Students and staff are prepping for a trip of a lifetime to Japan this spring.
On March 24, 67 students and eight staff members of Bow Valley High School (BVHS) will be landing in Tokyo for a two-week immersive education experience.
The students will be toted to historic sites and temples, given opportunities to explore areas in small groups and get to know their peers and Japanese locals, but teachers say the benefits will extend years after returning home.
“We’ve all been trying to build up our knowledge,” said Riley Paffrath, a Grade 11 student, whose birthday falls on the day they arrive in Tokyo. “It will be really interesting to see a completely different culture.”
For many of the student’s, the trip represents the first time leaving Canada and North America. Paffrath , said his biggest worry is figuring out how to communicate with Japanese people if language fails.
“I like to be able to communicate with people so it will be hard if they don’t speak English that well. It will be a large communication barrier so that will be scary,” he said. “But we’ve learned some Japanese basic sayings, how to say yes and no.”
Beyond learning an aspect of the global community, BVHS teacher Scott Allard said the students often develop a curiosity to explore the world afterward.
“You get a bunch of kids that get the itch to travel. They get to see there’s more than just Canada. I’ve had a couple parents say ‘my son is now an avid traveller, I never thought I’d get him out the door,’” Allard said. “The whole idea is for them to get some sort of cultural exchange. Get to see another culture, another community, a bit of history.”
Corina Bauer, another of the eight BVHS teachers attending the trip, said students get a lesson in character building and a sense of the world beyond the town.
“They’re seeing a different society, a different environment. It makes them realize how secluded we are in our own little niche here in Cochrane. Things are a little bit different. It makes them grow as a person and figure out how to do things on their own without mom and dad constantly being there to hand them everything.”
With travel also comes the sense of self-strength, Bauer explained – students learn what they’re capable of. In addition, students have the chance to work with peers that are either younger or older who they would not likely cross paths with if it weren’t for the trip.
“That’s the neat thing with it being cross curricular – we have Grade 9s to Grade 12s – they make some of those relationships that they never would have made in the school or community before too,” Bauer said.
The school has taken students on trips like this before – many times in Europe – but it’s the first time they are set for Japan.
“Japan has such rich cultural heritage and scientific stuff – interesting things with volcanoes, with buildings and structures. We’re quite looking forward to it,” Bauer said.
The group is set to arrive in Tokyo on March 28.
