Josh Sellens and Ben Reid

Josh and Ben both studied Japanese at Nelson College until year 13.  The day after their exams finished in 2008, they boarded a plane for Sapporo, the largest city on the island of Hokkaido, in Japan.  Both boys had managed to secure jobs at ski resorts north of Sapporo for the ski season.  Josh is working as an instructor to Japanese skiers, and Ben is working the chair lifts.  Both boys are avid outdoorsmen, and Josh has worked as a ski instructor in New Zealand. 

Their updates to their former Japanese teacher have been in increasingly longer instalments of Japanese.  So far, the highlights of their experience have been going to a temple on New Years’ and drinking namazake (a cloudy version of sake that has not been as processed and is quite sweet) from bamboo cups, and sitting in outdoor onsens watching monkeys peel and eat mandarins.

Josh is planning on returning after his year in Japan to attend University and study Japanese, with the aim of returning to Japan to teach English while perfecting his Japanese.  His long term goal is to become an interpreter/translator.

Ben is enjoying his year and is very popular with the locals.  Ben also has plans to attend University and study Japanese and outdoor education.  He would like to return to Japan and continue to work in the outdoor adventure area, working on ski fields in the winter and on kayaking/tramping in the summer.

Profiled by Jennifer Arai