Cultural Exchange Group Checks Out Northfield Library

The hands pawing through the books in the children's section at the were a little larger than usual Wednesday afternoon.

A group of 15 Japanese college students, part of the , visited the library for about an hour Wednesday as part of the annual three-week cultural program that helps the students learn conversational English and expose them to American culture.

Roughly 25 to 30 Chuo University undergraduate students participate each year in the program, which started in 1984.

“They tend to be business or economics students, and they're here to practice conversational English,” said Suzie Nakasian, who led Wednesday's class at the library.

Nakasian, who has been part of the program for four years, led students on a brief tour of the library before sending them out to explore the facility on their own, with instructions to find one thing — be it a book, magazine or DVD — that interested them, that they would then report back on to the rest of the class.

Yurika Kaneko found a Japanese phrase book that Nakasian estimated was written in the 1960s. Kaneko said the illustrations in the book were funny, but that the translations were accurate.

Other students selected magazines—Time and Seventeen—while others selected books from the children's or teen sections of the library.

Another student, Ryota Koike, explained that in Japan, students start learning English in junior high, and are required to take at least one year of English in college, maybe more depending on their major.

“I am majoring in economics, so I (had to take) English for two years,” he said.

The program is not all about structured learning. Students also get time to explore on their own, and go to non-educational activities—they're going to the Twins game Thursday—in Northfield and the Twin Cities area.

Koike said his favorite part of the trip so far has been exploring downtown Northfield and shopping in its shops.

“The people here are very kind,” he said.