Over the summer, senior Liana Wang and sophomore Mohan Awasthi visited Okayama, Japan (a sister city of San Jose) as Silicon Valley Youth Ambassadors. They and other ambassadors headed to Gakugeikan High School and Kyokuto Junior High to meet with teachers and students and teach English. Wang, a prolific dancer and the designated leader of the ambassadors, gave a special dance performance to the students, while Awasthi gave a speech about what schools are like in the United States. “Overall, the public schools themselves are extremely well run and maintained, and there are many extra-curricular activities for any type of student,” he said.
On a visit to Okayama’s city hall, the group met with the Okayama mayor Maso Omori and received a tour of the building. As the leader of the ambassadors, Wang gave a speech to the mayor on behalf of the City of San Jose. “Also, similar to the school speech, we spoke to the mayor about how we came to keep a good relationship between San Jose and Okayama,” Awasthi noted. “Overall, it was an extremely fun and rare experience.”
During a homestay with the family of a local high school student, Awasthi got a firsthand look into the everyday lives of Okayama citizens. “I got to try more authentic Japanese food, play sports, visit their school, and see many landmarks in Okayama: Kojima Jean street, the Stone Windmills, Okayama Castle, and the Makido stone cave,” he said. Forging bonds with his host family, he added, was one of the most memorable parts of his trip. Wang also visited Okayama Castle with her homestay, as well as the Bikan Chiku area in Okayama’s historic Kurashiki district.
Other highlights of the trip included visiting various famous locales around Tokyo, and taking a trip to Onagawa, a city that experienced massive destruction during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, where they planted trees, and Wang gave a message of support to the disaster victims.
The annual middle school trip to Japan in mid-May took 23 grade 6 students across the Pacific to meet with their buddies at Tamagawa Academy, and see many of the country’s cultural and geographic landmarks. After arriving in Tokyo on May 11, the students spent a couple of days exploring the city. They visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the Sumo Museum and the Anime Museum, where they learned about the process of making an animated film.
Tamagawa Academy gave Harker a warm welcome on May 13, despite less-than-savory weather conditions. “Despite the heavy rain, we were greeted with excitement, big smiles, and hugs from Tamagawa buddies, parents and teachers,” reported Alana Butler, middle school dean of students, who served as a chaperone on the trip. Both Tamagawa and Harker students gave speeches, and Tamagawa’s middle school headmaster welcomed the Harker representatives and offered his appreciation for the 21-year relationship between the two schools. Following the ceremony, Harker students left with their homestays for the remainder of the weekend.
The Harker students spent much of their first full day at Tamagawa attending classes with their buddies, including English, math, science and foreign languages. During a stop at Tamgawa’s agricultural department, “We learned that the university is producing lettuce, selected herbs and fruit using specific LED lights and light combinations,” said Butler. “It was an amazing sight to see!”
The next day started with a brief welcome meeting with Tamagawa head of school Yoshiaki Obara, after which the group headed to the school’s planetarium. “As Keiko of the planetarium program explained, it is rare that a planetarium is attached to a school,” Butler wrote. “Therefore, having one at Tamagawa is truly special.” Later that day, the students attended a special assembly that included performances of karate, ballet, fencing and comedy. Harker students Ashley Ruan, Arissa Huda and Aria Jain performed as well.
The final day of Harker’s visit to Tamagawa began with students participating in the Tamagawa lower school’s morning assembly and daily exercise routine. “As Harker guests, we joined in and brought smiles to many faces,” wrote Butler. They later attended English and music classes at the lower school. “Since the students are very young and at the beginning stages of learning English, lessons involved students walking around and introducing themselves to their new Harker friends,” Butler said.
The students spent the rest of the day with their Tamagawa buddies, attending classes and enjoying lunch before emotional farewells were exchanged. “Hugs, smiles and tears were all present as our Harker students said goodbye to their Tamagawa buddies,” Butler wrote. “Feeling like most parents saying goodbye to their children, the Tamagawa moms and dads were just as sad to see their Harker guest children leave.”
Upon arriving in Kyoto the next day, the group set out to explore the former Japanese capital with their tour guide, Akira. “As we drove around, Akira pointed out foliage, statues and other things that were specific to the area,” wrote Butler. The students and chaperones had a great time watching a kimono fashion show at the Nishijin Textile Center and seeing the Fushimi Shinto shrine. Once the large crowds had subsided, they also walked through Kiyomizu Temple.
