Toshiharo Iwanaga helps Chilean exchange student Carolina Hintze. Iwanaga teaches a Japanese class at the high school  and at elementary schools around Kalispell.

by Blake Thompson

Toshiharo Iwanaga, Flatheadís newest edition to the FHS foreign language department, well remembers the courses that he had to take as a teenage student in Japan in the 1960s:

ìChristian ethics, modern and old Japanese, English, biology, chemistry, history, politics, economy, geography, mathematics, art, painting, and music...î

Not exactly what youíd call an easy schedule.

ìI had no choice.î said Iwanaga.îI had to take those classes.î

Ironically, Toshi now teaches an elective class to FHS students who, until last year, didnít even know they would even be able to study the language.

ìThey study very well,î said Iwanaga. ìIt is very difficult for them to learn the pronunciation.î

Just as  Iwanagaís students have taken a risk on learning a language they may never use regularly, Iwanaga has also taken a few risks in coming to the United States. Heís literally left behind the things he loves most ó including his wife.

 ìIt is very difficult for me,î said Iwanaga, adding that he keeps in close contact with his wife by phone and fax machine.

Iwanagaís stay in Kalispell has been riddled with other risks, too ó some of them pretty dangerous.

ìI found myself driving on the left side of the road,î said Iwanaga. ìMy daughter, Naho, was the first one to notice.î

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