Jan. 25 - I recently travelled to Fukui City to speak at the 25th anniversary of the American Field Service Student Exchange program's Fukui chapter. I was pleased to learn that Fukui has a long tradition of welcoming foreign students to Japan so they can learn Japanese and experience Japanese culture.
Participating in the event were over 10 high school foreign exchange students from the United States, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand, as well as many high school principals, teachers and foreign student host families. I learned that AFS Fukui has hosted over 100 foreign students in Fukui and has sent nearly 100 Japanese students abroad as well.
Many people I talked to in Fukui were proud that one of Japan's first students to travel to the United States, Taro Kusakabe, was from Fukui. He graduated from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1870. Building upon this historical tie, Fukui Prefecture established a sister state relationship with New Jersey, and Fukui City started a sister city relationship with New Brunswick City, home of Rutgers.
Several of the foreign students I spoke with told me that they were enjoying their stay because Fukui citizens were welcoming and friendly. Talking with these energetic and optimistic students reminded me of my own experiences as a high school exchange student, when I was exhilarated by new discoveries and new friends.
I spoke to this group about the importance of sustaining grassroots exchanges between the United States and Japan. We are concerned about a decline in the number of young Japanese choosing to study abroad in the United States. I tried to encourage the young Fukui students in the audience to follow in the footsteps of Taro Kusakabe and choose to study abroad as a way to expand their horizons.
For those of you interested in seeing a copy of my presentation, please click here (PDF 2.1 MB).
Until next time,
Jim
Mr. Zumwalt, I am very happy to know that you enjoyed your time at our ceremony. I was the American MC during the ceremony. Foreign exchanges are very important to the development of today's youth. I feel that it helps create a well-balanced person with a broader understanding of the world in which they are living. I do hope that you will visit Fukui again in the near future. It truly is a wonderful place.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the exchange - I was the ALT for Maruoka High School last year. And one of the highlights of my job was being involved in this exchange. I'm happy that MSHS is continuing to give the students such excellent opportunities to meet students from other cultures. Even more than that, I'm glad children from other countries are getting to see first hand how friendly and welcoming the MSHS students are!
