
The program described below is led by experienced Cate faculty. Information on other study abroad programs will be updated as they are offered.
Cate in Japan provides a superb opportunity for students to hone their language skills, examine the roots of Japan’s tradition, experience Japanese daily life firsthand, and witness the inner workings of Japan’s formidable economy. Following arrival in Tokyo, the group begins its adventure by exploring the city and its surroundings. During the two weeks that follow, students attend Yakumo Academy, Cate’s sister school, with their host siblings. In addition, students receive formal language instruction designed to accelerate their studies and to maximize the benefits of the home-stay experience.
After Tokyo, the group goes to Kyoto, the home of Japan’s imperial court for more than 1,000 years, and then to Nara; they also travel south to Hiroshima, where they visit the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum, both of which provide unforgettable impressions of the horrors of nuclear holocaust. After spending the final few days in Tokyo, students return to the U.S. not only with improved language skills and a greater understanding of Japan, but also with a new perspective on their own country and culture. This program requires at least one year of study in Japanese.
Excerpt from "Adventures In Kanji" by David Wood, Foreign Language Chair
Ask any student of Japanese what the most daunting aspect of the language is, and the response is likely to be, 'kanji!' This element of the Japanese language often elicits visceral responses from nearly everyone, even the most staid students. The Japanese people themselves, with a literacy rate approaching 100%, are nevertheless challenged by the task of learning and retaining pronunciations and meanings for thousands of individual characters in addition to the various combinations that these individual characters can form. Read more.
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