INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MAY 2, 1989

 

 

 

Tour to Japan Continued

Participants Immersed in Language and Culture

The tours, although study-in-
tensive, have proven to be real
adventures, says Tad Hosoi,
Manager of the College’s Centre
for International Education.

Based in Kobe, students study
the Japanese language and cul-
ture in daily classes and
workshops, then put what they
learn to practical use on the
streets of Japan by interacting
with citizens.

There are also field trips to
Nara, Kyoto, Himeji and Osaka.

In Nara, Japan’s capital
during the 8th Century, students
visit several shrines and
temples. Kyoto, the capital of
Japan from 1794 to 1868, is
now the cultural centre of the na-
tion, and during a field trip
there, students have an oppor-
tunity to enjoy the Gion Matsuri
Festival.

 

Tour includes field
trips to Nara, Kyoto,
Himeji and Osaka.

 

Osaka is Japan’s commercial
centre, where students visit the
Matsushita Company which
makes Panasonic and Quasar
products for export. In Himeji,
they tour the famous Himeji
castle.

“With these field trips, I try
and give students an under-
standing of all the nation’s
facets, both ancient and
modern,” says Hosoi.

 

The most challenging part of
the excursion is each student’s
chance to experience total im-
mersion by living with a
Japanese family for three weeks.

“It sounds tough, but there
have been no problems with this
three-week immersion in the
past,” says Hosoi. “In fact, it’s a
rare opportunity for somone to
be completely immersed in
Japanese language, culture and
lifestyle. It’s a very memorable
and educational experience for
students.”

Hosoi, a long-time instructor
of Japanese at the College,
started the excursion program in

 

1982 because he felt teaching
his native language in Canada
just wasn’t good enough.

“With the Pacific Rim open-
ing up to us and the influx of
Asians to our country increas-
ing, it benefits all of us to gain
an understanding of our neigh-
bors across the ocean,” he says.

The basis of that under-
standing, says Hosoi, is to be
able to communicate in
Japanese.

With serious study for a year,
an adult can learn how to speak

continued on page 4

 

Vancouver Museum

 

Danzig Opening Postponed

Danzig 1939, Treasures of a Destroyed Community, previously
scheduled to open on April 4 will now open May 2 and close July 16.
The postponement was necessitated because of work related to asbes-
tos removal in the Museum/Planetarium building.

Danzig 1939, Treasures of a Destroyed Community tells the story
of the Jewish community of the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk,
Poland). In 1939, faced with imminent invasion by Nazi Germany,
many of that community’s religious artifacts were sent to America in
a desperate attempt to preserve them.

The Jewish community of Danzig was destroyed. But the treasures
of the Great Synagogue of Danzig survived, and now give insight
into the religious practices and daily life of the Jewish people.

Danzig 1939: Treasures of a Destroyed Community was organized
by the Jewish Museum, New York, which is under the auspices of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America. The exhibition was aug-
mented by the Vancouver Museum. The Vancouver Museum is the
only Canadian venue for this exhibition. For more information con-

tact the Museum at 736-4431.

 

2