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Japanese teen makes once-in-a-lifetime visit it A i Adi RATT VE BE ot io tia ly FEIPREIRCIRRS (REAL C OIE SRS La i A ER NERS As the crow flies it's a long way from Port Perry to Tokyo, like about 8,000 miles. And the distance between the way of life in the small Ontario town and one of the largest cities in the world is probably even farther. But 16 year old Masayo Urushidani isn't phased in the least by long distances or the differences in language, culture and way of life between Port Perry and Tokyo. In fact, she has done something few Japanese girls her age ever get the chance to do: travel to a distant country on her own for a three week visit to see the sights and try to im- prove her English. Masayo, an outgoing bubbly teen- ager with a ready smile has been dividing her time as a guest at the Dr. Bill Cohoon family farm just north of Port Perry and with the O'Reilly family in town. Like any tourist, she has been tak- ing in the sights and attractions of southern Ontario (Wonderland, Niagara Falls, Toronto) and work- ing hard to improve her conversa- tional English. She hopes to even- tually attend university, study English and become a teacher. It is not surprising that one of her major impressions of this country is the amount of open space: the farm fields, the groves of trees, even the distances between houses. She lives in a suburb of Tokyo where space is at a premium and virtually every square meter is used. And she has found the everyday meals here different from what she is used to at home. Beef, pork and chicken are staples of the average diet in Canada. And Masayo says she misses rice which is eaten with every meal at home, including breakfast. : Even when rice is served with a Canadian meal, she is surprised to see people pouring soya sauce over it. In Japan, rice is consumed by itself without garnishes of salt, pep- per or soya sauce. One aspect of Canadian life which Masayo found perplexing is the habit of leaving shoes on in the house. The Japanese remove their shoes and slip into slippers, often when going from room to room. Just how Masayo was able to make the trip to Canada this sum- mer is an interesting story in itself and it began a year ago when she met Sheila O'Reilly at an interna- tional camp in Japan. Sheila was teaching English at this camp and was impressed by Masayo's efforts to learn this new language. Sheila, a Port Perry native who had been in Japan teaching English about a year, suggested that Masayo should come to Canada, not really believing that such a visit would ever come to pass. Sheila, who has since returned to Canada and is now working as a nurse at Sick Kid's Hospital, was a bit surprised when Masayo con- tacted her and said she was on her way to Canada this summer. It is unusal for Japanese families to per- mit their teenage daughters to travel abroad alone. Masayo's family checked with the international camp on Sheila's references, and agreed to let their only child come to this country. However, since Sheila is working and not in a position to act as host in Toronto for three weeks for the young visitor, she was grateful when the Cohoon family readily agreed to allow Masayo to stay part of the time at the farm and get a taste of rural life. Kelly, Zuly, Greenway, Bruce 'BARRISTERS and SOLICITORS Motor Vehicle -- Criminal Personal Injury -- Willis Real Estate -- Family Law Corporate & Commercial EVENINGS & WEEKENDS BY APPOINTMENT 114 King St. E., Oshawa 723-2278 5 D&D HEATING BROOKLIN 655-8792 One of our representatives will provide a FREE NO OBLIGATION Authorized Clomynnyve a ~ € joe eink FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1953 Installation & Service of Residential & Commercial Heating & Air Conditioning Systems. Manufacturers Duct & Fittings HEATING LIMITED 120 MIDWEST ROAD (Unit 18) SCARBOROUGH (416) 757-1583 Masayo Urushidani, 16, has returned home to Tokyo after a three week visit to the Port Perry area where she stayed with the Cohoon family and with Lynn (left) and Sheila O'Reilly. Masayo worked hard to improve her English and hopes Sheila returned to Canada last August after a fascinating year in Japan working as a teacher of con- versational English. It was of little consequence that Sheila hardly knew a word of Japanese as there is a- strong demand for teachers of conversational English. And no sooner had Sheila arrived back in Canada when her sister Lynn packed her bags and headed for Tokyo last September. Lynn is now at home for a month long visit but will return to Japan this September with plans to stay indefinitely. Lynn, a Queens University grad in physical education and English had no trouble landing a full time job as an editor of technical journals destined for English language publications. The journals are writ- "ten in English by Japanese specialists, but they require heavy editing and re-vamping before they are suitable for publication. Lynn also works about six hours each week in her spare time as a private English language tutor. For Lynn, living