By Alex Zhai
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006, The OG, news

This year's Halloween will feature not only old faces behind new costumes but some new faces as well. The basketball team from the Konan Boys High School in Kobe, Japan, will visit Uni from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. In addition to sitting in on classes and interacting with students at Uni, the Konan team has a host of activities scheduled.

The players will arrive on the night of Oct. 29 at the Hampton Inn in Urbana. Although homestays were originally suggested, they were deemed unfeasible. In all, about 25 players and five chaperones are expected to make the trip.

The next day, the Konan team will play basketball games at Kenney Gym against Normal Calvary Baptist and possibly a Uni alumni team. The Illinois High School Association does not allow Uni's current basketball team to play non-IHSA teams.

The second full day of the visit includes a schoolwide Halloween party at 3 p.m. and dinner at the Kamakura restaurant. One of the purposes of the team's trip is to experience American culture, including the celebration of Halloween.

The Konan players also have tickets to the Fighting Illini vs. Lewis University men's college basketball game on the final day of the trip. Other events that remain unscheduled but are being considered include taking a trip to Curtis Orchard and attending a Chicago Bulls game.

The visit, which the Konan administration suggested during Uni's 2005 summer trip to Japan, is the latest in a series of exchanges between Konan and Uni that began in 2002 as a way to foster mutual understanding of each other's culture and language.

Naho Maeda, a student from Konan Girls High School, is spending this year at Uni, while Melisa “Mo” Kudeki, a 2006 Uni graduate, is spending the year at Konan.

In late September, the principal of Konan Girls High School visited Uni. Click here for coverage of that visit.