jae 8 14 - Sunday, December 11, 1988 - North Shore News CULTURAL EXCHANGE Japanese youths study at WV Secondary WEST VANCOUVER Secondary’s first year-long Japanese exchange students, Yuko Ohtoh and Rieko Ito, recently received high praise from the school’s Asia Pacific Studies and International Education Program coordinator. Rose Geiger said the two 17- year-old girls from Sendai, Japan “thave made really good adjust- ments, have integrated into the school, and are accepted by their peers.”’ District administrator Don Flet- cher said a link with Sendai, a city north of Tokyo, similar in size to Vancouver, has been established to provide the opportunity for both West Vancouver and Sendai stu- dents to go on exchange to Jearn about the language and culture of each country. What differences have they found between their Sendai school and WYSS? For one, the physical makeup of the two schools is dif- ferent. The private school they attend in Sendai ~— Ikuei High School — only became co-ed four years ago, so that there is an imbalance of 3,600 boys to 160 girls, unlike WVSS which does not have such a disparity. Students in Japan wear uniforms — in their case, a tartan skirt, white blouse, red tie and green knee socks. At Ikuei girls are not allowed to wear makeup, nail polish or earr- ings. Puke explains that having to wear a uniform meant you didn’t have to think what to wear every day but it’s harder here because you have to make a choice. . Classes are smaller here, while in Sendai, 45 is an average class size. Students here have a greater say in FREE TELEVISION ADVERTISING BOB RANDALL When. you list your home or apartment with BoB RANDALL, he'll advertise it for you on TV absolutely FREE. He'll produce a commercial for you and run it 7-8 times a day, every day, for a week. That's 49-56 announcements on TELEVISION, To find out more about BOB RANDALLS astounding FREE Television Advertising offer, calt him today for a no-obligation meeting. BOB RANDALL Off: 984-9711 t Reali hee ean $80-3700 Sussex Group-S.RL. Reaity ty Corporation course selection. But one thing that is the same Rieko finds ‘‘is the weather.”’ Rieko applied for the exchange because she was interested in Canada and wanted to learn more English. Yuko wants to know about other countries, and points out that “English is an interna- tiona! language.’”’ They are auditing Grade 11 iT it’ ¢ courses to improve their English but also are actively involved in school life, and extracurricular ac- tivities. Among their courses are com- puter studies, orchestra, band, chemistry and biology. Yuko is assisting in Japanese language training classes at WVSS and both have taught origami in the elementary schools. Rieko, who plays the trumpet and trombone, takes theatre arts and is involved in the Christmas concert and school musical. Yuko’s after-school activities in- clude taking driving lessons. “Rebates, Incentives, Give Aways, Special Discounts. We’ve given everything away to sell you a new Mazda. We've got nothing left, the well has gone dry; in fact, it looks like it’s gonna be a BLUE, BLUE Christmas.” “You can help.” “How?” “You can show your appreciation for our outstanding efforts to bring you the best deals on Mazdas by giving us something in return.” During the month of December North Shore Mazda will be accep- ting charitable donations. *— “Christmas is just around the cor- nerand.... They are staying with a West Van family who describe the two as ‘‘very adaptable, delightful, lots of fun, easy to live with, and they have no problem following house rules. We’re trying to give them a little taste of everything, including different foods and different expe- riences such as going to Victoria in a helicopter.’” Christmas will be spent at Whistler with their West Van hosts. Rieko and Yuko will return io Japan in the early summer, but the benefits of their exchange will re- main. Grant Lawrence, student }ALL WE'VE GOT LEFT IS Just look at these examples: 1988 RX7 Convertibie, leather upholstery, cD. aise player, airicond and CASH BACK 5,818 MSAP $38,210 ian FICLIN 1989 323 3 dr. hatchback, 4 spd., economy plus performance. ONLY i BQ ours Based on 60 months, nouns down. Total price $11,3: * DONATIONS WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS FUND. 700 MARINE DR. NORTH VANCOUVER council president at WVSS says such an exchange ‘‘opens your eyes to a world that 99 per cent of us have never seen.”” Student exchanges with Asia Pacific countries are expanding. Geiger left Nov. 26 for two weeks in Hong Kong with eight West Van students to look into a longterm exchange with St. Stephen’s College there. The students are paying their own way, with some support from the Provincial Pacific Rim Initia- tive Fund, but if an exchange is set .up, tuition for those selected will be free.