Local teens plan for trip to Japan<\/b><\/p>\n
South King County might not seem like a major crossroads for international relations.<\/p>\n
But for a local group of students and their families, 2008 will go down as the year their world became just a little smaller.<\/p>\n
Fresh from hosting a group of four students from Tamba, Japan, nine teens from the cities of Kent, Auburn and Renton will be returning the gesture starting next Thursday, with a two-week stay in Tamba itself.<\/p>\n
For both sets of students, this is more than just a footnote for an exotic summer: it\u2019s a first step for each into a new culture.<\/p>\n
And, ultimately, it\u2019s the chance to realize just how similar the other is, in spite of different languages, clothing and landscapes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fundamental part of this whole program is that by the time the kids are done, they realize they have so much more in common than the differences,\u201d said Dave Mortenson, chair of the Kent Sister Cities program, whose organization is operating in tandem with the City of Auburn\u2019s sister-cities group to make this summer\u2019s two-way exchange a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole purpose of the program is to bridge the differences,\u201d Mortenson noted, adding that in his experience, it takes very little time for the teens from two cultures to start finding common ground.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what was unfolding last week in Auburn and Kent, as the four exchange students from Tamba, along with their two adult chaperones, stayed with local families and had a chance to sample life in the Pacific Northwest. There were shopping trips, a visit to Auburn\u2019s Japanese Bon Odori festival last Saturday, visits to the mayors of Kent and Auburn, stopovers at Pike Place Market – and a major highlight – a Mariner\u2019s game on Friday night, before the group boarded its plane Saturday for home.<\/p>\n
Waka Ikeda, 14, was one of those students, and was staying with the family of Amy Chung, 15, a student at Kentridge High School.<\/p>\n
Ikeda, speaking with help from her new friend at the Bon Odori festival, acknowledged she was really enjoying the shopping, in spite of some advanced jet lag.<\/p>\n
Chung added they were getting on very well, and working successfully around the language barrier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have really, really cute gestures,\u201d she said, with a smile, as Ikeda smiled back.<\/p>\n
She also noted her guest was excited about the M\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe really wants to see Ichiro,\u201d Chung said.<\/p>\n
For her part, Chung said she was excited, but nervous, about going to Tamba.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just scared I might disrespect their culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But she was looking forward to seeing the city for herself – and to maybe get a glimpse of Tamba\u2019s prehistoric celebrity: a fossilized dinosaur skeleton that was discovered in the region, and which is now housed at a museum in the region.<\/p>\n
Excited but nervous also described the parents of Heather Ryan, who in an interview at the Bon Odori festival sounded like most parents would about sending their 15-year-old on an international trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little nervous,\u201d dad Bill Ryan said of Heather, who attends Riverside High School. \u201cI\u2019m a little reluctant to send her halfway around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Auburn resident acknowledged the Pacific Northwest is becoming ever more connected to Asia, and understanding that culture has become increasingly important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Asian influence is becoming more prevalent,\u201d Bill Ryan said. \u201cAnd our society is changing \u2013 it\u2019s becoming more and more international.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that connectedness between two cultures that has driven the sister-cities relationship between the cities of Kent, Auburn and Tamba.<\/p>\n
In fact, it\u2019s a relationship that has spanned decades.<\/p>\n
Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke explained her city has had a sister-city relationship of more than 40 years with the Japanese city of Kaibara.<\/p>\n
And in Auburn, a similar relationship has been in place since 1964 with another Japanese city, Kasuga, which is close to Kaibara.<\/p>\n
In 2008, Kaibara and Kasuga merged with another four neighboring towns to create the \u201csuper city\u201d of Tamba.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when it made sense, Cooke said, to have Kent and Auburn combine resources to have a sister-city relationship with Tamba.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was serendipity, in a sense,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
Cooke, who has visited Tamba as part of a sister-cities delegation, spoke highly of having citizens experiencing the cultures of the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a strong believer that we need the exposure from different cultures to explore our world,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they are here in Kent – Kent is the home of so many cultures now.\u201d<\/p>\n
And to truly understand the good things about the United States – its history and freedoms, she noted – sometimes you need to go somewhere else.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t get an appreciation for what we have than to go to another country and experience how things can be,\u201d Cooke said.<\/p>\n
Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis noted that bridging cultures – especially for local teens – is becoming critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur youth in the U.S. and the Northwest are really isolated from the world,\u201d Lewis said, in an e-mail response to the Reporter. \u201cThe possibility of seeing the U.S., Asia and the world from another\u2019s perspective does change their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the relationships go beyond teens as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor decades, children and adults from each community crisscrossed the Pacific for educational, cultural and business exchanges,\u201d Lewis wrote. \u201cWith the consolidation of cities in Japan, the new Auburn\/Kent\/Tamba relationship has invigorated all our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local students visiting Tamba<\/p>\n
\u2022 Amy Chung, Renton, Kentridge High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Heather Ryan, Auburn, Auburn Riverside High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Joshua Bennett, Auburn, Auburn High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kyle Cheney, Auburn, Auburn High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Trinity Smith, Kent, Kentlake High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Josh Howard, Auburn, Auburn Mountainview High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Christina Jones, Auburn, Auburn High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dexter Lesaca III, Kent, Kent Meridian High School<\/p>\n
\u2022 Alex Hwang, Kent, Kentridge High School<\/p>\n
Background<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tamba is an agricultural community located in the Khogo Prefecture, Hansai region north of Kobe on the island of Honshu. The Kent-Tamba relationship spans a period of 40 years. Kaibara joined with five adjacent cities in consolidation to form the new city of Tamba.<\/p>\n
\u2022The five adjacent cities include Kasuga, the community which has maintained a sister-city relationship with Auburn since 1964. Given their mutual interests, the cities of Kent and Auburn have joined together in sister-city activities with Tamba.<\/p>\n
\u2022 To learn more about Kent\u2019s Sister Cities program, go to www.ci.kent.wa.us\/SisterCities\/index.aspx.<\/p>\n
\u2022 To learn more about Auburn\u2019s Sister Cities program, contact Duana Richards, Auburn\u2019s sister-city liaison, at 253-931-3099, or drichards@auburnwa.gov.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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