Japan is and stays a dream country for many people. Being one of the largest economies of the world, with still it's very exceptional culture, with which you are confronted daily, the country is still a big challenge for many people. To bridge distances is nowadays no insuperable problem. The rate of the Yen on the other hand stops many people from undertaking the journey. Therefor it is so special that rotary enables young people through the well known group study exchange , in this special case during almost six weeks to get acquainted with the culture of the country and her inhabitants. On it's own already a very exceptional experience.
For many ages the country was a very closed society. In early history The Netherlands, as one of the faring nations, had a special role in trading with Japan through the isle of Deshima. Recently (2000) both countries celebrated fourhundred years of trading. Cultural exchanges and manifestations, trade missions and the mutual visits of the Japanese emperor and the Dutch crown prince were the reason that the former trade relations were again tightened . For many years the Dutch merchant navy was the window for Japan to the outside world. Of course this has had a deep influence on the Japanese society. On the spot the GSE team was confronted with a museum dedicated to a Dutch hydraulic engineer and a former school where they taught Dutch to get knowledge of the Dutch medical science those days. Also thanks to this knowledge the disease cholera was controlled which had taken many victims yearly.Under difficult circumstances ( opposition of the conservative part of the Japanese society) prominent Dutch persons taught Dutch. Even nowadays you can find many original Dutch words in Japanese language. Another proof that the merchant relations has left important traces for more than four centuries. Many times this was emphasised by visits to rotary clubs, visits to companies and during various excursions.
What makes the GSE so special is, that the Rotary enables young people to get knowledge during the vocational days of Japanese experiences and developments on their own professional field. The spoken and the written language is still a practical problem for the time being. Many Japanese are not fluent in the English language. The Rotary in the district 2660 solved this by providing interpreters in all cases.
As said, the district Osaka (district 2660) was our final destination. The second biggest city on the island Honshu, in the earlier days known as the Venice of Japan with many trade activities and now the biggest harbour of this nation. Not so far from this city you can find extremely interesting places such as Nara and Kyoto. Cities well known for their very ancient culture ( temples and shrines ). Our program on which will be referred to in an other part of this report, offered only highlights exceeding all expectations. The devotion of the concerned Rotarians and the various host families was impressing. For us as a team it was good to know that almost in the same time a group of young Japanese were confronted with the habits and customs in our country. District 1560 (the Netherlands ) was responsible for them. One of the main goals of such an exchange is also the improvement of the mutual understanding. A lot of time is alluded to this and the experiences answered fully to this cause.
Friendships for life have arisen which have given occasion to more visits to the country of the rising sun. As a matter of course our Japanese male and female hosts will be able to find the way to the Netherlands more easy. The first ones have already been welcomed in the Netherlands.
