“much incentive to learn...”

Fascinating for me also are the vending
machines. You can buy almost anything from
them (even beer!). Just another
observation—the Japanese have a very big
consumer society. Everywhere you go, and
at any time, you can always find someone
carrying shopping bags full of new
products.

I am anxious to learn as much as I can
about this country. The classes are going
fine—the load is extremely well balanced.
We are learning to write and speak
Japanese, as well as studying some history
(too little for me!) and culture. Both
Jillan and I have also taken on Aikido
(martial art) as an extra curricular
activity. There are other clubs at the
college that I hope to visit at least

once or twice. Some of the girls

play traditional Japanese instruments and
I hope to persuade them to teach me a
little. When I learn a few more Japanese
words, Nakamura san promises to take me on
some outings (his English is very limited).
So I have much incentive to learn. I would
like to see more of Japan, but that will
wait until the completion of the six
months. Just the same, we are very busy
with invitations from girls, meetings with
mayors, the president of the college, and
myself with a small presentation or two to
local high school English classes and
clubs. I am told that it will only get
busier!

“narrow roads and insane drivers...”
Dear Friends at Capilano College

Here I am in Toyota, Japan, having the
greatest time of my life. My host family
and friends at Aichi Gakusen have shown me
superb hospitality. In the family I am
staying with there are three kids my age
and the mom and dad. I call them mom and
dad only in Japanese. They are very kind
and we are having a good time together. I
have had no problem adjusting, except for
some foods and customs, which I'm sure are
just a matter of time. Eating rice and
miso soup for breakfast, or wearing special
slippers in the bathroom is not my
definition of culture shock. Communication
problems are unavoidable, so I carry my
dictionary everywhere!

For the first few days we had some time
for orientation, i.e. learning to take the
trains into Nagoya and to Okazaki where we

will be spending a lot of time. The first
week we went on a school tour to Kobe,
Osaka, and Kyoto. We visited many old
temples and shrines in small villages,
went to museums, andsaw a lot of beautiful
countryside in between. During this time
of year the rice is harvested and there
are many festivals taking place. So far I
have seen two. Usually the festivals are
very traditional, and the people reinact a
historical event from an important time in
history.

By bringing my bicycle with me to Japan I
hoped to do some further exploration and
touring on my own time. Aside from the
narrow roads and insane drivers, I have
managed to explore a lot of my surrounding
area. I have seen some very interesting
things and taken piles of pictures. It is
surprisingly difficult to ride a bicycle
in Japan. Even though half the population
rides bikes, for me it is awkward. Again,
I think it will take some time. People
here have found me and my bicycle to be
quite amusing.

CONTINUED .

CAPTIONS: Previous page - Aichi Gakusen
College, Toyota campus. Left - lobby of
A.G. at Toyota.