As summer becomes closer a majority of students become eager to finish the spring semester.
Students are all set and ready to begin summer plans, whether it’s sleeping in, working full-time, getting two jobs, taking summer courses or going on a vacation summer is a great time for exploring.
That’s a closer possibility for Delta students with “2017 Summer in Japan.”
Two four-week abroad courses will explore Japanese pop culture and “performing arts in the 20th century, broadening students artistic perspective and skills,” according to an informational website for the class at info.japanesepopculturecourse.com.
The courses are both University of California and California State University transferable.
“The objective of the Japanese pop culture and performing arts project is basically to give another view of the culture, the Japanese traditional values, the culture in Japan and its influence by the performing arts especially dance,” said Delta Professor and dance department chairwoman Valerie Gnassounou.
In these dance courses the students will experience and perform one of the traditional Japanese dances called Noh, collaborate with colleges from Japan and will perform its own choreographies for the people of Okazaki.
Summer in Japan isn’t simply about taking courses abroad but there will be hands-on cultural lessons students can experience and field trips to Kyoto, Nara and Ninja House, as well as smaller field trips to Shogun birthplace and to five different schools.
Students will be visiting schools ranging from kindergarten to college where the students will learn about and experience a different educational system.
Students will also have the opportunity to interact with elementary and middle school children, share with them about their own culture while learning about the Japanese Culture and educational system.
“It’s an opportunity for students from Delta College to broaden their perspective and be expose to the world, it’s globalization and it’s important for us to reach out and to be able to build bridges and communicate,” said Gnassounou.
The courses abroad don’t require students to know or be familiar with the Japanese language.
The only requirement is to be a Delta student and to have an application sent to info.japanesepopculturecourse.com. The application process requires a contemporary photo of yourself with a small bio in which you give your reasons for wanting to attend and what you think you could gain during your time abroad.