On May 19, the group spent their final full day in Japan in Hiroshima, where they toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Local guides Mito and Michiko provided historical facts and personal stories regarding the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. The students presented 1,000 paper cranes that they had folded, which were left at the Children’s Peace Monument in memory of the wish of Sadako Sasaki, who fell ill following the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and folded origami cranes in the hopes that she would be granted a wish upon folding 1,000 of them, in accordance with an ancient legend.
Their final cultural stop on the trip was at Miyajima Island, where they walked with deer and viewed the Itsukushima Shrine, built more than 1,400 years ago.
Last month, recent graduates Manan Shah ’17 and Michael Tseitlin ’17, accompanied by computer science chair Eric Nelson, attended the Critical Issues Forum in Nagasaki, Japan, an annual event for high school students around the world interested in nuclear disarmament.
The conference, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, was co-sponsored by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Kwassui High School in Nagasaki and the Nagasaki Council for Nuclear Weapons Abolition.
During the three-day event, students from the United States, Russia and Japan gave presentations on this year’s assigned topic, “Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its Role for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons.” Shah and Tseitlin’s presentation examined ways that current nuclear weapons ban agreements could be improved. “Our research highlighted the major concerns in numerous high-risk nuclear regions of interest and proposed a unique test-ban solution focusing on broad global precedents and specific regional implementations to prevent the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons,” Shah said.
Attendees also heard from leading nonproliferation experts, including Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, who gave a talk “about the accomplishments and hurdles surrounding the implementation of the treaty,” Shah recalled. Shah also was asked to be one of two students from the United States to appear on a panel, where he discussed how he became a researcher and activist for nuclear nonproliferation.
Outside of the conference, students had the opportunity to explore Hiroshima and its many exhibits related to the bombing that eventually led to the end of World War II. “I was truly inspired by visiting the site of the atomic bomb explosion on Aug. 6, 1945 and obtaining a firsthand understanding of the damage that was inflicted by the bomb on Japanese citizens,” Shah reported. “I’m also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to live with a host family who helped me understand and appreciate Japanese culture.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Lower school English teacher Heather Russell had the great opportunity to travel to Japan as this year’s exchange teacher with Tamagawa Academy K-12 School & University, Harker’s sister school in Tokyo. While at Tamagawa, she observed several classes and taught English to students in grades 1-3. She also used her English lessons to teach the Tamagawa students about the American “Wild West,” including lessons about desert plants, wildlife, cowboys and how farm animals make sounds in English. Students from each class also contributed to a mural that followed the “Wild West” theme.
Russell was impressed at the sense of community among Tamagawa students. “From the start of the day when the whole school would gather on the field for morning exercises, singing the school song and marching to class together, there was a sense of community,” she said. “Teachers would gather in a circle to sing, share announcements and then gather by grade level to connect before the day began.” Russell also was inspired by the community effort to keep the school campus clean. “This act of service also showed great care for their school, teamwork and independence as students cleaned their school grounds together.”
In addition to her time at Tamagawa, Russell also visited a shrine in Tokyo and saw a traditional Japanese wedding procession, stood atop Tokyo Tower to take in the wonder of the city’s skyline, attended a kabuki play and enjoyed a wide variety of Japanese cuisine.
One of the highlights for Russell was a tour around the Tamagawa campus with a teacher nearing retirement after 45 years at the school. “We hiked through the gardens where the students would harvest vegetables. We saw giant spiders, a variety of trees and sculptures, as well as the original and new buildings on the sprawling campus,” she recalled. “Seeing the school through his experienced eyes gave me a new perspective of the history and culture of an amazing school.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In May 23 Harker middle school students headed to Japan to meet their Tamagawa buddies, view the country’s many signature sights and more. The students’ first stop was Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Academy (K-12) & University in Tokyo, where they were greeted warmly by Tamagawa families and treated to performances by students.
Over the next few days, Harker students – who stayed with Tamagawa families – spent time with their buddies and enjoyed various on-campus activities, such as visiting classes, touring the facilities and even seeing a beehive up close.
After saying goodbye to their buddies, the Harker group boarded a bullet train to Kyoto, where they visited many of the city’s most famous landmarks. They also traveled to Miyajima Island and Peach Memorial Park.
On their final day in Japan, the students visited the Monkey Park in Gion, where they enclosed themselves in small huts to feed the monkeys.