{"id":74547,"date":"2019-09-23T10:46:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T14:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=74547"},"modified":"2019-09-23T11:05:22","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T15:05:22","slug":"culture-curriculum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2019\/09\/23\/culture-curriculum\/","title":{"rendered":"Culture curriculum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wright State students spent two weeks in Japan as part of the university’s Japan Ambassador Program.<\/p><\/div>\n

There were visits to shrines, government offices, retail stores and Hiroshima, the city leveled by an atomic bomb during World War II. But staying at the homes of Japanese families may have been the highlight of a study abroad trip to Japan in July for 10 Wright State University students.<\/p>\n

Each student stayed with two Japanese families in Okayama or Kurashiki and in Akiota.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students were integrated into whatever the Japanese family was doing,\u201d said Wakiuru Wamwara, associate professor of marketing who led the trip. \u201cOne of the goals of the trip was to learn about Japanese culture and business. It was a really good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip was part of Wright State\u2019s Japan Ambassador Program<\/a>. It is connected to the Kake Institute and based primarily in Okayama, a city in western Japan known for its 16th century castle, 15th century shrine and iconic formal garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the longest partnerships Wright State has had,\u201d said Wamwara. \u201cStudents have been going to Japan and Japanese students have been coming to Wright State for 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

From July 1-15, the students visited Okayama, Akiota, Choshi City, Hiroshima and Tokyo. They met with government leaders, including a governor and mayors.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to meet the mayor and shake hands with the governor was an honorable experience worth noting and very much appreciated, especially the little gifts that they gave us all,\u201d said student Jasmine Warren.<\/p>\n

The students visited temples and shrines as well as college campuses, a museum, a park and a hot spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one of the temples they encouraged us to cultivate thyself and Japan\u2019s beautiful countryside of Akiota,\u201d said MBA student Michelle Gigante. \u201cEndless green mountaintops cast with streaks of fog made it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, students participated in festivals and visited several campuses in Okayama and Chiba, where they attended lectures and a fine arts workshop. Kara Thornbury, a fine arts major, was able to get a private lesson in making bizen ware, a traditional Japanese pottery.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to practice one of the mediums I love in a country I was dying to see was fantastic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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The students laid a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Park.<\/p><\/div>\n

The group, which included four MBA graduate students, also visited several Japanese retail stores to see how the merchandise was organized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Japanese are very big on packaging,\u201d said Wamwara. \u201cThey use a lot of plastics. You go into a grocery store, and a banana is in a package. The candy is beautifully packaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

MBA student Cameron Chinn said Japan has many vending machines that sell different teas, sodas and milk-based beverages.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt stores that accept credit cards, they will accept your card with both hands and treat it very carefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Choshi, the students donned yukatas, traditional Japanese summer kimonos that are worn at outdoor summer events such as hanabi, or fireworks displays.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s best if you experience the world for yourself,\u201d said student Alliah Turner. \u201cYou can learn so much from other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students also went to the Miyajima Shinto Shrine, a UNESCO heritage site on the island of Itsukushima best known for its “floating” torii gate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned about Japanese history by participating in their practices at the shrines and was taught about the effects of war at the Hiroshima museum,\u201d said Thornbury.<\/p>\n

In Hiroshima, the students met with a survivor of the atomic bombing of the city in 1945 during World War II and laid a wreath at Hiroshima Peace Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very, very moving and very impactful,\u201d said Wamwara.<\/p>\n

Thornbury said the whole visit enabled her to meet her academic and personal goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn this trip I created memories that I didn\u2019t think I would ever have,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this program made it possible for me to have to the life-changing experience I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students on the trip also included Deven Baldasare, Yesenia Boling, Nicole Dona, Michael Groll and Nichole McMullan.<\/p>\n

In September, Wright State hosted Japanese students as part of the same exchange. On Sept. 11, the students along with President Cheryl B. Schrader planted a cherry blossom tree near the university\u2019s Garden for the Senses to symbolize the success of the program.<\/p>\n

The University Center for International Education will host the Education Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Student Union Atrium from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information visit wright.edu\/events\/education-abroad-fair-1.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State students spent two weeks in Japan as part of the university’s Japan Ambassador Program. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":74555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,748,725,715,4295,2113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-business","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-study-abroad","category-university-center-for-international-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74547"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74575,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74547\/revisions\/74575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}