Exploring Traditional and Contemporary Japanese Life on the Technos Trip
(LEBANON, Ill., July 12, 2019) — Two McKendree University students and a professor
explored contemporary and traditional Japanese life in June as guests of Technos International
College in Tokyo. This year the annual cultural exchange program emphasized roots,
said Dr. Aurelie Capron, associate professor of Spanish. “Visitors had the opportunity
to interact and exchange a lot with the Technos College students and staff, and to
talk about their own roots—where they came from and their customs.”
Capron was curious to observe daily social interactions in the host country. “The
Japanese are well known for being community-focused, which is in contrast with the
individualistic culture of the USA. Being immersed in the culture is the best way
to experience it all!”
There were presentations on rice and sake, classes in origami and calligraphy, a scavenger
hunt in Tokyo, and visits to a Shinto shrine, and the town of Kamakura, Midori no
Mura forest retreat, and Mt. Fuji. During a relaxing weekend in Nagano prefecture,
the visiting students played traditional games with the Technos College students.
Paris Suzuki, an organizational communication major from Covina, Calif., was eager
to take what she learned about traditions and culture back home to her family, as
she is of Japanese and Mexican descent.
Jessica Hoffmann, an honors program mathematics major from Belleville, Ill., described
the experience as “unforgettable” and “exhiliarating.” Highlights of the trip were
“the homestay with a host family, the village trip to Midori no Mura, the Mt. Fuji
visit and exploring Tokyo--trying to navigate the train system without getting lost!
“To say we enjoyed our time would be an understatement. I will always be grateful
for the memories we have to cherish and the relationships we made,” she said.
Technos International Week was created by the late Dr. Kenji Tanaka, founder of the
Tanaka Ikuekai Educational Trust, to strengthen the ties between the U.S. and Japan.
Each year since 1992, McKendree University has worked with the Tanaka Foundation to
send two sophomores and a professor to a two-week educational exchange at Technos
College.
Paris Suzuki, Dr. Aurelie Capron and Jessica Hoffmann of McKendree University visited Mt. Fuji during their summer trip to Japan.
-McK-
