A long way from home

MAT-SU — Traveling from one continent to another into a foreign country with limited understanding of the native language at 13 years of age might be intimating to some. But a group of four girls, all exchange students from Saroma, Japan, prove the opposite.

The girls, Momoko Hasegawa, Ayaka Ida, Riko Sumiyoshi and Haruka Saeki, are visiting Palmer Junior Middle School as part of the long-standing exchange program between Saroma and Palmer. Their time here this year marks the 30th anniversary of the exchange program the sister cities started with the help of former Palmer mayor George Carte.

Principal of Palmer Junior Middle School, Gene Stone, was thrilled to have the girls at the school this past week.

“They have been great and we really enjoyed having the them here,” he said.

In interviewing the students, they proved to be like most teenage girls — bright, energetic, prone to hushed discussions among themselves and a little shy. Their translator, Palmer resident Yuko Hirouchi, helped bridge the language barrier.

Hirouchi relayed what the girls thought about their past week in an American middle school and their experiences in and out of school. They also conveyed their disappointment in having to leave Monday.

Stone said the girls were placed with host families from the school that tried to show them all the American and Alaska ways of life.

The girls said that initially they were somewhat hesitant as to what it would be like living with a host family, but now they are so close it feels like their own family. They said they all made friends in school and really wish they could have stayed longer.

It was a feeling that Stone also addressed, “The students here were really excited about them coming over and they fit right in.”

Talking to them, it seemed that some sentiments are just about universal as they all said their least favorite class was math. They enjoyed some of the highlights that the school and their host families had planned for them, includin, pizza at the Moose’s Tooth in Anchorage after landing and being greeted at the airport, ice skating, basketball games, bowling, barbecue cookouts, bonfires and some snowmachining.

Their time here was special for another reason as they celebrated Momoko’s 14th birthday on Jan. 24 and Riko’s 13th on Jan. 28 with ice cream socials. Describing their birthday celebrations, the girls said the ice cream party was great and proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday” in Japanese for good measure.

They said their time here was incredible, but they are also excited to get home and share their stories and experiences.

When asked about the one thing they all were most excited about telling their families and friends when they returned home to Saroma, they all replied in English and in unison, “MOOSE!”

Contact Lanier Hutcheson at lanier.hutcheson@frontiersman.com or 352-2265.