By Mary Owen
A trip to Korea and Japan in August reunited a counselor and a teacher with former area residents, including a Regis foreign exchange student.
“Annie Song acted as our tour guide for Seoul,” said counselor Mike Bauer, who traveled with math and Spanish teacher, Rich Tabor. “Annie was a bright spot while at Regis last year, having started a club called Global Regis for facilitating cultural sharing at our school. And she certainly was a bright spot on our trip, sharing her country with us.”
The Regis duo, both runners, added to their sightseeing itinerary a run to the top of a mountain where Bauer said they discovered the tomb of the country’s founder and a few other noteworthy shrines.
“You never know what you are going to discover on a morning run,” he said.
On the trip, the travelers also met up with former Stayton High School graduate Charlie Kanzig, his wife, Dierdre, and their son, Isaac, in Daejeon, Korea.
“They are in their second year of teaching at Teajon International Christian School,” Bauer said. “Charlie also taught at St. Mary Grade School and Sisters High School. What a great visit with great people.”
During their visit to Daejeon, Bauer had hoped to see Pope Francis, who was in town that day to say Mass for Asian Youth Day and to celebrate the canonization of 120 Korean martyrs.
“It turned out we needed a background check to get within three miles of that event,” he said. “Instead Charlie, Rich and I hiked to the top of another mountain on a trail through red clay mud that needed to be done barefooted for the full experience.”
Their reward? A spectacular view of Daejeon.
former students.
“We got to catch a glimpse of the Pope the next morning as we joined 800,000 people who line the motorcade route,” Bauer said.
While in Takimatsu, Japan, Bauer met with former Regis student Sam Jaeger.
“One of the reasons for our trip was to attend his wedding,” Bauer said. “We witnessed a fantastic ceremony that blended Western and Eastern cultures perfectly. Sam teaches English to Japanese students, so there was always an English and Japanese version of each part of the ceremony.”
A week before the wedding, Bauer met with Regis graduate Luke Jaeger, his wife, Aggie, and their three children. Visiting the Jaegers were Mike and Katie Jaeger,
and their children, Isaac, Joe, Abby and Meredith, who were on their way to attend their son Sam’s wedding. Luke Jaeger has been stationed in Seoul for two years, and because of maneuvers, could not attend.
Bauer also met with Steve Sasaki, an exchange student hosted by his family in Eugene in 1965.
“We have been able to get together over the years for visits,” he said. “Steve and his wife, Yumi, helped make our trip even more memorable.”
Not all connections were former high school connections. Gota Yamaguchi sends students to Regis from his school, Shukutoku, Sugamo in the heart of Toyko.
“Regis has been hosting students from this school for 15 years, and so it was nice to finally meet some of their staff and see the school,” Bauer said.
In between pursuing Regis/Stayton connections, the duo managed to visit sights such as Changdeokgung Palace, the Secret Garden and the Korean War Museum in the heart of Seoul as well as Bukhansan National Park and the ancient Seoul Fortress Wall.
In Japan, they visited the Japanese National Museum and the Imperial Palace, Japan’s equivalent of the White House. In downtown Hiroshima, from sharing a meal at an authentic Irish Pub to visiting the Peace Park Museum, dedicated to world peace and the banning of nuclear weapons, the experience, Bauer said, was “very impactful.”
Bauer said he and Tabor could not have packed more into a trip that afforded them many good connections, some that will positively impact this year’s foreign exchange program.
“It will be fun to share our trip with this year’s exchange students,” he said.
