Fullerton teacher to travel to Japan as Fulbright scholar

When Jessica Hermansen was still a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she "got bored one day" and decided to take a trip to Denmark.

Hermansen, a 2000 graduate of Northwest High School and the daughter of Lance and Scherry Hermansen of Grand Island, said her family's ancestral routes are in Denmark.

In fact, her family still has relatives in Denmark and she lived with those relatives, who live "all over Denmark," ranging from the country's largest city of Copenhagen, which has more than 1 million people, and the Island of Jutland, which is a more rural area.

Hermansen enjoyed her five-week visit so much, she returned another time with her family for a two-week visit.

Hermansen, who is the agriculture teacher at Fullerton, said she  learned a lot about Denmark and about Danes.

"They are very, very laid back," she said. "They're very friendly and open."

Those are qualities that Nebraskans might pride themselves on having, but Hermansen said the Danes have those of us living in Nebraska beat by a long ways.

In comparison to the Danes, Nebraskans rush around a lot more.

Also in contrast to the Danes, Hermansen said, "we're very materialistic. We should actually stop and take a look at the way we live. We should enjoy our family while they're here. Some day, they're not going to be here."

Those are lessons that Hermansen said she could only learn by going to Denmark and immersing herself in the Danish culture.

In October, Hermansen will be immersing herself in a third culture that likely will prove to be far different than either the United States or Denmark.

She will travel to Japan for three weeks as part of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program.

Hermansen said she learned about the opportunity while reading a professional magazine for educators. She decided to apply because it would be another opportunity to experience a different culture. She noted it also might be an experience that she would never have without the help of the  JFMF Teacher program.

More than 1,700 teachers from around the United States applied for the program, with just 320 teachers being selected. Half of those teachers will travel to Japan in June and half will go in October.

Hermansen said her online application included a request for her professional background. It also asked her to answer a number of questions, with perhaps the most important one being how she would use her trip to Japan to improve better relations and understanding between the two countries.

Hermansen said part of her answer is that a trip to Japan will allow her to become immersed in the culture. Meeting and talking to people will help her learn things about the country that she could never learn, even with the most extensive reading list of books and articles about Japan.

Hermansen said that she hopes to share what she learns with her agriculture students in Fullerton after she returns from Japan.

The teacher said she does not have her complete itinerary, but knows the first stop for her and her fellow teachers will be in Tokyo, where they will have briefing sessions on Japanese history and culture.

Hermansen said her next stop will be to an unnamed host city, where she will be able to visit schools to learn more about the Japanese style of education. She said she and other educators may even be given an opportunity to assist with teaching a class of Japanese students.

During her time in the host city, Hermansen will have a "home stay," which means she will be living with a Japanese family.

Hermansen said she does not yet know the name of the host city that she will be visiting. She said she may not learn that information until just a couple of weeks before she departs for Japan.

After visiting the host city, Hermansen will return to Tokyo to be reunited with other educators who have visited other Japanese cities. She anticipates that they will share stories of their experiences, which should give everybody a better understanding of the country.

Hermansen said she does not know whether the Japanese educational system even has a counterpart of being an agricultural teacher for a school system.

As an agriculture teacher, Hermansen said, she is interested in learning the viewpoints of the Japanese from the time when the country was prohibiting the import of American beef. She also wants to learn how the Japanese feel about other aspects of American aspects.

She said what she learns will be something she can share with her agricultural students in Fullerton, especially because farm exports to foreign countries are so important to Nebraska agriculture.

One thing that her trip to Denmark taught her is that one is "best" and "right" in one country is not necessarily "best" and "right" in another country.

However, Hermansen said, her previous foreign travel also has taught her about the similarities that exist between people who live in different countries and different cultures.