Chinook's Edge School Division schools are playing host to 40 international students from five different countries who are here to experience Canadian culture.
“I wanted to learn English,” said Grade 11 student Momoko Asano of why she came to Canada for the year. She arrived last January in Innisfail for a year of school and will return to Japan next month. Asano travelled here by herself and is currently staying with a host family.
“In Japan I was in a private school and had to wear a uniform,” she said of some of the differences in schooling. “Also we would have a homeroom and the teachers would come to us instead of here where we move from class to class.”
Some of the highlights for her have been getting to see Banff and Jasper as well as Victoria in B.C.
“But it's so cold,” she said of the downside.
“It starts in January and stays until April,” she added.
Other students in the division are from China, Australia, Germany and Mexico. They all stay with host families near the school they are attending.
Most of the students are in high school and study for an entire year. Chinook's Edge works with agencies to set up the program, particularly for the many students who are visiting from Japan.
“It's always a pleasure to be able to host visiting students from international communities,” said Chinook's Edge superintendent Kurt Sacher.
“Our school communities involved in this program gain a new friend, and come away much more enlightened about our global diversity and the unique significance each culture has to offer.”
Asano said sometimes students ask her about trendier teen interests that originate in Japan such as anime but said that's never been an interest of hers.
“But sometimes I bring some (Japanese) snacks or treats and they always love those,” she said.
Risa Shiota is another Japanese student at the Innisfail Junior/Senior High School studying at a Grade 10 level. She arrived in August and said she is looking forward to learning English. She noted that she chose Canada over the United States because she felt it was a safer country.
“I love the open skies and the beauty,” Shiota said of her first impressions.
She is also getting used to the chilly climate and said the small-town atmosphere is a different experience than the hustle of the city life she has experienced in Japan.
