Will students Nihon-GO on the Japan trip?
Sensei and students
October 8, 2021
The long-awaited Japan trip has been rescheduled to occur in June for Sullivan Sensei and her students. However, with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, nothing is set in stone.
Sensei mentioned that if she and her students were able to go, they would all have to be vaccinated and would have to wear masks the entire time. However, even with everyone being fully vaccinated she said that on top of a negative COVID test, the students would still have to quarantine for 10 days, which is 3 days more than the trip is planned on being in total. If these restrictions are still in place by June, Sensei said that the trip would have to be postponed again.
Amongst all of this, she said that she is trying to stay hopeful that the restrictions will loosen up by the time that the trip comes around. She said that students always love the trip, and they go to a variety of locations in Japan, such as the Harajuku district in Tokyo to see alternative fashion styles. She also explained how the group stays in a traditional Japanese Inn with a view of Mt. Fuji.
Sensei said, “This trip is important for students so they can apply their language skills that they have worked hard to improve, [it’s like] coming full circle in their language skills.”
Having students communicate with locals on their own while being away from their family gives them a feeling of independence.
She also spoke about how important the Japan trip or any trip is for any of the students that go on them.
“[Going on these trips] expands international mindedness and allows students to see different perspectives. I would pay for everyone to go to Japan if I could – It can change your life,” Sensei said.
Jae Lareau, a Junior, is planning on going on the trip.
“I’m looking forward to [learning about] the historical aspects of the buildings we see,” Lareau said. She is also excited to “improve [her] speaking skills and become more independent away from [her] family.”
Logan Deal, a senior Japanese student, said, “I am probably looking forward most to visiting Kyoto. I’m really excited to see Kinkaku-ji temple and visiting Shinto shrines.”
Deal also stated that this experience would be very important to him as he is planning on minoring in Japanese in college. “I hope it will help me understand the culture better before I study the language in college”, he said.
