On October 5, foreign exchange students traveled from the Izumigaoka High School in Ishikawa, Japan, to visit Princeton High School’s campus. PHS has maintained a long-standing partnership with its sister school since 2019, providing students from both schools the opportunity to study overseas and experience the lifestyle and culture of each other’s countries.
This year, the Japanese students stayed in Princeton for four days and three nights. During this time, they were able to attend PHS classes with their host students, learn about American history and culture, and share dinners with their host families. The program created a new language learning environment for the exchange students, as they were able to apply their classroom knowledge to a real life setting.
“The main purpose of this program is bringing people together through language learning and culture exchange,” said Risa Sakakibara, a PHS Japanese teacher and core facilitator of the exchange program.
The exchange students’ itinerary was created by PHS’s Japanese students and included going to downtown Princeton with their host students and eating popular American dishes. The Japanese students had the opportunity to practice their English and learn new words.
Sheily Kim ’27, a participant in the Japanese exchange program, prioritized activities that were unfamiliar to the exchange students.
“I was really excited to prepare [my exchange students’] schedules. I brought them to Chipotle, and they really liked the taste, because apparently they do not have a lot of Mexican cuisine in Japan,” said Kim. “I really enjoyed hanging out with my friends, another host, and a group [of] exchange students after school.”
Kurea Funami, a Japanese student from Izumigaoka High School, found that the students’ bonding experiences created an immersion of the two distinct cultures.
“I learned that even though we live in different places and speak different languages, we can connect and share our feelings,” said Funami.
PHS students will travel to Japan in early November and visit multiple major cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Kanazawa. There, students will visit historical sites and temples, eat local, traditional dishes, and stay with house families in Kanazawa. Staying with a local family overseas in a different country can create a sense of independence and reframes a student’s perspective of the world.
“Homestayis[a]veryimportant part of the exchange program because sharing meals, having conversation, and spending time together [can help students] learn [about] each other’s lives on a more personal level,” said Sakikabara.
This exchange program was not only significant to PHS and language studies, but is also important exposure to other cultures and lifestyles around the world. Japanese can be a unifying factor for students: just a conversation can motivate students to keep learning and improve their skills.
“Working through this [exchange program] can help [students] become more confident, flexible, and independent,” said Sakikabara. “They return with a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and [become] more confident in [their] ability to communicate with other people from foreign countries.”