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| In the
early morning hours of June 16 thirteen students met
up with their chaperones to enjoy a cultural exchange
to Japan. Six students from Frederick Douglass
High School and seven students from Dr. Henry A. Wise,
Jr. High School were selected to participate in the
program. Four adults from the two schools lead
the program: Ms. Jill Turner, Japanese Exchange
Program Coordinator and Family and Consumer Sciences
Teacher at FDHS, Ms. Rhonda Sumney, Assistant
Principal at Wise High School, Mr. Alphonso Jiles,
Music teacher and Band Director at Wise High School,
and Ms. Angela Alcain, Technology Coordinator for
FDHS. Students met their
chaperones at 4 a.m. and after a quick check-in
process they bid farewell to their parents, many of
whom stayed up through the night to make the 4 a.m.
deadline. As is expected in Japan students must
be on time all of the time. After a relatively
painless security screening process the group boarded
a plane bound for Dallas Fort Worth and then
transferred to the 12 hour overseas flight to Tokyo.
After a brief stay in a hotel in Narita the students
boarded a bus and several trains to arrive in the
Kanagawa Prefecture at Yamato Nishi High School. |
Slide Show of June 2007 Trip
First day in Japan - Breezebay Hotel |
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A beautiful welcoming
sign was displayed at the front entrance.
Students hauled their luggage into the building and
then proceeded to change into school slippers.
No outside shoes are worn within the Japanese school
beyond the main entrance. Students were
enthusiastically greeted by the school principal and
vice principals. The principal expressed his
hope that the exchange program would greatly benefit
both Japanese and American students alike. Then
students were paired up with their host students to
experience the first afternoon of classes in Japan.
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Steven Garrison
sharing his saxophone in the International Lounge |
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| Students also visited
an elementary school during the week. Some of
our students had a hard time fitting through the
doorways.
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While staying with their host families
students experienced teen culture Japanese style.
A night of Karaoke was planned shortly after the
arrival. Several American students purchased
their own school shoes. The shoes are blank
white canvas shoes that are often adorned with
personal designs by the students. |
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Group in front of the House of
Councillors
An example of an older form of ballot
counting |
Several excursions were planned to
visit Japanese government offices, temples and
shrines, as well as, some popular shopping areas.
During a day-long trip to Tokyo students learned about
the governmental process that takes place in the House
of Councillors, similar to the US Senate.
Students also visited the outer area of the Imperial
Palace. Nobody is allowed beyond the gate and
extensive mote surrounding the palace. A
beautiful parks sits at the edge of the palace.
One thing you will notice is that there are no public
garbage cans in the park. Visitors are expected
to transport any trash home so it can be sorted
properly for recycling, which is routine in the area
we visited. Students also enjoyed lunch at Tokyo
station. After lunch students were given a brief
time to shop for souvenirs near the 1964 Summer
Olympics site. |
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In front of one of the Imperial Palace
gates |
Walking to Tokyo
Station
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There was no shortage of
exercise during the trip either. Along with walking
during the tours students often had to walk several miles
to the train and several miles from the train station to
arrive at the high school each day. Some students
road bicycles and others road combinations of trains and
buses. It was
interesting to see how the culture was so different but
yet, in many ways, very much the same. Teenagers are
obsessed with fashion and electronic gadgets anywhere you
go. One aspect of school life that was different is
that the schools do not have the same organization and
seasons when it comes to athletic and other school-based
activities. All of the activities are called clubs
at the school and the season is throughout the school
year. Many students stay after school every day,
sometimes as late as 7 p.m. and even come in on the
weekends to practice their sport or craft. It was
not unusual to arrive to students practicing their
instruments in the halls and corners of the building in
the early morning hours also.
Time for shopping near the 1964 Olympic Stadium
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During the weekend of
the trip students went on excursions planned by their
host families. Many students visited one of
Japan's most famous shrines in Kamakura. The
shrine features the well-known Daibutsu ("Big Buddha")
Statue. Interestingly enough the statue is not
actually of Buddha, as nobody knows what Buddha looks
like. The statues many people assume are
different likenesses of Buddha are actually Buddha's
disciples. The Daibutsu is actually a statue of
Amida. Some of the other sites we visited
included the Sensoji Temple and the Tsurugaoka
Hachiman Shrine.
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