and working in one of the world's largest and most crowded cities has been an ex- perience. Just as Masayo was amaz- ed at the open spaces of Canada, Lynn was amazed at how little space there is in Tokyo. The stories of several million commuters jam- ming into the subway cars each day are true. the place for ... CHICKEN & RIBS featuring. ... Salad Bar, Children's Menu - and 'more! LOCATED on HWY. 12 Just south of Thickson Rd. 655-8911 PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, August 11, 1987 -- 29 Lynn's 'apartment' in an older building in downtown Tokyo is one room, smaller than most North American living rooms. She pays $650 a month for this accommoda- "tion. Private homes in Tokyo are few and beyond the reach of all but the very wealthy. Still, she says these crowded con- ditions do not prevail everywhere in Japan. Outside Tokyo in the rural areas there are fewer apartments and more individual homes of com- parable size to homes in Canada. As for those notorious stories that western tourists bring home from Tokyo about the cost of a hotel room, the cost of a meal in a restaurant or even the cost of a single Scotch and water, both Lynn and Sheila stress that living in Tokyo is no more expensive thar Toronto. Sure, they say, if you stay in the best hotel, eat in the top restaurant: and shop in the most fashionable districts, the prices are sky-high But the same can be said for Toron to, New York or P Day to day shopping in the numerous outdoor markets is reasonable, and accommodation though small and cramped by ow standards, can be no more expen sive than Toronto. Wages are high. Lynn, for exam ple, earns about $20 per hour as ar English editor and more for private tutoring in this language. Sheila saic that during her year working anc living in-Tokyo, she saved money Getting around in Tokyo can be ¢ major chore in itself. The system o: subways and above-ground rai transport is one of the best and mos! efficient in the world (the trains ar rive on the dot). But the system follows the streets which run ir every directioh (not neat north south or east-west grids like mos! North American cities). As a result a trip by subway to cover a straighi line distance of a mile may actual ly cover several miles and take a long time withrtransfers and so on. A map of the rail and subway system for greater Tokyo looks like a plate of spaghetti. Lynn purposely chose to begin her work day at 10 a.m. to avoid the ear- ly morning crush hour on the Tokyo transit system. She leaves her office at 6 p.m. and misses most of the crush going home as well. Lynn admits the crowded living conditions and the ever present Many miles between Port Perry and Tokyo eventually to teach that language. Lynn O'Reilly is presently working in Tokyo and Sheila spent a year in Japan teaching English. (See story for some accounts of their experiences in Japan and Masayo's first impressions of Canada). 'throngs of people take a lot of get- ting used to and she greatly enjoys the weekends when she can get away from Tokyo to the relative tranquility of the countryside. Ski- ing is very popular with the Japanese and there are excellent resorts in the mountains not too far from the capital. The English language in recent years has become almost faddishly popular in Japan, especially among the younger people. Stores will pro- udly hang a sign saying 'English spoken here," although often it turns out the clerks know little more than a few halting words. And t-shirts with anything in English on the front are enormous- ly popular. Both Sheila and Lynn say they have chuckled aloud at some of the literal English expres- sions found on t-shirts worn by Japanese teenagers. They recall seeing one young man sporting a pink t-shirt with the words 'Baby under Construction' on the front. He obviously didn't know what that meant, but as long as it was an English expression, he'd wear it. But the desire among people in the business community to learn English is very serious, especially everyday conversational English, the kind that can't be learned in a high school grammar class. This is the reason why native English speaking people from Canada, the United States and other countries have no trouble getting permits for work as teachers, editors and translaters. And it's also one of the reasons why 16 year old Masayo wanted so badly to journey to Canada for a visit this summer. A little "extra schooling" in English won't hurt her ambition to go to university and eventually teach this language. The competition among Japanese high school students for places in the universities is fierce. They attend classes six days each week and many take additional courses in the evening. In fact, the attitude towards high school and university is almost a reversal of the way things are North America where many students breeze through high school enjoying the sports and social life and then "knuckle down to the books at the university level. Japanese students go to a lot of hard work and effort to get into university, and then they take things "a little easier."