JAPANESE CLASS EXPERIENCES A NEW CULTURE
This past summer, Peninsula collaborated with Toyama Daiichi High School (TDHS) in Toyama, Japan to sponsor an exchange program that gave each school’s students an opportunity to immerse themselves in a different environment. Japanese teacher Sachiko Iwami is one out of the many teachers from various schools who founded the exchange program. Iwami both organized the trip and helped Peninsula students communicate with the Japanese students during their stay in Japan.
“The purpose [of the program] is for students from both schools to get to know each other and make friendships to carry throughout their lives,” Iwami said. “[It is also to gain] a better cultural understanding of Japan.”
During their two weeks in Japan, students were able to explore the country as well as experience the typical Japanese high school life. For a week, the students attended TDHS, and for the remaining days, they visited other parts of Japan such as Kyoto and Hiroshima. During their visit at TDHS, each student was placed with a host family to observe life in a Japanese household. Since the host students were still attending school, participants were able to shadow them and learn about their education.
“At the high school, we [visited] some of the classes and [communicated by talking] to each other in a mix of English and Japanese,” Iwami said. “[TDHS] has so many different clubs, like calligraphy, archery and tea ceremony, so [the students] were able to really put themselves in the culture.”
The students were also able to compare the Japanese and American cultures while on the trip. Junior Ryan Wakugawa noticed these differences during his stay at TDHS.
“[Japanese schools] are not that different from American schools, but some of their [customs] are not what I am used to,” Wakugawa said. “The dress code is more strict and the kids are more independent because the teachers just come to teach and leave right after. [In addition], the students do almost everything else, [including] cleaning the classroom and planning school events.”
Going to TDHS not only exposed students to a different environment, but it also helped them improve their Japanese speaking and listening skills. Living with their host families also helped with their language skills and gave the students a new perspective on their own lives.
“Besides their incredibly warm, welcoming and kind personalities, the biggest thing I noticed about my host family is [how hard they worked],” Wakugawa said. “I learned what hard work really was when I stayed with them.”
Despite the great memories made at TDHS and their respective homes, the group did face some challenges during their trip. The most prominent issue was the language barrier.
“[Since] I was the only fluent Japanese speaker amongst the group, I was tasked with organizing schedules and leading the group,” senior Tyler Kawana said. “Communication was pretty difficult, but we still managed to go through with our plans and enjoy our stay.”
Although students from both schools may have had some difficulties, they formed new relationships during this exchange, fulfilling Iwami’s goal for the program. The trip gave each of the students a chance to interact and overcome cultural and language barriers, and view the world with a new mindset.
“[Despite] the amount of work required to set this program up, I can see the impact it has [made] on my students,” Iwami said. “I love this program, and it is not only the human connection aspect that makes me love it, [but also the] opportunity [for students] to use what they have learned in my classes and apply it in real world.”
