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Recent grad serves as cultural attaché in Japan

Posted on Oct 09, 2008

Last summer Laura Boynton,’08 didn’t find a summer job. She didn’t lifeguard, or wait on tables or dish out scoops of ice cream. She didn’t make any extra money for college.  Instead, she found a country and a people that would change her life and the way in which she views her world. Selected as the only student from the entire New England states, Laura was immersed in a cultural and diplomatic exchange with the people of Japan, spending an entire month as a cultural attaché to a program known as High School Diplomats (HSD). 

HSD is a cultural exchange program for both American and Japanese students. The United Sates High School Diplomats program has been in effect since 1994. One of the many goals of the program is to spread international understanding among high school students. Another hope of the program is to create meaningful friendships.

Laura’s trip to Japan was preceded by a two-week summer language immersion at Princeton University where she studied Japanese language and expression as well as cultural traditions such as tea ceremony and draping of the yukata. “Last summer was our introductory course to the people and the culture of Japan,” Laura began. “My roommate, Ayaka, who spoke only marginal English, and I, who spoke no Japanese at all, were able to communicate on the most basic of levels - friendship and mutual respect. I came away with a best friend who lives on the other side of the world and an understanding that the world has so much more to offer than I ever thought possible.” 

At Princeton the American students were educated in the Japanese language and the Japanese students, conversely, in English as a Second Language. Additionally, each day heralded its own theme: Halloween day, dress-as-your-country day, sports team day and festival day. “One of my favorite memories from the Princeton program was Japanese Festival day, when the Japanese girls dressed all the American girls in yukatas. They were so happy to share that piece of their traditional culture with us, and so proud of the richness of their heritage.”

The 25 American student diplomats of HSD were first brought to Washington, D.C. where they received special diplomatic and customs clearances. Once arriving at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Laura and the other diplomats, who represented high schools from as far away as West Virginia and Michigan, were treated to two weeks of touring around the country, logging in stays at Buddhist temples in the mountains, visits to the famed Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Disney and historical excursions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “In Japan, we were afforded opportunities that only come to some once in a lifetime. As a group, we met the mayor of Hiroshima and he spoke to us about his plan for peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons. To say it was a powerful afternoon is an understatement,” Laura said.  “We were guests at a baseball game in Osaka, meditated with a Buddhist monk on a mountaintop, toured Zen-inspired gardens, ate more than our fair share of the ubiquitous Bento lunches and crawled through a hole in a pillar in a temple to reach enlightenment,” she added with a touch of nostalgia.

“While I was away, I transferred the Lauralton mantra of mercy into another culture where it was beautifully appreciated,” Laura began. “While living with my home-stay family, I was treated to real Japanese karaoke and sashimi, the latter of which is surprisingly delicious with a touch of soy sauce.” But it wasn’t all play and no work.  Laura spent hours in language class and several afternoons in a language lab, trying to perfect her understanding of the Japanese idiomatic expressions. Still, the HSD program offered a unique twist: “We were part of an initiative and a way of thinking that connected countries by first connecting their people. While in HSD, I made some of the best friends of my life - Japanese and American alike.” For more information on the High School Diplomats program, visit www.highschooldiplomats.com.

Laura is a member of the 200th graduating class of Hamilton College in New York where she is presently studying French, Comparative Literature and Japanese language and culture.
 



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