GALVESTON Japanese student Ren Sasaki leaned over his Spanish textbook in class at Ball High School. The 15-year-old visiting student from Niigata, Japan, quietly stared at the board and back at his book.
And as if English wasn t hard enough for the foreign student, he conjugated the verb in Spanish, English and Japanese.
Sasaki was one of 16 students from Niigata, Japan, Galveston s sister city, visiting the island as part of a one-week exchange program. Each Japanese student was paired with another Galveston student to shadow during the school day.
I ve learned how certain people eat and how different money exchanges work, Jared Jackson, Sasaki s buddy for the week, said. I ve also learned that our daily life in America is very different to them.
The students, four elementary students, two junior high students and 10 high school students, arrived on Halloween and will head home Saturday. Four adults, an interpreter and three members of the Niigata Board of Education, also came with the children.
We are grateful for the chance to visit, and it s made us quite happy, Brian Southwick, the interpreter for the group, told city of Galveston staff Wednesday.
During the week, the students attended class at Ball High, Central Middle School, Austin Middle School, Weis Middle School and Holy Family School.
The group saw The Great Storm documentary and toured the tall ship Elissa, Moody Gardens Aquarium and the American National Insurance Company building.
After Hurricane Ike, Niigata donated $30,000 to replace trees destroyed by the storm. The city also made donations after hurricanes Alicia and Karl. Thursday, the group was able to see the donated trees.
It s great because it really builds relationships and gets us to learn about each other s culture, Patricia Bolton-Legg, chairwoman of the Galveston Sister Cities Committee, said. You re able to develop some long-lasting friendships. It s really exciting.
Eleven families took in the Japanese visitors.
We ve had such a wonderful time with them, Kay Henson, who was host to two students, said. They brought us tons of presents. My kitchen table is filled with presents from Japan. It s just been great.
And the students are taking away a few lessons from the island, too.
The pizza here is better, Sasaki said, smiling.
For host Charles Scruggs, swapping cultural recipes during the week has been a highlight. One of the nights, his two visiting students cooked a traditional Japanese meal for his family.
I couldn t even read the packages, Scruggs said. It was lovely though, and they insisted on doing that for us. It s really been a pleasure. The children are very well-mannered and really great kids.
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Interested In Sister Cities?
Those interested in the program may contact Patricia Bolton-Legg at 409-762-6544.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com s partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.
