From Tokyo to Timmies: Japanese exchange students visiting Prince George

Those are just a small sample of many highlights the students pointed out, as other food like poutine was also regularly mentioned, as well as activities like skiing, skating, and visiting national parks like Jasper. This was also many of the students first time trying curling, and while a sport done entirely on ice takes some getting used to for students from Tokyo, the experience was still great.

“It (ice) is very smooth and it’s very scary but I’m excited,” commented a student.

The exchange experience is fantastic not just for the visitors, but also the Canadian students and families involved. Alison McNeil, the student exchange program coordinator, says having international visitors in our community also helps us appreciate some of the things we may take for granted.

“They (Canadians) ask, ‘why would they want to come to Prince George?’ Well, these students are from Tokyo, so they’ve never seen a sky full of stars. They’ve never seen a moose, they’ve never seen a deer or a bear or a beaver. And all of those things are so exciting for them. But on top of that, our families, we think that Prince George maybe is boring or doesn’t have anything to offer. Suddenly, they find all these really cool things to do, like ‘hey, did you know we could do this in Prince George?'” McNeil said.

The students will return to Tokyo tomorrow after seeing the best of what makes Canada our home.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your inbox every evening.

by Tommy Osborne

From Tokyo to Timmies: Japanese exchange students visiting Prince George

What's Trending