Some Springbank Community High School students and staff just returned from the school’s first field trip to Japan.
“We initially proposed a central Europe trip, but with all that’s been going on in Europe the school board thought it was best we didn’t go,” explained Thomas Sawchuk, the teacher co-ordinator for the trip.
He said after that, the students chose Japan instead.
“Some of the kids requested Japan because they learned about it in junior high school. Other kids just wanted to see it because it’s so different. And then other kids love manga and anime and electronics so that was their draw,” Sawchuck said.
For Burke Simpson, a Grade 9 student that attended the trip, visiting Japan had been on her bucket list for a number of years.
“I’ve always wanted to go, I like the idea of how their culture functions and it got to the point where my parents just wanted to send me there,” Simpson said with a laugh.
Ethan White, a Grade 11 student that also went on the trip, made the decision to participate for the experience
“Japan was just a culture I’d never been to before – I’ve never been anywhere in Asia. So I just decided to go,” White explained.
Through the company Evolve Tours, the school sent 41 students and six chaperones on a 12-day excursion. Guided by Tessa Lewis the tour company, the group visited various sites and locations with Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Kyoto.
“The guides are something that can make or break a trip and she definitely added to our experience, especially as she had lived there,” Sawchuk said.
Both White and Simpson agree that trip met all of their expectations and the experience was one they will remember for a lifetime.
“I was a bit surprised sometimes with just how respectful their culture was, I read about it and I knew that, but it was just how it all came together and how everyone can make this life better,” Simpson said.
Both students would recommend the trip to other students and schools because of the opportunities it provides.
“It’s a very unique trip and not very many people get that sort of experience, I would very highly recommend it. I would go back in an instant – I could spend the entire trip in Tokyo. I could go back there for months and I’d still find stuff to do,” White said.
“I loved it so much. Actually my parents are thinking they want to plan a family trip back there now because I loved it so much, I just want to go back,” Simpson added.
Though the school generally rotates the field trips it takes each year, Sawchuk anticipates the school will plan a trip to Japan again in the future.
“Seeing certain places like Hiroshima definitely has an impact on the kids, and you get the different perspective … It’s very eye-opening,” Sawchuk explained.
