2014 Japanese Program Group – Contributed
Service as cultural ambassadors has taught 19 southwest Wisconsin teens a lot about the culture of Japan–and about their own culture and language, too–as they helped 73 students from Japan make a transition to life in the USA. The Japanese students, in an orientation to prepare them for a year as high school exchange students across the United States, participated in English language and culture classes July 30 – August 8 at the University of Wisconsin-Richland and the American students served as mentors and cultural guides.
While teachers and other staff lead lessons and activities, area teens are with their students around the clock—in classes, at meals, during social activities, overnight in student housing—to explain and answer questions on-the-spot. Serving as mentors were:
Anthony Bermeo, Mauston;
Joelle Bohringer, Boscobel;
Emma Brickner, Wonewoc;
Joe Call, Westby;
Lyrica Daentl, Edmund;
Erica Erdman, Westby;
Hannah Feller, Reedsburg;
Marka Grunberg, Cazenovia;
Harriet Kaftan, Sparta;
Eliana Luke, New Lisbon;
Micah Nordgren, Viola;
Ravina Patel, Mauston;
Daniel Poole, Richland Center;
Hannah Sedgwick, La Farge;
Heather Stocks, Ithaca;
Shelbi Stowers, Reedsburg;
Akshay Sukhwal, Platteville;
Alex Swanson, Viola; and
Aiden Woolsey, Middleton.
Some teen mentors are experienced, returning for a second or third time. For others, this is a new experience.
Bohringer spent time in Tokyo, Japan as an exchange student in 2012 and was pleased to be able to continue her connections with Japanese culture. “It’s a wonderful program. The Japanese and the Americans learn a lot from each other—and it’s fun, too,” she said. “I’ve realized how difficult it can be to explain my own culture . . . and how much slang we use in conversation. A word can be offensive or joking depending on how it’s used.”
Poole said that he became close friends with the group of Japanese boys he mentored. He’s learned about Buddhist holidays, that it is more common in Japan than in the USA for students to go to single-gender schools, and much more about Japanese culture. While he worked to help his group master certain sounds in English, he found himself challenged while trying to pronounce Japanese names.
Grunberg said that her experience as a mentor was even better than she thought it would be. “They want to learn and are willing to try new things even if it’s hard,” she said.
Jessica Laeseke, UW-Richland director of Continuing Education and coordinator of the program on campus, notes that Richland Center and the UW-Richland campus are significant in the first impression of the USA the Japanese students form. “The students visited local entertainment venues and went shopping in the community,” she said.
For information about the UW-Richland Japanese summer program, including ways for area teens to take part in 2015,visit the campus website at richland.uwc.edu and follow the links to community/outreach>continuing education>youth programs; go to http://richland.uwc.edu/community/continuing-ed/youth ; or call the Office of Continuing Education at (608) 647-6186, Extension 227.
Contributed by Dorothy Thompson