Photograph by Carrie Jensen

Kuzuya Naito, center, explains to Sho Idota and Tsubasa Furuya, right, how to play football. The three boys are exchange students from Cupertino's sister city, Toyokawa, Japan.




Japan Calling

Exchange students share goodwill, offer what help they can

By George Moore

Last July 10, Cupertino Middle School students traveled to Toyokawa, Japan, as part of a Cupertino-Toyokawa Sister City student exchange program, which began 24 years ago. In turn, a dozen Japanese student delegates from six middle schools arrived on Sept. 20 to spend a week with host families in Cupertino.

The United States is not the only nation feeling uneasy about boarding an airplane. Japanese school officials in Toyokawa decided at the last minute that the students should proceed with their plans to visit the United States. Tani Minor, a Toyokawa resident and interpreter with the program for the past 24 years, said there was an eerie feeling at the airport in Japan.

"It was just so quiet and empty compared with what it was like before the terrorist attacks," Minor said.

When students learned they would be making the trip, they told their classmates the day before traveling that they would like to collect money for the relief effort on the East Coast. On the morning they departed, they collected over 396,000 yen (approximately $3,400 U.S. dollars) and presented it to Cupertino city officials. Mayor Sandra James said she is going to send the money directly to Mayor Rudy Giuliani with a letter explaining its origin.

The students also presented posters they had created with slogans and pictures aimed at furthering goodwill. One of them showed a map of the world with a line drawn from Japan to the United States and read, "May I help you?" Another had a picture of the Statue of Liberty with a big smile--the New York skyline in the background--and the words "Love and Peace" written in large letters. A third poster simply read, "We were shocked about the accident by terrorists. We hope you'll make the nicer buildings again."

The families of the Cupertino students who traveled to Japan in July played host to the Japanese students and chaperones. They gathered Sept. 21 at Memorial Park for a barbecue after spending the day at the Tech Museum and playing a round of miniature golf. Watching the students from two different cultures laughing and playing badminton and football in the park after such a tragic week offered some relief for all involved. After the barbecue, the students attended a dance at the Quinlan Center.

Student Jason Gray made the trip to Toyokawa in July, and although the students were treated like royalty in the city of more that 110,000 people, his mother, Gerri, said his favorite part was hanging out with his host family. It is common for seniors to live with their families in Japan, and Jason pleaded for his grandmother Peggy from Virginia to come and visit while they hosted two Japanese students. She arrived two days before the attacks back east and brought scrapple and hominy grits with her so she could cook a real country breakfast for the kids on a Saturday morning.

Jason's mother said the children showered them with gifts--a lot of them homemade--including wind chimes and ceramic dishes.

Lucille Honig, president of the sister city program and involved for more than 20 years said the annual Cherry Festival, which occurs the second to last weekend of April, benefits the nonprofit Cupertino Sister City Committee.

"The festival earnings defer the travel costs for the students and chaperones," Honig said. "The past few years it has completely covered the costs."

Parents of student delegates are required to volunteer their time to the festival.

Nori Kondo, a committee member since 1979, has worked hard to find a couple of big local corporate sponsors, but so far has had no luck. Honig said the program could use more support from the city as well.

The first weekend, host families can plan whatever they want--many of them joined together and attended the Stanford football game Saturday and visited Marine World on Sunday. Some of them also visited San Francisco during the weekend.

On Sept. 24 and 25 the Japanese students attended classes at Cupertino Middle School, and they were honored at the Cupertino Union School District meeting Sept. 25. At the meeting, they introduced themselves and sang a rousing rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and read a letter that was written by a student council president to the Cupertino Middle School students. One of the passages read, "We were moved by the sight of the American people standing strong and unbeaten in the face of terrorism."

According to Honig, before the students travel, they attend language classes once a week for 10 weeks to learn conversational English. They write down what they would like to convey so they can learn and practice it before their trip. They all must keep journals of their trip and are required to write an essay once they return.

Honig added that in order to qualify as a delegate, students must submit an essay explaining what makes them good candidates, provide letters of recommendation from teachers, and their parents must commit time.

Virgil Klein, vice president and tour leader of the program has been involved for the past 14 years.

"Hosting was such a rewarding experience, we decided to stick with it," Klein said. "It's so exciting for us to have them here. It's such a wonderful program."

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