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Show ' ' " I " i ' Y ' ' "' s - f . I - ' t ' ' i ' -.' J.in ItMinud to do a tiuditionnl Jap.meso danco, a proj.rct which took an entii o month, she said. Each movement es exactly piesmhed. This, and tho fact that dances aio por formed so slowly, makes the dance very difficult and tiring. Sho is shown heio pi forming at the Rotary Anniversary. Along with other exchange students, sho also performed on television. Jan Mondale Recounts Year in Japan Jan Mondale, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jon Mondale, returned to Moab late this summer after a year in Japan us a Rotary exchange student. The language, both spoken and written, was her most difficult thing with which to contend. It took about 5 months, she recalls, to feel at ull comfortable with the Japanese language. The written language, she says, was even worse. After a year, she learned to recognie about 150 of the written characters, each of which stands for a word or concept. She noted wistfully that ull students must know the most basic 1.800 characters before graduation from the sixth grade, and the every ordinary Japanese knows at least 3. OCX). A Japanese scholar, she said, would know about 30.000 of the characters. In addition to the written characters, there is also a phonetic alphabet, which Jan learned while there. However, she said, it is a lengthy process to write phonetically, so the characters are a sort of short hand, and also the traditional writing. Asked what impressed her most about the country, she replied, it was the kindness and politeness of the people. The respect accorded elders by the youth was also impressive, she said. The discipline in the schools is tremendous. "You sit still in your chairs, and take notes. There's no visiting. And w hen the teacher conies in you stand up and bow. When he leaves you also stand and bow. and you bow in the hallways w hen you see a teacher," she related. Because of the difficulty with the language. Jan studied subjects where reading and writing were not important, such as English, home economics, econo-mics, physical education, and one period a day she went to the teachers room and received receiv-ed instruction in Japanese. None of the Japanese students asked questions of their teachers. It simply wasn't done, she said. Except that she was granted an exception, and became a cause of amazement for her continual contin-ual "Why?". Jan lived in a prefecture in the northwest portion of Japan in a tow n named Gojmne. There are about 5.000 people living in the town proper, she said, however in the general area known as Gojonie. there are about 15.000. She lived with 6 different families, most of whom had children who were her age. In the prefecture and a neighboring one, there were 7 other Rotary exchange students, all of whom she became acquainted with. Younger than many of Moab's exchange students. Jan did not complete high school before her year abroad, and she is now a senior at Grand County High School. |
