Photos and Q&A with student visitors from Japan

PHOTO FLIP BOOK

In late September 2023, eight Japanese students and their teacher Shinobu Kumagai visited the Bluffton Schools as part of the 30th annual Grassroots Summit, the largest exchange of private citizens between the United States and Japan. 

The three-day visit to Bluffton included five 11th graders (17 year olds) and three 10th graders (16 year olds) from Mizusawa Daiichi High school. The Icon joined them at Bluffton Elementary school on a Friday morning, finding local students who were tremendously excited to meet their guests. It was a beautiful Ohio fall day and the first introductions took place on the playground where conversations began using cell phone translators and the guests joined in shooting hoops. Afterwards the visiting students taught 4th graders how to make origami and paper hats using Japanese newspapers.

To learn more about how the trip impacted the Japanese students, the Icon followed up with this Q&A for the Mizusawa Daiichi participants.

Q. Is it common for Japanese students to study English? 

A. Yes, it is. Learning English is a compulsory subject for junior high school and high school students in Japan. And there are elective classes in Chinese and French at my school.

Q. Did the students learn to use cell phone translation apps? Had they used this before?

A. Some students used them. But we hardly use them during English classes. 

A. I always used translation apps. I’m not good at speaking English, and I can’t speak or listen without the app. But, thanks to the app, I was able to communicate with many people.

A. I basically avoided using translation apps during my stay in the U.S. Everyone in the U.S. was very kind. They spoke slowly so that I could easily hear them. When there was a word that I didn’t understand, I used the app to communicate.

Q. What things were you most interested in before you came to Ohio?

A. I was interested in American people’s daily lives and school life.

A. I was most interested in the difference between Japanese and American culture. For example, Japanese people take off their shoes inside the house. But in the U.S. they don’t. Also, American houses are wider and larger than Japanese houses. 

Q. Were there experiences that came as a surprise?

A. I thought that my jet lag would be worse. But I didn’t have any jet lag at all. However, when I returned to Japan, the jet lag was bad.

A. I was surprised that Americans were more friendly than Japanese people, and I was able to get to know them easily.

A. I was surprised to find that the U.S. has a lower population density than Japan. I was also surprised to find that my host family was having conversations with people they didn’t know.

A. I was surprised that there were no compact cars, K-car in Japanese. Once, when I hosted an exchange student from the U.S. at my house. He told me “Japanese cars are small.” I thought “How big are American cars?” When I went there, I understood what he meant. In Japan, there are many K-cars. I had never seen them in the U.S.

Q. Was there a most fun experience?

A. I really enjoyed the local autumn festival; I went there with my host family. The corn field maze was huge and very challenging. When I went shopping with my host family, there were some unusual shops that can’t be found in Japan.

A. Since I became a high school student, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Japanese elementary school students, so I had a lot of fun talking to Bluffton Elementary School kids.

A. I enjoyed interacting with my host family the most. I was able to experience many new things. I still keep in touch with my host family about 4 to 5 times a week.

A. It was interesting for me to watch an American football game. It was a different kind of excitement than in Japan, and I had fun cheering for them. It was a landslide victory for Bluffton High School, which made it even more enjoyable to watch. I want to go to the U.S. again!