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You could be in Japan for 10 days in September!

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You could be in Japan for 10 days in September!

By: Sandra Larson, DISCOVER Hokkaido Exchange Director

Topics: Travel, Japan, Friendship Force, home hospitality, fall colors
Posted by SANDPIPER Thu May 22, 2008 22:22:51 PDT
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Would you like to visit Japan in September 2008 and see the country from the inside out? That is how some Friendship Force members describe the experience of participating in what is called an “exchange.” Applications are now being accepted for a special international exchange to Hokkaido, the northernmost Island of Japan.

The Friendship Force of Kern County recently celebrated its 20^th year and has participated in many exchanges, both as a host club and as a club sending members abroad. In just the last two years, guests have arrived from Russia, Thailand, Australia and Brazil. Destinations have included England, Japan, and Russia. A French speaking group from Canada will arrive September 17, 2008, and a group from Kern County will depart for New Zealand in October.

Friendship Force International is a non-profit exchange organization dedicated to the principle that each person can make a contribution to global goodwill. Home hospitality -- the heart of each exchange – provides the opportunity for people of different countries and cultures to connect at a personal level. Traveling with Friendship Force satisfies your curiosity about how people really live in another country and what they are like. With Friendship Force, you always have a local friend to answer questions about anything you’ve observed that may be puzzling to you.

The ten day adventure to the Island of Hokkaido begins at 2:00 p.m. on September 19, 2008 with seven days of home hospitality provided by the members of the Friendship Force of Sapporo, and concludes on September 29^th following a three night bus tour and visit to National Parks, one of which has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Individuals will arrange and pay separately for their own transportation to and from Sapporo. The cost while in Japan will be approximately $1000 which includes all lodging and most meals, park entrance fees, sightseeing cruises, and more.

Whether or not you are available for travel to Hokkaido in September, if you are a person who would enjoy making friends from all over the world, check us out! The Friendship Force of Kern County meets regularly in the evening on the last Wednesday of the month at the Veterans Hall on Mt. Vernon in Bakersfield. For more information, go to www.FFKern.org or to the international website www.thefriendshipforce.org.

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