15-month study at Wasada University

A NORTH Vancouver man is about to set off on a 2)-

month education odyssey into the foreign world of Japa-

nese business and culture.

Jeff Bumstead recently won the
$9,000 Vancouver Community
College Overseas Study schoiar-
ship to study at a language in-
stitute for six months in Osaka,
then a 15-month intensive study
program at the prestigious Inter-
national Division of Tokyo’s
Wasada University.

The circuitous path Bumstead
has travelled since graduating
from North Vancouver’s Argyle
secondary school 18 years ago will
serve the affable 36-year-old well.

Since leaving high school,
Bumstead has been (in order of
appearance) a miner, a watchman
for CN Rail, a pulp-mill worker,
a co-owner of a 40-acre farm
near Bella Coola, a tree-planter,
and the owner of his own market-
ing company. Oh, and he drove a
limousine for two years to save
money to go back to schoo} two
years ago.

He also managed an 18-month
trip through South America,
returning to North America by
hitching a ride in Caracas,
Venezuela, and serving as a
deckhand on a Miami-bound
steamer.

It was during his stint as a
marketing consultant, however,
that he decided to return to
school.

By A.P. McCredie
News Reporter

“My first encounter with Japan
came when | was doing some
work for a client and phoned
Tokyo for some information,”
recalled Bumstead. ‘‘When I[
couldn’t even get past ‘hello,’ I
realized I needed some
background before going any fur-
ther.”*

He folded his business, jumped
behind the wheel of a limo, and
set his sights on the International
Business Program at Langara.

That was four years ago, and
Bumstead is now counting the
days till he meets with his host
family — whose daughter he met
while she was on a one-year
working holiday in Vancouver —
outside Osaka.

Though fluent in the grammar
of the Japanese language,
Bumstead will be learning the in-
tricacies of its vocabulary during
his six-month stay in Osaka.

One of the first cultural shocks
for him was the $5,000 deposit
needed to secure an apartment in
Japan. He only gets half the
money back when he vacates,

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But it seems little will stop this
dedicated, enthusiatic entrepreneur
on his quest to knock down
perceived cultural barriers and
create a trading environment that
runs counter to what seems to be
a one-way street.

Upon completion of his study
term in Tokyo, Bumstead is hop-
ing to land a job with a Japanese
consulting firm.

But in the meantime he has al-
ready set up a trading house in
Vancouver, and he plans to regis-
ter an affiliate office when he ar-
rives in Japan.

“Canadians make products that
are unique to our country,’’ he
said. ‘“‘The Japanese know this,
but no one here seems to be doing
anything about it.’

After meeting with Bumstead, I
had the distinct feeling that is
about to change.

NORTH VANCOUVER‘'S Jefi
Bumstead is ail smiles as he
prepares for the experience of
a lifetime exploring Japanese
society.

__ CARTOONS
BATMAN, NINJA TURTLES,
SIMPSONS, MANY MORE,

: fog muewsiesen SO OFF reg. pico

Wednesday, August 1992 - North

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Shore News - 45