But the 15 students can make that claim after their June 13­25 trip to Japan. Leading the tour was Ann Jordan, who teaches Japanese levels 1-3 and world history at Los Gatos High School.

Jordan, who is called "sensei" (teacher in Japanese) by her students, has also lived in Japan for 10 years, so she knew the ins and outs of the transportation system as well as major sights to visit.

"The Japanese people we met were surprised at how much the students knew," Jordan said. "There's always a perception among Japanese that no one can learn Japanese."

Jordan had received an email through a Japanese teachers association seeking a co-educational school to develop a sister-school relationship with Yamate, an all-girls combination junior and high school in Yokohama, Japan. The idea to take a trip overseas to visit the school sparked with students in Jordan's Japanese classes.

"It was really satisfying to see the students being able to apply what they learned in the classroom in the real setting," Jordan said.

The adventure was so successful that Jordan is hoping other Los Gatos High teachers will continue to lead the trip in future years, since it includes not only maintaining a friendship with Yamate, but immersing participants in the language, culture and history, unlike a museum tour or docent-led trip.

Los Gatos High students who made the trip were Andrew Ford, Andrew Hight, Andrew O'Neal, Andrew Rose, Brandon Holst, Brian Young, Jacob Kessler, Laura King, Megan McCrery, Nick Edwards-Mueller, Scott Jeffrey and Shawn Moore. In addition, participants from other local schools were Irene Lawson of Monte Vista High School in Danville, Megan O'Rorke of Monta Vista High School in Cupertino and Kristie Lu of Wilcox High School in Santa Clara.

Scott, a junior in Japanese 2, and Jacob, a junior in Japanese 1, said the Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo was one of the highlights of the journey, where tourists could buy anything from digital cameras to video games. Jacob also learned that "you can get just about anything from a vending machine."

Both teens added they became more comfortable speaking the language, using formal and casual forms of words. The group of students came to understand that most Japanese live far away from major points of focus. The American students stayed with host families during part of their trip in Japan, and some had at least a one-hour trip to Yamate every day. There were 10 young men in the group and only five young women, so the boys were the center of attention for the Japanese girls.

"They were not used to having foreigners there or guys there, so we were like celebrities," Jacob said.

"Every time I would go to the bathroom I would be stopped to take pictures," said Scott, noting that the girls were fascinated by a purple streak in his hair.

At five-stories tall, Yamate has an enrollment of about 600 female Japanese students. The girls wore uniforms, and the class structure was different from those of schools in the United States. Instead of having the students change classes between periods, it was the teachers who moved between classrooms to the students. Japanese students also attend school six days a week and only have Sundays off.

Laura, a senior in Japanese 3, Megan O'Rorke, a junior in Japanese 3, and Megan McCrery, a senior in Japanese 2, said they had a discussion about Iraq with Yamate students via translators and cleared up misconceptions Japanese students had that all Americans support President George Bush and the war. The girls also said they enjoyed visiting the Olympic Center in Tokyo, playing arcade games in Kyoto and munching on ramen and unidentifiable seafood with their classmates.

"I tried a lot of really weird stuff I would never eat here," said Megan McCrery, scrunching her face up in disgust.

On their last day at Yamate, Andrew Ford and Andrew O'Neal, who are both juniors in Japanese 3, said the Yamate students hosted a farewell party and performance for the American students, followed by a performance by the American students. Andrew Ford, on alto saxophone, and Andrew O'Neal, on bass, along with Irene, who plays tenor and clarinet, entertained the crowd with George Gershwin's "Summertime," from Porgy & Bess.

"It's well-known, and Japanese love jazz," said Andrew Ford, adding that he even had an all-night musical jam session with his host family.

Andrew O'Neal said the American students were amused to find that many Japanese people know all the lyrics to songs such as Eminem's raps, but have no idea what the words mean. They listen to American music channels on the radio and adore musicians like Eric Clapton.

"Jazz is really popular," Andrew Ford said. "It's huge."