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streetlevel
05
Feb. 2001, Xene #20
Interviews with International Teams
at the Snow Festival "Who are you, anyway?"
New Zealand
"I'm a full-time sculptor. All year long
I sculpt marble, stone and bronze, as well as
snow and ice. We don't have a snow festival
like this yet, but we are now organizing one
in Queensland. We're paying our travel expenses
ourselves now. Hopefully, we could invite a
team from Sapporo."
-Logan Shipgood
USA
"This is my third event. America has come
here every year for 28 years. Everybody on our
team has a different job. I'm a store manager.
As for our other members, there is an eye doctor,
someone working at a travel office, and every
other kind of job. We use our vacation time
for this. We pay our traveling expenses ourselves,
just like the Olympics. The American government
doesn't pay."
-Dave Russo
Thailand
"I'm an artist in Thailand, painting and
carving sculptures. So, basically, it's my profession.
The government pays for our trip here, for three
of us. We don't have to pay."
-Poottawong Poonna
Hong Kong
"I'm a chef. I cook Western meals. All
three of us are chefs, and we have worked together
for quite a while. We usually work at hotels
or convention centers. We are sponsored by the
Hong Kong Tourist Association and Hotel Association.
It's a part of the government."
-Perry Yuen Kanhung
Guam
"It's my first time in Sapporo. We are
art teachers and wood carving artists. It's
my first time to sculpt with snow! I usually
carve wooden canoes. It's a completely different
skill. The tools we have are for making canoes,
so we're having a very hard time here carving
ice!"
-Dhurston Skilling
France
"It's my first year in Sapporo. I'm from
Grenoble, France. I'm a college professor in
France. I teach manufacturing. We have to pay
by ourselves. It's very difficult to find sponsors.
We worked a long time to find a sponsor, but
no luck."
-Noel Petot
Australia
"We're all exchange students, all seven
of us, in and around Tokyo. The team was put
together by the Australian Embassy. We have
a lot of sponsors from Australian businesses.
The main one is Aussie Beef. We got lot of beef,
and Two Dogs, which is also our sponsor. I'm
going to Keio University, and the other one
right here is going to Chiba University. Actually,
I just finished my final report the morning
I flew to Sapporo. Some of us had to change
a few exams to come up here. Ken over there
changed six exams! But most of the teachers
are pretty supportive. It's just a fantastic
experience... a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
-Linsey Bower
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