Scott Swanson
After some red-tape glitches that prohibited two Josai University High School of Tokyo students from attending Sweet Home High School last year, the Josai exchange program resumed normalcy last weekend with the arrival of 13 Japanese students and two teachers.
The group flew into Portland early Saturday morning and made the trip to Sweet Home on a school bus. Some were a bit jet-lagged as they met the nine families that will host them during their 13-day stay, but they were clearly excited to be here.
“Everything went very smoothly,” said Deborah Handman, who is coordinating the program from the Sweet Home end.
The students, all girls – for the first time in the program’s 30-year history, will receive English instruction at the high school on weekday mornings before heading out to experience life in Sweet Home and beyond – trips to a farm, Silver Falls, Cascadia Park, white-water rafting on the McKenzie River, Wildlife Safari in Winston, Portland, the Oregon Coast and more.
“We’re really happy to be here,” said Josai faculty member Roger Robinson, one of two teachers who accompanied the students on this trip. “We got through all the Homeland Security paperwork.”
Robinson was one of a trio of Josai faculty members who visited Sweet Home last October after the 30-year string of Josai students spending a year at Sweet Home High School came to an abrupt halt because paperwork had not been filed for recertification under a 2010 law that requires recertification every two years. Despite frantic efforts to get help from federal legislators, Sweet Home was forced to complete a full certification process instead of recertification, and that has taken too long for two Josai exchange students to attend Sweet Home High School last year. They ended up attending Regis High School instead.
This year, Josai student Mami Sakamoto is scheduled to arrive in Sweet Home in late August for the 2013-14 school year
“She’s really excited,” Robinson said. “Everything has been very positive.”
He noted that Josai program leadership has changed on both sides, with Handman taking over the Sweet Home program and the individual now responsible for the Josai end of the program just assumed that role, although Robinson said he is the third generation of his family to serve as coordinator. Also, Terataka Kato, who visited Sweet Home in October, is now principal at Josai.
Josai English teacher Takashi Takahashi, who said students call him as “TakaTaka,” is the other teacher who accompanied the summer visitors.
“I hope to enjoy this with the students and people of Sweet Home,” he said.
The teachers said they and the students actually left Josai a week before their school takes a summer break – the Japanese school year starts in the spring – so they had to do an extra week’s worth of work before they left.
“I didn’t sleep at all before leaving for Sweet Home,” Takahashi said.
Handman said the only difficulties this summer were lining up host families for the students.
“The first 10 students were a breeze because they were taken by people who already knew the program,” she said. “The next three students were really difficult.”
She said families who have experienced Josai’s hospitality are sold on the program and are eager to keep it going.
Handman said she’s become aware of a misconception in the community that Josai costs the school district money.
That’s not the case, she said. Next year, when Sweet Home students visit Japan, all they will need is airfare, she said.
“That’s it. Josai takes care of 100 percent of the rest. It’s amazing.”