News

Japanese, American cultures merge at base school

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The sun rose nearly 7,000 miles from Tokyo Wednesday as 20 Japanese middle and high school students journeyed from the Land of the Rising Sun to bring their culture and experiences to the children of Dover Air Force Base.

The students, accompanied by faculty members, will spend approximately two weeks here and met for a formal presentation, followed by hands-on interactions with Japanese culture, cuisine, art, math and other activities at the Dover Air Base Middle School auditorium.

"Japan is an incredibly warm and welcoming country whose people put their hearts into everything they do," said Amy Laslow, an art teacher at DAB Middle School and also the visit's coordinator. "This exchange gives Dover students opportunity, tolerance, a greater understanding of another culture and promotes life-long learning."

The Japanese students are a mix of 10 high school students from Kakuda High School and 10 middle school students from Iwanuma City Middle School, all in the Miyagi Prefecture, which is directly north of Tokyo and home to the international city of Sendai. Miyagi Prefecture and Delaware are sister states in a cultural-, educational-, sports- and tourism-oriented exchange program between both state governments. Furthermore, Dover and Iwanuma City are sister cities.

Ms. Laslow, an experienced world traveler who represented Delaware as a guest of the Japanese Government in 2003 and again in 2006, believes programs like these sister-state and sister-city exchanges are the key to the future, as no nation can remain ethnocentric in the years to come, she said.

"World travel and international communication is mounting more and more each year," she explained. "We need to prepare our students to be global citizens."

Wednesday was the ninth-annual exchange and the presentation began with bilingual welcomes and introductions. Next, Haruka Kikuchi, an Iwanuma City Middle School student, presented Ernestine Adams, DAB Middle School principal, and Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Caesar Rodney School District superintendent, with traditional Japanese gifts.

Following the gift presentation, the Japanese middle and high school students performed presentations describing the four seasons of the Miyagi Prefecture, culture, and explained the similarities and differences between Dover's and their own education system.

After the completion of all the presentations, the Japanese students manned displays in numerous class rooms where American students and parents circulated through hands-on demonstrations in 'Ayatori,' string art, 'Shuji,' traditional calligraphy, 'Origami,' art of paper folding, 'Manga,' comic art, 'Kendo,' sword fighting, 'Chanoyu,' green-tea ceremony, a text-book exhibition, and one-on-one preparation of 'Yakisoba,' fried noodles, and 'Sushi,' vinegared rice, topped with fish.

"This was very fun, I really like the Japanese culture and food," said Teresa Anderson, 10th-grader at Dover High School and daughter of Tech. Sgt. Walter Anderson, 436th Maintenance Squadron.

For Ms. Anderson, the intercultural event was profound and changed her world views forever, she said.

"These 20 Japanese students were very lucky to come here and experience Dover from our point of view," she said. "I am trying to go to Japan this summer to visit and experience Japanese culture first hand."

A Japanese 10th-grader, who was teaching Ms. Anderson how to properly throw a Japanese toy similar to a mix between a top and Yo-Yo, described his feelings toward the visit.

"I am sorry I can only stay for two weeks," said 16-year-old Hiraku Kiyoki from Kakuda High School. "I really like meeting the American students - they are all very nice. My favorite thing about the trip is experiencing Dover - this city and area is so natural and so beautiful. I hope for years to come, no humans disrupt the natural beauty of Delaware."

Yoshihiro Yamada, Kakuda High School's English Language staff chief and the chief of the international-affairs committee for the school, said he was honored to visit Dover for his second time with this trip.

However for him it was more than just a chance to visit the area, he explained. He summed the experience in one Japanese word, 'Sogorikai.'

"It is important to learn various ways of thinking and to get a worldly experience," said Mr. Yamada, explaining the meaning behind the word sogorikai. "These children are the world's future; they need to all respect each other."

Though there are language barriers and cultural differences, Mr. Yamada said his school, Iwanuma City Middle School, DAB Middle School and Dover High School are all very similar.

"Here in Dover there is an emphasis on educational studies as well as extracurricular clubs and sports - we highlight the exact same things in our schools," said Mr. Yamada, who also said the local Dover area is very similar to the Miyagi prefecture. "We both have warm and kind people. So much of Miyagi and so much of Delaware is made of untouched nature - such lands are a rarity in this age."

In response to what she described as "an overwhelming nine years of support," Ms. Laslow is coordinating and raising funds for a trip to bring selected Dover students to visit and perform in Japan.

"It is unfortunate, but we've only reciprocated the gesture once in the nine years the students from Miyagi have been visiting here," said Ms. Laslow. "Provided I can raise the appropriate funds, we will make every effort to respond to their kindness and travel to Miyagi this year or early next year."