Students visit the land of Rising Sun

Tom Forquer

“All the girls started screaming, and I even saw some girls crying,”

said Tony Jones, describing his reception at a Japanese school.

Jones is not a rock star, but is one of the four Corona del Mar

High freshmen who returned last week from the annual Wendell Fish

Sister City Student Exchange program between Newport Beach and

Okazaki, Japan. The program’s goal is to create cooperation and

understanding between cities through the exchange of ideas, people

and culture.

“It was the best experience I’ve ever had. We were treated like

celebrities,” Taylor Harkins said.

They met Okazaki’s mayor and school board, entered the Tupperware

factory on red carpet and were ceremoniously welcomed at schools with

orchestras and flowers.

During the 10-day trip, the delegates stayed in the homes of the

Japanese students they will host this October.

Michael Ford is still getting several e-mails a day from the

friends he made during the trip.

“[Your hosts] really become your second family,” he said

enthusiastically.

Harkins found that her host’s family was similar to her own.

“Her mom was outgoing and willing to make sure everything is

perfect,” she said.

Her host family was even willing to go out and find her American

food when she couldn’t handle theirs. The other host families

provided similar levels of hospitality, such as helping students find

souvenirs. One family even shelled out a hefty sum and driving

hundreds of miles to treat their guest to a sumo match.

Aside from attending three days of class at their hosts’ school,

the students got to take a tour of Kyoto, visit the Nara deer park

and go “leaf skiing,” a sledding-like activity on a hill covered with

pine needles.

“If you see how people live, you are more inclined to be open

minded about differences,” said chaperon Mary Christensen, a Spanish

and history teacher.

Ford was impressed by the students’ work ethic, noting that “they

have a much more demanding schedule of school work.”

Other students discovered more subtle differences.

Though she found the futon-style beds substandard compared to

American mattresses, Sarah Cummings was impressed by Japan’s

technological advancement.

“In the house I stayed at, when you walked into the bathroom, the

lights turned on automatically,” she said.

Jones found the slip-on style shoes that the kids donned before

entering school to be superior to American athletic shoes. When

playing basketball and volleyball, “I could jump higher, run faster,”

he said.