Nine students from Japan spent a week in the Crowsnest Pass, from April 24 to 30, attending high school classes, visiting local attractions, and getting up close and personal with life in Canada.
The Livingstone Hokuto Cultural/ Education Exchange Program has been running at the Crowsnest Consolidate High School for 14 years now, and recently has begun partnering with Matthew Halton School in Pincher Creek as well. A total of 18 Japanese students visit the area every year, and local students visit Japan in return.
“It’s an amazing program,” says Ian Baxter, Assistant Principal at CCHS. “I think it’s a neat program for the simple fact that they get to live as Canadians.”

Nine students stayed in the Pass and nine in Pincher Creek. The students arrived on Friday, April 24, and spent their first weekend getting to know the community.
The students attended the Kananaskis Rodeo on Saturday, and on Sunday visited the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, the Bellevue Underground Mine, and Waterton National Park.
One student, said Baxter, expressed interest in milking a cow, and so it was set up and made possible –– an authentic Canadian experience.
... For the full story, see the May 5 issue of the Pass Herald.