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Eddie Michino was a member of the Group Study Exchange from District 5280 to District 26206 in Japan near the famous Mount Fuji, from October 19 to November 20, 2012.  The Team Leader was Jewel Price, a member of the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club and Dean of Student Services at Glendale Community College.  The other Team Members were non-Rotarians in their early 30s, including Eddie Michino (our speaker tonight), Angela Kim, Alen Andriassian and Kai Tramiel.

The team members visited businesses and professions of Japanese Rotarians related to their own occupations, in order to share experiences and ideas.  They stayed in the homes of Japanese Rotarians and experienced family life and cultural immersion during their 4 weeks.  Japanese language lessons were provided to them at Glendale Community College prior to their departure, so they were able to make presentations in Japanese to the Japanese Rotary Club meetings.  (5280 DG Lew Bertrand said that the Japanese hosts were so well impressed with the American team and their proficiency in the Japanese language that the Japanese District Governor plans to attend our District 5280 District Conference in May.)  Our District is hosting a Japanese GSE team from District 2620 this spring.

Eddie Michino discussed many of their interesting experiences in Japan.  The Japanese make very efficient use of natural resources including natural gas, and there are many industries and energy production in this part of Japan.  The GSE Team visited the Yamaha musical instrument factory, went to a fish market in the early morning, and saw a Rotarian Buddhist monk in a temple visited by US Commodore Perry on his 1854 Naval Expedition to “open up Japan” to foreign trade.  Among other experiences, they visited a tea factory, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Suzuki Motors, Suntory whiskey production, a sake distillery, educational institutions and the SkyTree tower.  They enjoyed a Japanese tea ceremony, listened to a samisen concert (Japanese stringed instrument), and saw many Japanese castles, temples, shrines and museums.