Students from Nago City, Japan, are visiting Hawaii Island.
Twelve students arrived in Hilo last Friday and will return to Japan on Sunday. Nago City has been sending students to the Big Island every year since the inception of the sister-city program in 1986.
The high school students spent last weekend living with local host families and participating in daily activities with them.
Six different local families took in two
students each and showed them what a typical weekend in Hilo is like.
“The student cultural and educational exchanges are at the heart of our sister-city program,” said
program coordinator Jane Clement. “When you ask the students what their favorite part of the trip is so far, almost all of them will answer it is their time spent with their host families.”
The visiting students also spent time with Hilo High Japanese class students.
The Nago students shared information and showed photos of their hometown and Okinawa, and the students from Hilo asked questions.
“One of the goals for this trip is for the students to learn and practice speaking English with native speakers,” Clement said. “Similarly, the Hilo High School Japanese class students also had an opportunity to learn and practice speaking Japanese with the visiting students.”
The Nago students also spent a few hours each day learning new words and phrases from a group of kupuna, most of whom are retired teachers.
They have been volunteering to teach English classes to visiting Japanese students for many years, according to Clement.
Besides honing their English speaking and comprehension skills, learning about Hawaiian culture also is a big part of this student exchange program.
The Nago City students will spend the rest of their stay in Kailua-Kona, where they will have a chance to tour educational and cultural sites.
The students will experience coffee picking at UCC Farm in Holualoa and learn about the Japanese immigrants and their contributions to the
coffee industry in
Hawaii.
They also will have a service day at the Amy Greenwell Botanical Gardens, where they will prepare the soil for taro.
“I hope that they come away with good impressions of Hawaii Island, and they go back home and share their experiences with their peers, family and friends,” Clement said.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com
