ブックタイトルa-history-of-international-exchanges00

概要

a-history-of-international-exchanges00

- 24 -≪Encounters with Miyazaki (1)≫～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～Miyazaki ? Evergreen Student ExchangeSusan FiksdalFormer Academic DeanThe Evergreen State College, U.S.A.By all accounts, the student exchange negotiated by Miyazaki Universityand The Evergreen State College was a huge success. When the exchangefirst began, I was unaware of it as my focus was on French language andliterature. I met Sachie Koganemaru and, later, her sister, Eiko when theyenrolled at Evergreen and needed help with writing. We wrote an individualcontract together and met weekly to discuss writing styles, particularly theWestern essay which requires an introduction, a thesis statement, and anargument supporting the thesis. This is quite different than the style used inJapan I discovered! Both students improved their essay structure and theirvocabulary quite rapidly.Mr. Hirase reminded me that Chelsea Blackburn was also a Miyazakiexchange student. She was from American Samoa and had enrolled in a dualdegree program called Running Start. In this program, she earned universitycredit as she studied in high school. Subsequently, she enrolled in MiyazakiUniversity and then became an exchange student at Evergreen. Since Englishwas her native language, she had many advantages, but I recall thinking thatit might have been better for her to attend university longer so that she wouldhave a deeper understanding of her academic studies.After my involvement with the Koganemaru sisters, I met Mr. Hirase andMr. Butterworth each time they visited Evergreen, and I learned a great dealabout the exchange. I know that the support they provided in teachingJapanese and explaining Japanese culture enriched our students’ experiencesenormously.Mr. Hirase and Mr. Butterworth became friends and our friendship wasdeepened when I traveled to Miyazaki in 1997. I had become an academicdean in charge of International Studies as well as other duties in 1996. Ourprovost at the time was Barbara L Smith, and she decided we needed to visitMiyazaki University and Kobe University of Commerce in order to strengthen