Cupertino DailyCupertino Sister City Student Exchange
By Theresa Condon
Every summer a handful of middle school students board a plane in San Jose and exit in Toyokawa, Japan to immerse themselves for ten days in the life of Cupertino’s Sister City.
Julie Meyerson, 15, was in the seventh grade at Cupertino Middle School when she saw a poster advertising the Summer 2006 Cupertino Sister City Exchange Program. “It sounded really fun to stay with another family and I’ve always loved to travel. I met some people who had some good things to say about it [the program],” said Meyerson about her decision to apply.
Any student attending a middle school in the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) can apply to the program but only a few are selected to make the trip. “We want see that the students are well-rounded and that they would be good representatives of Cupertino,” said President Lucille Honig. Applicants must write a 100 word essay explaining how they would benefit from the trip and provide two teacher recommendations. An oral interview is conducted with both parents and child to ensure that everyone understands the commitment expected to the program. Monthly meetings introduce the selected students to each other and to the culture they will be visiting.
Once in Japan students are led by volunteer chaperones. Valerie Lau heard about the program last year through her job as a teacher in the CUSD. She and her husband Ed volunteered to chaperone the students on the 2008 trip. Both thoroughly enjoyed their time in Japan and noted the students’ positive experiences as well. “The students now have an appreciation for the global community,” said Ed. Valerie agrees and noted, “They really enjoy the interaction with their host families”.
Students stayed with host families for the first six days and experienced the day to day life of their Japanese peers, they even shadowed their host families’ children for two days at Kanaya Junior High School.
Warmly welcomed as representatives of Cupertino, the students met several Toyokawa city officials and visited many local points such as the Inari Shrine and the Toyokawa Library and Planetarium. Another highlight was touring the Toyokawa bullet train factory. “They[Toyokawa residents] were incredibly friendly and interested in learning about us and our city,” said Valerie.
The group also visited the cities of Kyoto, Nara and Osaka during the final days of the trip, before heading home full of memories and anticipating the arrival of the Japanese students in a few months.
The Toyokawa students will arrive in late September to stay with host families and visit their sister city of Cupertino.
Why travel across the world for those ten days? Hopefully students return enriched by their experience and knowledge of another culture. Meyerson sums it up, “I got alot more independent and I really got to experience the culture because at home you can read books, you sort of get an idea, but when you go there you really get to know how they live”.
Tags: sister city, student exchange
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