School Trip to Japan

Dear friends and family,

This year, I am a Junior in high school, and am currently in the class AP Japanese. This is my 5th year taking Japanese;  my Sensei has organized a trip to Japan after a completion of the course this year. The trip will take place from June 26 - July 10; Our itinerary is to visit places such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tatsuno and other various cities. The cost of Airfare and Hotel for part of the stay (booked through a Travel Agency) is close to $4,000; Meals and modest ‘Incidental Expenditures’ are estimated at near $1,500 bringing the total needed to $5,500.  ** Update June 7th - we were able to get the Travel Agency paid, however still a long way off...I have participated in a couple of other fundraising activities, and am doing some landscape work to try meeting my goal.  I want to thank those of you who have helped already, or are considering doing so, it means a lot, to me.  One day I hope to pay your kindness forward!

I was able to go on a class trip to Japan in 8th grade and it was an unbelievable and life-changing experience. During this time, I stayed with a host family for a number of days. This was an incredible experience as I could see first-hand, the daily life and activity of a Japanese family -- and even get to take part in it myself. I found it incredibly interesting, and only later realized just how important and significant that home-stay was. Everyday, I go through my life as an American person and am used to everything that I see, and up until that point I hadn't really thought about the experiences of others much different from me, such as my Japanese host family. Not only did I learn alot about the lives and roles of people in Japanese families, I was able to witness their cultural values and gain insight into their point of views.

Another astonishing experience on my first trip to Japan was visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. In school, I learned about the atomic bomb, but only about statistics and such that were very one sided. At this museum, I witnessed incredible artwork, exhibitions and videos that really opened my eyes to the true devastation of this event. Of course, I knew the facts -- but seeing the remnants and artifacts accompanied with stories and videos put it all into perspective for me. The museum helped me understand that war is almost pointless, and only good at killing people who don’t deserve to die, a conclusion I would’ve never came to if I had not traveled to Japan.

It is my hope to visit Japan again; this time I am a few years older and look to immerse myself in Japanese language and culture, with a greater freedom and maturity.

I will be attempting to raise as much money as I can for this trip myself, but I cannot do it alone. Any donation will be incredibly helpful, and greatly appreciated.

In the event that I exceed my goal or fall short and am unable to go on the trip, I will help a classmate(s) also trying to raise $, with as much as I can.

Thank you, Josh Peterson