The 32nd batch of Japanese college students aboard the Fuji-maru ship arrived on island yesterday full of anticipation on the many wonders Saipan has to offer.<\/p>\n
Six hundred young individuals brought with them willingness to learn more about the CNMI culture and the island way of life.<\/p>\n
During their first day of visit, foreign students were exposed to a cultural exchange activity where they openly interacted with CNMI’s youth on many aspects of the indigenous culture at the Micro Beach Park.<\/p>\n
Local students took turns showing the guests the basics in local craftsmanship mainly using environment-friendly makeshift materials.<\/p>\n
Foreign students watched in awe as Saipan students weaved hats from palm leaves, decorated a perfect halo with colorful flowers (mwar), and drank fresh liquid from a coconut shell.<\/p>\n
Soon the Japanese students were imitating the acts totally new to them, much to their enjoyment.<\/p>\n
The foreign delegates also enjoyed being enlightened on Micronesia’s very own ancient tradition — canoeing.<\/p>\n
They also took time to dip into the tempting beaches for a quick swim despite minor episodes of rain.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, they also participated in a planting activity headed by Marianas Visitors Authority officials and Wakai Nekko No Kai Foundation president Hideo Kato, marking 32 years of friendship with the Northern Mariana Islands.<\/p>\n
The Fuji-maru ship arrived here on Saipan early yesterday morning where people aboard the carrier were welcomed by Governor Pedro P. Tenorio, local officials and representatives from the Pacific Development Inc.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the yearly trip is to foster closer links between Japan and the CNMI, consequently establishing a venue to learn from each other’s cultures and backgrounds.<\/p>\n
The trip is part of the Wakai Nekko No Kai University curriculum which in essence allows students to take a boat trip to experience endless sky and ocean.<\/p>\n
Only through limiting themselves within the bounds of the ship can they totally connect with each other, try to overcome the differences of ages and organization, and establish a wonderful friendship by understanding each other.<\/p>\n
For them, international travel with Saipan as well as Guam for over half a century is not just a leisure travel but an opportunity for them to understand the world.<\/p>\n
The foreign delegation also uses this opportunity to take time to visit Japanese soldiers who perished in World War II. (MM)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 32nd batch of Japanese college students aboard the Fuji-maru ship arrived on island yesterday full of anticipation on the many wonders Saipan has to offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}