thinks that Japan has a very long history and an intriguing culture, and it is very useful for him to learn more about Japanese history and Asian cultures.

Today Japanese life style is apt to be Americanized. When he was in the United States, he had heard that young Japanese people were strongly influenced by American culture, and music and fashion or some other things were all Americanized. For the change of Japanese life styles, he gave me an interesting opinion of his own. ﾔﾔI do believe that Japan may have lost some of its identity due to American influences. My biggest fear is that when Japanﾕs older generation disappears, so will many of Japanﾕs traditions and beliefs. I think that the youth of Japan should remember to embrace their own culture before they are influenced by the American life style.ﾕﾕ He also feels the change of life styles of people in Sapporo. He said, ﾔﾔPeople are very much influenced by America. You can see parts of American culture everywhere you go in Sapporo. Whether it is the clothes that people wear, the movies they watch, or the food they eat America greatly influences the life styles of people in Sapporo. ﾓ

As for his impression of Sapporo, he said, ﾔﾔSapporo is a very clean, friendly, and modern city. There are a great many things to do and see. Although it is large, I believe Sapporo is still a very safe place to live in. It reminds me sometimes of a small rural town in the Midwest.ﾕﾕ

Nebraska is located in the middle-west of the United States surrounded by countryside. Like Hokkaido, you can see a lot of cattle put out to pasture. Although there are not any other similarities between Nebraska and Hokkaido. They have a lot of their own traditions which were handed down many years ago, and they have to keep the traditions for the next generation.

His hobbies are hunting, snow skiing and water skiing. He likes outdoor sports. When he goes skiing in winter, he has to take a 5-hour-drive to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. There are many lakes in Nebraska so he can enjoy water skiing whenever he wants to. It makes us realize the expansive size of America.

Here at Sapporo University, he is a member of the basketball club. He took part in the sports festival in June and enjoyed the softball game as well. Also, at the university of Kearney, he was on the university track team and ran the 200 meter race and the triple jump. As you can see, he is a very active person.

During his stay, he wants to visit Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo and some other places. He also wants to be able to speak and hear Japanese fluently and make friends with a lot of people.

After graduating, he intends to teach Japanese, Spanish, mathematics and history to children. His parents are also teachers. I think that is the reason why he has dreamed to be a teacher.

I want him to learn much more about Japan and tell Americans the all the good things about Japan.

Christine studies about her second homeland.

BY AKI KITAMURA

Christine is a person of mixed American and Japanese parentage. Her father, a U.S.Marine, met her mother while stationed in Japan. Christine was born in Honolulu while her father worked in Hawaii. After that, the family moved to Minnesota. Now, they live in Iowa.

ﾒI have been to my mother's homeland three times when I was a child.ﾓ Her mother comes from Hiroshima. She remembers going to the Peace Park and Miyajima and many other places with her family and relatives. Thus, she always knew she was half Japanese. ﾒI have not had any difficulty because of my ancestry, but I wish discrimination and prejudice in the world would go away.ﾓ

This summer, she is going to Hiroshima to visit her relatives. She is folding one thousand paper cranes in dedication to the victims of the atomic bomb. ﾒWhen I was a child I folded them without thinking of the meaning, but now I know why I am folding them.ﾓ She told us a story of a little girl who suffered from illness caused by radiation from the atomic bomb. ﾒThe girl made paper cranes thinking it would cure her from the sickness, but she died after all.ﾓ This story became one of the reasons for Christine's present dream to be a children's doctor. She is folding paper cranes for peace all over the world.

Christine is studying Japanese very hard. ﾒI decided to come to Japan to study Japanese culture, history, and language while learning general education subjects at UNK.ﾓ When we visited her Japanese class for exchange students, she was speaking Japanese eagerly. Because the class is small, they sometimes go to such places as shops, the post office, parks, and so on, where they practice the Japanese they learned in class. ﾒPractice is a little difficult for me but very fun.ﾓ She is becoming a good Japanese speaker gradually.

She took part in the YOSAKOI Soran Festival as a member of the SU team in June. She was a cheerleader at UNK, and she is good at dancing, but still it was hard for her to master YOSAKOI dancing in less than two months because it is a fusion of Japanese tradition and new culture. However, she was able to learn the dance completely before the festival. Actually, she danced beautifully and carried it through to the end. She is a hard worker who tries anything with all her might. ﾒI had a lot of fun during YOSAKOI. I liked it very much.ﾓ Through participating in the festival she has learned Japanese culture on her own.

She lives alone in an apartment and cooks for herself. ﾒI like cooking but my kitchen is small.ﾓ She tries to fix such Japanese food as boiled-rice, yakisoba, and Chinese noodle soup sometimes. And she enjoys exercising and shopping. ﾒI have gotten used to a new life and Sapporo University is very enjoyable,ﾓ she said with a smile.

Japan is a special country for her. She is proud of her mixed ancestry and she aims for the realization of her dream. We wish her luck for her life in Japan.

They will study at SU until December. Why don't you talk to them if you see them on or off campus. They are friendly and approachable, so you will be able to make friends with them.
We hope their life in Japan will be useful for them in the future, and that they will have many wonderful and happy days here.