Japan-Palau Alumni Series: Vol.18 Mr. Lester Rekemesik

Mr. Lester Rekemesik is one of the successful alumni of the Japanese Government Scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to bring Palauan students to further their education in Japan since 1982. He went to study in Japan under the Specialized Training Program Scholarship from 1985 to 1988 .
 
Prior to studying abroad in Japan, Mr. Rekemesik attended Palau High School where he majored in construction for three years. He said “the scholarship was the best option I had at the time” which is why he decided to apply for the MEXT scholarship. He first attended Bunka Institute of Language to study the language for six months before getting into his specialized training on architecture at Chuo Kogakuin Specialized Training College “Senmon Gakko”.
 
This was not the first time for Mr. Rekemesik to visit Japan. When he was an Elementary school student, he was participated in a student’s exchange program to Japan. He enjoyed the food and mostly ate ramen. He learned Japanese work etiquette especially being on time. While living in Japan, Mr. Rekemesik had the opportunity to study and live in a dormitory with foreign students from Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, etc. He learned how to manage his time and budget his money. He also remembers some fun times in Japan such as the school field trip to Nagano Prefecture and also visiting Toshima Island with Japanese friends.
 
After successfully graduating from Chuo Kogakuin in 1988, Mr. Rekemesik returned to Palau and first started working in the tourism industry. He said “At that time tourism was booming in Palau”. After working as a tour guide, he went to work at Palau High School as a teacher and at the same time worked part time as a night clerk at Nikko Hotel. Seeking for other opportunities, Mr. Rekemesik moved to Saipan and worked there as a teacher from 1994 to 1999. When he returned to Palau in 1999, he had an opportunity to go to Mie Prefecture for a ten month apprenticeship training in Japanese carpentry. He was taught by elder Japanese master carpenters in Mie Prefecture on how to build using Japanese traditional carpentry techniques. Once he completed the training and moved to Palau, he went to work at Palau Community College as a teacher for carpentry until 2016 until he retired. Currently Mr. Rekemesik owns a construction business called Mile44 Construction where he offers consultation, sells blocks, and constructs houses. At the moment, he is back as a part time teacher on a special contract with Palau Community College. He says, “I get tired of sitting around without doing any work”. He teaches carpentry, utilizing the skills that he learned about Japanese carpentry techniques in Mie Prefecture to the students majoring in Construction Technology at PCC. 
 
Mr. Rekemesik is blessed with a family of seven children and several grandchildren. He hopes that the Japan Government scholarship will continue to bring Palauan students to study in Japan. Furthermore, Mr. Rekemesik hopes that after a student graduates from their specialized training program, they would be given opportunity to join internship programs in Japan to have hands on practice using what they learned before returning to Palau.