4
March
Student witnesses cultural differences in Japan
u HlLLI ClAVARELLO____________
Staff Reporter
Julian Rollinson spent
the first half of this school
year being the "weird
American." The 5'11",
blond, Dutch-born senior
spent the semester studying
in Japan where he was
completely immersed in
Japanese culture during his
stay. The Japan-US Mutual
Understanding Program,
JUMP, was his program of
choice.
"I stayed with a host
family in Miyagi prefecture
in the city of Sendai. It's
about two hours east of
Tokyo via the train. I went
to 'North East Life Style
and Cultural School of
Higher Education/ and all
of my courses were taught
in Japanese. I was basically
living, breathing, thinking
and feeling Japanese,"
Rollinson said.
Rollinson became a
Japanese enthusiast after
starting his study of the
language freshman year.
During his sophomore year,
he hosted an exchange
student from Kyoto, and the
following summer he went
to Japan for the first time.
"I'm not 130 percent sure
why I picked Japanese,
but I'm glad that I did
because of the enormous
opportunities and
experiences it's opened up
for me," Rollinson said.
As well as being occupied
by the Japanese language,
Rollinson was also occupied
by art during his stay. He
was enrolled in his school's
art program, and took
classes ranging from pottery,
to art sketch, to art studies.
"The style professors
used to teach was really
insane. It was basically an
hour of them lecturing;
there weren't any group
activities or involvement
with the class. It also wasn't
as intensive as the classes
here at West Linn, because
over there students received
almost no homework at
all. But I really enjoyed it
because of all the art classes
I was able to participate in,"
Rollinson said.
Rollinson also saw a huge
cultural difference while in
Japan.
"People are really not
open at all; when they
communicate things, it's
being respectful," Rollinson
said.
But even with the cultural
difference, Rollinson was
able to break down personal
boundaries.
Daiichi Kurosawa, and Julian Rollinson, senior, visit Okinawa Beach,
Japan. Besides attending school in Japan for a semester, Rollinson
visited Tokyo Disneyland, Kokusai Doori and Roppongi Hills.
Photo submitted by Julian Rollinson
always through a really
roundabout manner. But
also, respect is kind of a
really big deal. There are
four different forms of
Japanese, three of them
"I became able to adapt
to new situations and
environments quickly—
adjusting to a completely
different culture than that
of America. Because of
Bailey chosen to be new p rin c ip a l*
urn Principal named________ m job opening, as he had
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this, I made a lot of friends
in Japan that I will never
forget, and I had a lot of
good times," Rollinson said.
Rollinson was also able
to partake in the tourist
aspects of Japan, visiting
places like the Kokusai
Doori (International Road)
Okinawa, Roppongi Hills,
and Tokyo Disneyland. He
also enjoyed the food.
"I loved the food. It was
ridiculously delicious. My
host mom was sort of lazy
about cooking so when she
did decide to make food for
the family, it was always a
super exciting experience,"
Rollinson said.
Rollinson hopes to attend
Asia Pacific University, an
international university in
Oita prefecture Beppu City,
Japan, after high school.
"Right now I plan to
major in Japanese but I also
want to just live my life and
do whatever. Maybe make
a Pancake Robot to help
me engineer some Robotic
Pancakes," Rollinson said.
According to Bailey, he
feels at home already. "My
first experiences at WLHS
have been very positive.
There is a warm feeling
here, a sense of openness,
all the good makings for
a positive educational
atmosphere," Bailey said.
"The students are happy,
there is a professional
relationship between
staff and students. It’s
everything you would
want to find in a high
school. It's a school known
for strong academics,
motivated students with
high expectations for
themselves as well as a
tight knit community with
involved parents," he said.
Bailey officially begins
on July 1. However,
students are likely to see
him around the school
the remainder of the
school year, as he stresses
the importance .of being
interactive among students.
"You guys have so much
going on around here so
it shouldn't be difficult
to get my face out there,
especially for the current
freshman, sophomores and
juniors. I want the students
to get to know who I am,"
Bailey said.
Bailey did not have
to think twice when he
first heard about the
already heard of West
Linn's prestige and strong
reputation.
"Well, it's West Linn
High School," Lou Bailey
said, "What else needs
to be said? It’s one of
Lou Bailey
those schools that is just
exceptional in every way
possible. It is the premier
job for a principal."
Students, staff and
parents took part in
interviews with Bailey to
learn about him and to
provide feedback to Woehl.
The group included several
leadership students as well
as Julie Kahle, Secretary
to the Principal, Jamie
Welle, Student Services
Secretary, Michelle Olson,
counselor, Ron Chappell,
PE teacher, and Barbara
Fontana, Choir teacher.
Samantha Dewart, senior,
and Morgan Joscelyn,
sophomore, joined West,
Woehl and several other
administrators in the
scouting trip to Canby.
According to Bailey, he is
looking forward to learning
about the school and its
students, and developing
relationships and trust
from the start.
"I want to be a principal
who they [the students]
will know, because
establishing relationships is
very important to me. I'm
very excited, very honored
and very flattered to come
to WLHS," he said.
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