Bringing Japan to Iowa

WASHINGTON - An excited group of Halcyon House residents are proving that learning has no age limit by partaking in a new Japanese culture and language class.

Taught by 80-year-old Clyde Pearce, a special presentation was held on Tuesday to kick off the 12-week program. Pearce went over the fundamentals of the Japanese language. He also made connections between Iowa and Japanese history.

'‘Yokoso,' means ‘Welcome' in Japanese,” Pearce said at the beginning of the presentation.

Pearce, who spent three weeks in Japan in the spring of 1989 as part of an exchange program, said he hopes the class inspires fellow residents to 'learn even more.”

'Not only about Japan, but about other cultures. One thing I've noticed about Iowa is that it seems whiter than any place we've ever been. I really enjoy diversity, I grew up in Los Angeles. You learn so much from other people - and languages - because you learn another way of looking at the world, you're not just learning words. And I think that's very important. We need creative perspectives of things,” Pearce said.

In his introductory class Pearce brought attention to the 60th anniversary of a hog lift from Iowa to the Yamanashi Prefecture. Due to two typhoons that swept the Asian country in 1959, the hog population in Yamanashi was decimated. In response, Iowa shipped 36 hogs to the Japanese state.

'Yamanashi Prefecture became a sister state with Iowa, the first one ever. The entire concept started there. And Des Moines, Iowa is a sister city with Kofu, Japan, the capital of the Yamanashi Prefecture. As a result of this, twice, Iowa has received aid from Japan,” Pearce said of the partnership that bloomed from the hog lift.

Many of the Halcyon House residents who decided to sit in on the presentation were excited for an opportunity to expand their horizons.

'Anytime I have an opportunity to learn something, I go. I didn't know very much about Japan before this. I've never been to the country,” 83-year-old Nan Stark said.

Beth Janecek, who worked as an elementary school teacher for 30 years, said she hopes to learn about the other country's education system.

'That's a piece that I'd like to come to, because I like to know about education. I just hope to know more about the Japanese and their children and schools,” Janecek said.

Unlike other residents, Sandry Weller, who has traveled to and had exposure to Japanese culture before the class, said she was excited to learn more about the traditions of the Japanese.

From her trip to the country in 1967, Weller remembered the beauty of Japanese gardens most vividly.

'I came because I thought we were going to see pictures of Japanese Gardens … they were so beautiful in Tokyo when we went. I'll never forget them. My son later became a landscaper and he really liked the style of Japanese Gardens so he's often working in that style,” Weller said.

While most of Pearce's students were fellow residents from the Halcyon House, Washington Middle School student Mikaila Matheson was also in attendance. Matheson, who learned about the class through her church, said her own roots inspired her to begin exploring various Asian languages and cultures.

'I've always been interested in languages. Right now, I'm learning Korean and I'm from China so I thought it would be interesting to learn another Asian language because of where I'm from,” Matheson said. In taking the class, the 8th grader hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the way Asian languages are interconnected, and the ways they differ.

Pearce will continue to teach his Japanese Language and Culture class every Tuesday at 3 p.m. The lessons will cover a variety of topics including history, education, food and art. The public are welcome to attend the classes.