Students from the other side of the planet have received a warm welcome in Okotoks.
Eighteen students from the Konan Girls’ Junior and Senior High School in Kobe, Japan arrived in Okotoks on July 29, where they were greeted at the Foothills Centennial Centre by local families who would host them for the next two weeks as they study English and experience Canadian culture.
The students are taking part in an ESL program weekdays but are also touring the area to see the sights. The Japanese contingent, which includes a teacher and two chaperones, has already visited Olde Towne, Seaman Stadium, the Big Rock, the Okotoks Museum, Bar U Ranch, Heritage Park and more.
Student Aoi Sumioka hit her first hardball during the tour of Seaman Stadium.
“My favourite experience so far was when I took a tour of the (Seaman) baseball stadium,” said Sumioka during an interview, for which she prepared answers in English. “I was looking forward to this because I love baseball and belong to a softball club in Japan.”
While at first, Sumioka was nervous at the prospect of staying with strangers in a foreign country, she found her Okotoks hosts warm and welcoming.
“I was very nervous before I met my host family, what kind of person is she?” Sumioka said. “But my host mother Vivianne is a very nice person and loves interesting things.”
Another pleasant surprise for the student was Canada's vast landscape.
“Japan is so small, but Canada is so big,” Sumioka said, adding visiting the Okotoks Erratic really drove that home.
“The Big Rock was very impressive – I was surprised there are so many big stones in this field."
A major part of visiting any country is, of course, trying the local cuisine, as Sumioka did.
One of her favourite Canadian foods? Bagels.
