Twelve Japanese students visited Clayton Valley Charter High School last month on Nov. 17. The Japanese students were visiting from Senshu University Kitakami Senior High School in Kitakami, Japan.
The Japanese students, paired with guides from Clayton Valley, spent their day going through classes and interacting with the school. The visit was made possible by a cross city relationship between Kitakami and Concord via the volunteer organization Concord Ambassadors as a cultural exchange program. The program aims to sustain cultural, social, and economic connections and build new international bonds between Concord and Kitakami.
One of the Clayton Valley students who guided the visitors, Dante Evje, talked about his experience.
“The Japanese students are awesome. They were all extremely polite and knew the correct ways to address people or interact with other students despite their brief tenure in America,” Evje said. “They were all very nice, none of them were particularly rude and they seemed to have a good time.”
One guide, Hanako Settle, was enthusiastic about the visit.
“They were really sweet!,” Settle said. “All of them were so cute and I wanted them to stay here forever.”
When asked if the visiting students had differed from what she expected, Settle replied: “I thought they may come in regular clothing but I was ecstatic to see that they were wearing their uniforms because it is so different from our culture.”
Evje, when asked if he would like to learn more about Japan after the visit, explained: “The visit absolutely inspired me to learn more about Japan. Much of the media we consume about the country is clouded by the tragedies of WWII or the Japanese pop-culture that has crept into our culture. Seeing the students beyond the stereotypes and assumptions we make about their culture makes me want to learn more about their culture and life.”
Settle and other students already had a pretty good understanding of Japanese culture.
“I already know a lot about my culture due to my Japanese mother so while I did want to know more about them, I didn't necessarily have an urge to know more about their culture,” Settle said.
Evje was asked if he’d like to visit Japan one day.
“I would absolutely love to visit a foreign country, and have been planning on doing so for a while. I would love to visit some of the places I'm from, like Thailand or Norway. The Japanese students have inspired me to visit other countries too, like Japan or Spain.”
Another guide, Sean Maniti, described his experience with the students.
“I think they were cool. They were a little uncomfortable at first, but just talking to them, I think the main interaction was using that translator. We're all human. Similar interactions, but it's just a language barrier.”
Maniti, when asked if the visit changed any of his expectations or perspectives, put it simply.
“I just thought they would be Japanese. I didn't have much expectations. I just expected this kid who I would tour around and it would be hard to talk to him, that’s about it. I didn't expect that it would be fun or anything, but it turned out to be fun. So I guess that's how it changed my expectations.”
Photo Credit: CVCHS
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