Following is the essay that Kat wrote that earned her a week-long trip to Ibigawa, Japan (see: http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/ibigawa/.) She will be traveling in November with five other 9th grade students. The attached photo is of Kat rappelling down a 300 ft cliff into Englestead Hollow.
It’s not every day you get a chance to take an educational excursion across the largest ocean on the face of the earth to one of the most culturally rich countries, to live with a host family and meet with students your age who live an entirely different way of life from yours. And here’s my chance. What else could better help expand your view of the world around you and help you understand the marvels that await beyond the red rocks of our beautiful city? When I became aware of the opportunity to make an attempt at the essay for this incredible experience, I knew I had to try.
It’s not every day you get a chance to take an educational excursion across the largest ocean on the face of the earth to one of the most culturally rich countries, to live with a host family and meet with students your age who live an entirely different way of life from yours. And here’s my chance. What else could better help expand your view of the world around you and help you understand the marvels that await beyond the red rocks of our beautiful city? When I became aware of the opportunity to make an attempt at the essay for this incredible experience, I knew I had to try.
Being able to share the magnificent culture of the United States and, more specifically, St George, would be an unsurpassed privilege. Of all the places I’ve been, nowhere can match the beauty, diversity, and culture of St George. With its red mountains and artistic desert-scapes colored with rich history and garnished by unique traditions, it is a compilation of highlights that deserves to be spread as far as possible. St. George is organized, well balanced, and extremely efficient. It’s got excellent leadership, countless community activities including sports, drama, and music, and has wonderful public facilities. It’s a wonderful place to live, and I feel I’d be a good person to help share its incredible culture.
Of all the countless potential experiences, I believe that being able to live with a Japanese host family would be the most rewarding. Sharing in their culture in such a complete way would be an excellent learning experience that would go on to help me in later life. Exchange experiences are difficult and intimidating for some, but I believe that the change would be a welcome and exciting one. It would be enormously educational and a wonderful way to enjoy our time there in Japan.
The opportunity to appreciate a new culture is very straight forward. I have never been to Japan, but have always been utterly fascinated with their entire way of life- their exceptional etiquette, their architecture, religion, fashion, literature, government, and every other remarkable aspect of their country. Not only that, but the unique geography and how they adapt to it, their climate, the plants and animals native to Japan, and their amazing history are all features of the country that I find exceedingly intriguing.
An educational trip to Japan would be an amazing experience that I would be honored and excited to have.
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