Japanese students visit Chelsea

Middle School students from Shimizu, Japan stepped off the bus after their cross-Pacific plane ride Friday and were immediately serenaded by the Beach Middle School band. The Chelsea-Shimizu exchange group brought 15 students and four chaperones to Chelsea to raise cultural understanding.

"Our goal is to promote intercultural awareness," said Deborah Oakley, community contact for Chelsea-Shimizu. "There are a lot of similarities between our two cultures."

The Shimizu students have had a variety of activities since they arrived. Friday night the group went to a football game and tailgate party. Saturday was spent with host families doing various activities from canoeing to sports events.

On Sunday, some of the students went to church with their families, then the whole group went to the Waterloo Farm Museum and took a hayride. They also carved pumpkins at a bonfire party.

Tuesday night they went to Big Boy restaurant, a perennial hit with the students, because of the easily understood pictures on the menu.

In June, students from Beach made the trek to Japan, and many of the students they stayed with are now here in Chelsea. Students have been making the exchange since 1993. This is the fourth group to arrive.

Shimizu is on a northern island of Japan, and lies along a similar latitude to Chelsea. The climate is similar, as is the agriculture; farmers there grow sugar beets, corn, apples, grains and potatoes.

The program started when Shimizu organizers contacted representatives from Chelsea because of the similarities between the two towns.

The students leave this morning and travel to Washington, D.C. and New York before flying home.

Printed in The Chelsea Standard
Written by Eric Bowen, Staff writer

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