Eleven Broomfield students gear up for trip to Japan
Apr. 22—From trinket shopping to the value of cultural exchange, 11 area Broomfield high schoolers have a lot to gain from a trip to Ueda, Japan.
"The biggest part of what we expect the students to get out of this is experience with the Japanese people," said Junko Goodwin, chair of Broomfield Sister Cities, the organization sending the teens abroad. "Sightseeing and history is important, but to get to know the true lifestyle and what people think and what they do everyday, and the lifetime experience as a friend, not just a guest or tourist, is what's important."
As part of Sister Cities International, Broomfield has had a sister city since 2001. Originally sisters with Maruko, Japan, Broomfield became sisters with Ueda when Maruko and other smaller towns were absorbed into the larger city of Ueda in 2006. For the last 22 years, Broomfield has been hosting Japanese exchange students and sending Broomfield students to Japan.
This year's trip will take place from July 26 to Aug. 6, and students will spend three days in Tokyo before heading to Ueda. While there, Goodwin explained that they'll participate in a variety of cultural activities, including traditional archery or Kyūdō, fencing or Kendo and a visit to the Buddhist Zenkō-ji Temple.
In addition, students will attend the Ueda summer festival complete with a parade, shopping, food and fireworks. They will also learn the basics of Japanese lifestyle, living with their host families and learning the language, but Goodwin knows that the impact of this trip will extend beyond what they experience while in Japan.
"It's not just the experience in these 10 days, but to keep the relationship going and understand what their differences and similarities are. And when it comes to conflict, which sometimes happens, they will go back to this friendship where they understood the people to people connections," she said.
The students are just as excited for the trip as Goodwin, and are eager to learn more about Japanese culture.
Andon Zimmerman, an 11th grader at Legacy High School, has hosted two exchange students from Japan. He explained that he finds things such as cultural differences and history fascinating, but is really looking forward to the food.
"Ramen is my favorite so definitely that. ... I'm also interested in what's unique to them and what you can only find there," he said.
Owen Ledbetter, a 10th grader also at Legacy, will be going on the trip as well. He was introduced to the program by Zimmerman and is eager to learn about Japanese fashion and go shopping. He said he's most excited for the three days the group will be spending in Tokyo.
"I've always seen it in pictures and it seems fascinating, I'm excited to see all the technology and learn about the culture," he said.
Rachel Mariea, a senior at Legacy, learned about the program from her family who has hosted Japanese students before. She'll be following in her sister's footsteps, as she visited Japan a number of years prior. Mariea has been researching art museums she wants to visit, and expressed an interest in shopping as well.
"I want to see all the trinkets, and they have cool candy flavors you can't find in America," she said.
From now until the trip, the students will continue their linguistic and cultural training in preparation. They will also continue discussing the exact details and decide on a complete itinerary.
Broomfield Sister Cities will be holding a kite workshop where they'll build and paint a kite and fly it at Brunner Farmhouse on May 7 to raise awareness of the program and fundraise for the trip. For more information, contact broomfieldsc@gmail.com.
