By Aozora Ito, Staff Writer and Nicole Tieu, Managing Editor
On Tuesday, a group of 25 Japanese high school students came to Fountain Valley High School through a foreign exchange program to meet and connect with American students. This program has been going on for three years, and this was the second time that FVHS received foreign exchange students from Japan.
”Meeting them for the first time was really exciting and also a little intimidating,” said Annie Ngo (‘16). “I was afraid to talk to them because my Japanese isn’t very good.”
The group of Japanese students came to Sachi Aso’s AP Japanese 4 class and interacted with the FVHS students. The students read the Yahoo! Japan News together and got into groups to ask each other questions in Japanese regarding various topics such as high school life, entertainment, and college.
“This was a good cultural exchange for both students and I was glad that they were able to communicate on their own and sympathize with each other,” said Aso.
The Japanese students left from Meisei High School in Fuchu, Tokyo on Dec. 6, and will be visiting various places around California until Dec.11. The students are scattered among several homestays, with two students per family. They noticed several cultural differences when they visited FVHS and were surprised to see students move to different classes rather than the teachers like they do in Japan.
“This school [FVHS] is much bigger than the one in Japan. Our high school only has around 150 students total in the three grades. Also, we use chalkboards, not whiteboards,” said Miku Torioka, a 17 year old Japanese student.
The students recently explored Disneyland California Adventure Park and plan to continue their trip by visiting University of California, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica beach. The students are also touring workplaces such as the Los Angeles Times and a police department.
“Not only do I want the students to have fun, but it would be a bonus if they can feel a spark inside of them,” a program adviser said. “I want them to be affected and expand their mind to an international perspective. After this experience, I want them to think about their future and study harder.”
