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Helen Joseph of Cassiar,
‘B.C. travelled to Japan-this
’ summer as a result of her
~ award winning essay (see

June/71 issue of Asbestos
Sheet) and was sponsored by
the local Lions Club,

The following is a brief
outline of Helen's trip and
experiences while travelling
in Japan.

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Helen in Japanese dress.

As + think back on my six
weeks in Japan, | can recall
nothing but happy memories.
Everything was so great!

The people are all so fan-
tastic. | met many beaut-
iful people in the short

6 weeks and | love them all.
| only wished | could have
had the chance to know them
better. The Japanese people
are the kindest and the
.most generous people I've
ever known. I've learned
$0 many things from them
“and | miss them the most.

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The idea of having one
host family during the Ex-
change is a great idea. |
was able to learn and ex-
perience simple family
living. My host family went
beyond my expectations with
their kindness and goodwill.
While living with them, |
always felt very much at
ease and comfortable in
their home. I learned to
love them as much as my
own parents.

| visited many places and
they were all so green and
beautiful. tn Nara, |. saw
the biggest Buddha I'11
ever see. In Kyoto, | wat-
ched the Japanese parade of
the multi-colored floats
and the people chanting the-
ir traditional songs. in
Kobe, | saw the performance
of the Takarazuka girls
which was the most outstand-
ing thing | have ever seen
in my entire life. In
Hiroshima, at the Peace
Memorial Museum, | saw some-
of the remains of the dest-
ruction caused by the

Hime jt castle, ‘limo City.

atomic bomb. I've seen so
many things, it's hard to
recall everything at once
and put it down on a piece
of: paper.

| was really fascinated
how the old Japan and the
new Japan are both so vis-
ible in both the home and
the- tourist sites. The hom-
es have both T.V. sets and
their Japanese style rooms.
You can also see ancient
shrines and palaces and then
visit one of the multi-
storied department stores.

The Japanese food had
raised my interest. Every-
thing was so different but
| was willing to try any-.
thing once. And in doing
so | found things | liked
and things | didn't like.
For example, ''Sukiyaki'' is
delicious but by far ''Sushi!!
or raw fish has to be the
most controversial.

It's very hard for me to
convey my emotions for my
feelings of Japan. | en-
joyed my 6 weeks experience
in Japan very much and wish
that 1 could return again
to visit all the friends |
have acquired during my stay
in Japan,

| really feel the Youth

Exchange Program is fantas-

tic. 1 have learned
so much about Japan ~
and it's people. |

would like to thank
' the Lions Club who
has made this the most
wonderful summer of

my life.

Thank you,

Helen Joseph

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