Japanese students’ suitcases in the Poly High School teacher’s lounge. Photos by Sarah Bennett
Ordinarily, the spacious teacher’s lounge at Long Beach’s Poly High School is off-limits to students, but last Thursday afternoon, it was full of them–some of whom had flown nearly 6000 miles to be there. With their suitcases stacked in the corner of the room, around 25 students from the Namiki Secondary School in Ibaraki, Japan mingled with students from Poly’s esteemed Japanese language program in a welcome reception that was to begin the Japanese students’ three-day stay in Long Beach.
The high school-aged students were in America as part of the Kizuna Project, an invitation program sponsored by the Japanese government that last year paid for Poly students to stay with host families and attend school in Japan for a few weeks. Many of those same Poly students were on hand last week to meet the new arrivals, who were all from an area of the country hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2010.
In addition to participating in a cultural exchange, the Japanese students were on a public relations mission and their trip to Poly included a presentation about recovery efforts in the two years since the earthquake and tsunami rocked northern Japan. Their Powerpoint gave information about rebuilding of the fishing and agriculture industries after the collapse of two reactors at the Fukishima Daiichi power plant and also clean-up efforts to remove the massive amounts of debris that line tsunami-hit beaches.
“The Great East Japan Earthquake reminded us to appreciate ordinary lives,” explained one Japanese student. “We spent many hours volunteering in other devastated areas.”
After the presentation, the Japanese students performed a traditional dance for the group and then were paired up with their host families who for the next two days were their guides through the International City. On Friday, the students attended Poly with their host and experienced American high school life. On Saturday, the host families had activities planned from roller skating on the beach to going to the Aquarium.
The Japenese students left early Sunday morning for a bus that would take them to San Francisco–the next leg of their two-week trip to the United States.
“Kizuna means tie or bond between one person and another,” said a Japanese student at the end of the welcome ceremony. “Now, between you and us, there is a new kizuna forming. I hope you spread kizuna to others and make the world a better place.”
Poly’s Japanese language program is the most extensive of its kind in the country, thanks to its integration with the school’s Center for International Commerce academy, which prepares students for college and also success in an international economy. While many Japanese language programs exist at high schools on the west coast, Poly’s employs multiple teachers who teach a range of language levels.
The city also has many Japanese cultural amenities such as the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at Cal State Long Beach and the Long Beach Japanese School. Long Beach’s first sister city was also Yokkaichi, Japan and the Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Association Program continues to offer annual exchange programs for those interested.