The Informer Page 2 November 9, 1988 Cap Students in Japan Once again Cap students are furthering our sibling relationship with Japan’s Aichi Gakusen. Two arts students left for the Toyota City campus in late September to spend six months studying Japanese language, culture, and society at the large women’s college in south central Honshu. Andrea Madden and Janine Davies are now living with host families, teaching conversational English at the College, and experiencing first-hand the ups and downs of living as a stranger in a strange land. Cap has been sending students on this horizon-expanding exchange every year for the past six. They return from their education at the 76-year-old college with a smattering of Japanese, an appreciation of the culture, and a much wider view of the world and their own country. Often, the students stay on to take further advantage of their situation. (Students receive a $4,500 scholarship, return airfare, their tuition at the College is waived, and they have a study and travel visa good for one year.) Last year, Christina Campbell remained with her host family and studied printmaking at an art institute in nearby Nagoya after finishing at Aichi. “I learned a lot because I concentrated on that one thing,” she says. “School was a much larger part of my life there.” Christina is involved in Cap’s Studio Art program this term, doing sculpture and painting. She says “The Japanese are so receptive and interested in our culture. They put you at ease instantly. If I didn’t have a ticket home, I would still be there.” Like Christina, Andrea Madden plans to extend her experience by touring the rest of Asia, Australia and New Zealand with her boyfriend. Already a seasoned traveller — she spent a year in France — Andrea looks forward to the challenge again. When she returns, she plans a double major in language and geography at UBC. "It (the program) — _ gives us credibility in Asia and helps our _ other Pacific Rim ventures. A few years younger than Andrea, Janine Davies (who turned 19 in October) looked forward to living with a host family with three boys. “I’m the baby in my family, so it will be different to have some little brothers,” she said. Janine will pursue a degree in Asian studies when she returns. Aichi Gakusen was established in 1912 with the mandate to “educate young women to develop their potential and become contributing members of the society.” The bulk of its programs still reflect Japan’s predominately paternalistic society, (nutrition, fine arts and fashion design, home economics) but a relatively new program in business administration and an international studies program indicate a turn toward the less traditional. Aichi has four campuses including three kindergartens (population 600), a high school, a university component which teaches home economics and business administration, and a Junior College teaching international studies. The College’s principal, Mr. Terabe, has been running the institution since 1950. Rob Turner and Don Basham visited him last spring to reaffirm the arrangement. Rob says the relationship is good for us, “it gives us credibility in Asia and helps our other Pacific Rim ventures, including the International Co- operative Studies program, our work with Malaysia, and teaching in China.” Rob added that the Canadian government encourages such extensions of friendship and cultural exchange because they help establish a warm economic climate. For Cap’s part of the bargain, we host summer visits from groups of Aichi students who spend three weeks studying English and us. And this year, for the second time, we have two exchange students from Japan full time at the College. Aichi Extends Invitation Again Aichi Gakusen is inviting two of Capilano’s female students to work and study at their college for one term commencing in September, 1989. The invitation provides each student with a scholarship of Y750,000 (U.S. $4,500) and a Vancouver - Tokyo - Nagoya round trip ticket and a special program of studies. In return, the students assist Aichi Gakusen faculty in teaching four classes a week in conversational English. A Committee of Capilano College Faculty will select the two students who will go on the exchange. Of particular concern to the Committee will be a statement of how such an international experience fits into the student’s career goals and their willingness to prepare themselves in terms of language and culture for their stay in Japan. Any student may obtain further information by contacting Student and Instructional Services, and should declare her interest in writing (including her name and address) to the Japanese Exchange Committee, c/o Instructional Services Division, by Friday, December 9, 1988. The Committee will begin interviewing applicants mid-February.