Visiting the Land of the Rising Sun

Lynbrook High School student Evan Greif visited Japan in June, an opportunity that he described as a fantasy that became a reality. It was an eye-opening introduction to a country that Evan, 16, found particularly alluring.

“I fell in love with the Japanese culture in middle school,” he said. “I began watching Japanese television in seventh grade. By eighth grade, I started liking the Japanese culture as a whole.”

Evan’s fascination with Japan culminated when he applied for and won a scholarship from Youth For Understanding, an international exchange organization that offers trips abroad to young people. “I heard about the trip from a friend who went to Japan and I wanted to go,” Greif said. He was the only one from Lynbrook to join a group from all over the world including students from New York to Germany, for a six-week trip to Mashiko, a town in the Southeast part of Japan.

After a two-day orientation in California, the group departed for Japan. Evan lived with a host family of six, and attended a Japanese high school. On weekends, his hosts immersed him in Japanese culture. He went to the Golden Temple in Kyoto, built in the 12th century. His host parents slept on thin mats, so Evan did, too, even though his host brothers and sisters slept on mattresses.

“I think the cultural vibe and the people’s values are beautiful,” Evan said of the Japanese. “One value they have is to respect yourself and others, which is great because everyone is really nice.”

During his month-and-a-half stay in the country, Greif not only familiarized himself with the culture, but sharpened his grasp of the language. “I speak Japanese,” he said. “I’m somewhat fluent in it now. I took Japanese for two years in high school. I always though the language was beautiful.” He said that he would like to return to Japan sometime. “It was really a dream come true.”

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