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A Banquet
hounouring The Japanese
Group Study Exchange Teams
was held at the Portuguese
Club on Grand Avenue West
in Chatham. Rotarians,
spouses and friends of
Rotary from all eight
Canadian Rotary Clubs in
District 6380 attending the
dinner. There was a
fantastic turnout. Following
Dinner, power point
presentations from both the
Japanese GSE Team and the
Inbound Team from Japan were
made.
On May
2nd 2010 a Rotary
Group Study Exchange (GSE)
team from the Tochigi
Prefecture of Japan arrived
here in Chatham-Kent for a
six day stay. While in the
area, the team is hosted by
various Rotary Clubs and
stay with Rotarian families.
The GSE program was
developed to allow young
professionals an opportunity
to expand their knowledge
and understanding of foreign
cultures and learn how their
own vocations are carried
out in other countries. The
team members must be
business or professional
persons who are early in
their careers, and between
25 and 40 years old. This is
a reciprocal program, with
the local Rotary District
6380 having sent a team over
to Tochigi last fall.
This
year’s team is composed of
four young professional
people and a leader who is a
Rotarian from Rotary
District.
2550 in
Tochigi.
The
Prefecture of Tochigi is
located on the island of
Honshu. Prefectures are
defined as governmental
bodies larger than cities,
towns and villages. It
boasts a population of
slightly in excess of two
million inhabitants. The
capital city is Utsunomiya,
noted for its universities
and colleges and technical
sciences.
 The
group is lead by Yasushi
Nishida a retired Professor
Emeritus of Utsunomiya
University where he was an
experimental plasma
physicist. He is a member of
the Utsunomiya-Yohoku Rotary
Club. The team members are
Jun Hojo, 32 a ceramist, Eri
Aiko, 26 a nurse, Yoko
Arai, 25 a pianist and piano
instructor and Kaori
Ishikawa, 25, an
administrative clerk at
Utsonomiya University.
A
special banquet was held
their honour at the
Portuguese Canadian Social
Club on Wednesday May 5th.
All eight Rotary clubs in
the area rescheduled their
regular meetings to attend
the gala. The Japanese team
made a presentation about
themselves and their
homeland. At the end
of their week, a trip is
planned to Niagara Falls, a
favoured vacation
destination by many
Japanese. The team will then
return on Saturday May 8th
to the American side of the
District 6380 to continue
their experiences. Further
information about the Rotary
Group Study Exchange program
may be obtained by phoning
Wayne at 519-674-3192.
The District 6380 GSE
team which went to Tochigi
last fall shared their
experiences of time spent in
Japan.
Jennifer has written an
article regarding her
personal which can be
accessed here
(article).
Violinist, Heather Sarson
and Pianist,Yoko Arai
provided a wonderful
instrumental duet for the
crowd who gathered to honour
the teams.
Ruth Howell
photos
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