Two Indiana students from Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) have been awarded scholarships to study in China and Japan during the 2008-09 school year.

Josh Bacon, son of Stephen and Christine Bacon of Avilla, Ind., will spend the spring semester in the Mandarin Chinese Language Program at Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) in Guangzhou, China.

A history major, who is pursuing a certificate in International Studies, Bacon will study Asian Folklore, Modern Japan, Religions of the East, and Introduction to International Politics at SYSU. He has studied Mandarin Chinese for three years and said he hopes to learn more Cantonese while in China.

"I would like to encourage everyone who has an interest in China to go there," Bacon related. "China is a very dynamic place with an ancient culture that exists alongside rapid growth and modernization?I love it there."

Senior Josh Long, son of Timothy and Vicki Long of Payne, Ohio, received a scholarship from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) for a full year of study at the University of Nagasaki. Long will be immersed in language and culture courses, preparing him for graduate school in Asian Studies.

He became interested in Japan while studying East Asian History with Professor Jill Nussel to fulfill his non-Western credit. Since then, he has taken all of the Asian history classes offered at IPFW and now plans to attend graduate school in Asian Studies.

Long worked with Professor Jenny Weatherford, director of international programs, to facilitate the JASSO scholarship. "I would like to gain a better understanding of the language, experience the culture, and observe their way of life firsthand," said Long. "Since I will be a foreigner in such a homogeneous society, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to become fully immersed in the society. However, I want to do as much as possible to get the most of the experience so that I can apply what is learned to my future studies."

Both Bacon and Long are students of Professor Nussel.