BHS North students to head to Japan despite recent crisis

This summer, nine students from Bloomington High School North along with one teacher, Molly Jeon, a Japanese instructor at BHS North, and one chaperon, will board a plane and fly to Japan.

They will spend June 20 to July 4 immersing themselves in the Japanese language and culture they have studied throughout their years at BHS North.

“The trip has actually been trying to come together for the past few years,” said Joan Manning, mother of one of the students.

She said despite the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan, all of the parents met and decided they wanted their kids to go and have the experience of travelling outside of the United States.

“The opportunities outweighed the risk,” Manning said. She added that the parents have talked with people who live in the area where the children will be visiting and that they have told the parents that the area is safe to visit.
Jeon said she also spoke with a local and he informed her “there is more radiation on a daily basis in Denver, Colo. than in the areas where they will be going.”

The students have planned to start off in Tokyo and visit Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, and Gunma, as well as taking “smaller day trips” during the two weeks they spend there, Jeon said.

There will be a fundraiser at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the BHS North auditorium to help the group pay for the cost of the trip. The school’s former music teacher — who is Japanese — will play the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument, and Jeon will sing.

The cost is $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for students — including those enrolled at IU. A valid student ID is required.

“We talk about temples and shrines and festivals and things like that,” Joen said, “but it’s a lot different to understand and just experience that.”