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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 11, 2004 She'll get plenty in exchange By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings While most teens will be holding down a job or taking it easy this summer, Rose Cooney will be broadening her cultural horizons in Japan. For six weeks, Rose, 15, who will be a sophomore at Ashland High School this fall will stay with a host family and attend a Japanese high school through a scholarship from the Japan-America Friendship Scholars program, administered through Youth for Understanding USA, a nonprofit organization that sends teens to more than 50 counties across the world. The goal of the program is to prepare young people for the opportunities and responsibilities in a changing, interdependent world. The JAFS program is funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "I'm excited that I get to go and learn first-hand what life is like in Japan," Rose said. "It's important to know another language and culture. I don't think in this country we put enough emphasis in that. Because there's more in the world than just America, it's Rose Cooney, 15, of Ashland, who leaves Saturday for a six-week exchange program in Japan, relaxes on a hammock as her twin brother, Henry, stands by in their backyard Thursdayafternoon during a break in packing. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings important to understand other ways to do things and to look at the world." Rose will leave for San Jose on Saturday for orientation and head for Japan on Tuesday. Like father like daughter Her father, Kevin Cooney, a writer, knows how studying in a foreign country can change how a teen looks at the world. In 1970, when Cooney was 16, he was part of an exchange program in Spain for six weeks. "It was a great experience," he said. "It was the first time I'd ever been to Europe before, and it was an introduction to a whole new world. ... It was so important for me to see how different things were and what we had in common." He said the experience opened his mind to new perspectives, and he's glad his daughter will get to experience Japan for the first time. "The world has gotten more complicated and smaller globally, and it's important at a young age to understand a different language and culture," Cooney said. Linda Alper, Rose's mother and an actress at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, recalled taking many trips to Europe with Rose and her twin brother Henry. She said the trips instilled in them the value of experiencing another culture. "We really think it's important to know other parts of the world with the way society and the world is now," she said. "She really has a passion for Japanese and will have a wonderful time." Love of learning Rose started studying Japanese in middle school, drawn to the language by a love of Japanese art. "I like art and was really interested in Japanese paper and fabrics," she said "I love the colors and designs. They were real pretty and elegant." Rose will be living in a town in the Toyma Prefecture near the Sea of Japan, about 250 miles from Tokyo. Rose will be able to take classes at a Japanese high school since school is year-round there. She will also participate in school clubs and hopes to participate in activities such as flower arranging and calligraphy. "I'm looking forward to learning Japanese writing," she said. "I like the strokes, and it's really beautiful. It's going to be really amazing to learn all of that." Rose said she hopes living with a host family will give her a chance to practice her language skills. "Being with a host family, you get to find out a lot about the everyday things you wouldn't see if you were a tourist," Rose said. In its seventh year, the JAFS scholar program will sponsor 100 high school freshmen, sophomore and juniors from across the United States. About 225 people applied, said Reid Rago, director of development for YFU. Rago said being able to go to another country helps put students on the inside track to careers in business and international affairs. "Each decade, this world becomes smaller and smaller in the global economy," he said. "This program helps students to be aware of cultural issues, which helps foster a tolerance of differences and encourages better communication skills." Kevin Cooney also expressed gratitude for the Ashland School District and the community for passing an activities levy last year. Without the levy, language programs in the district would have been drastically cut. "I think it's really great the district and the community believes in the importance of these programs and keeps them going," he said. "It makes a difference." 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