Japanese students live and learn in Sisters

A tour of 24 Japanese students and two teachers from Josai High School in Tokyo, Japan arrived in Sisters on July 21. The students have been attending English classes at Sisters High School and enjoying Central Oregon.

The students are living with families in Sisters and Redmond and take English lessons from Sisters High School teacher Diana Prichard and her son, Caleb, 21, who just graduated from the University of Oregon.

Caleb previously tutored students for whom English is a second language. He will go to Japan in August to teach English for a year and plans to teach when he returns from Japan.

The Japanese students are very quiet in class, according to Diana Prichard.

"In the beginning, if you asked the entire class a question, you were greeted with silence. Then we started calling on them individually, and they realized they were supposed to speak."

After a little more than a week, she said the students are starting to ask questions and volunteer answers.

Japanese teacher Takeshi Kiyomi, who was on a similar tour to Bend three years ago, said that "I think they are losing their fear of using English. A main purpose was to expose the students to the flow of English."

The English lessons are practical and connected to field trips, according to Prichard.

Before going on the shopping trip to the outlet mall in Bend, the two English teachers asked the Japanese students questions similar to what they might encounter from a store clerk. The students also discussed U.S. currency.

The Japanese have also been swimming at Kah-Nee-Tah horseback riding at Black Butte Ranch and to the Deschutes County Fair, where one boy won a four-foot-tall stuffed "Sylvester" the cat.

The students were supposed to take a rafting trip down the Deschutes last week, but Central Oregon's fierce thunderstorms washed out that day. Tour leader Michael Voss hoped to reschedule the raft trip for August 5.

Japanese teacher Shiro Kasuya said he was very impressed by the "great natural beauty" of the Sisters area, the mountains, and the fact that it was so "very calm." Both Japanese teachers had kind words for the hospitality of Sisters and Redmond families hosting the Japanese students, especially noting the "tolerant attitude toward foreign people"

Mr. Kasuya said that all of the students had experienced "kind hospitality."

There are many differences between the two cultures. Some are more obvious than others. One of the more shocking for the Japanese students was the amount of food served, and the American propensity to share leftovers.

"When you go to restaurant, they serve a (large) amount of food. What you don't eat, you take out and share the next morning," said Mr. Kiyomi.

"We don't usually eat other people's food. This was a little bit of a shock to the Japanese students."

Both teachers live in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities. And even though it has one of the world's finest systems of public transportation, it takes Mr. Kiyomi about 50 minutes to get from home to work at the school, and Mr. Kasuya about 40 minutes.

"One hour is not bad in Tokyo. Some people have a commute of two hours," said Mr. Kasuya.

Mr. Kasuya said he would like to thank the Sisters and Redmond community very much for their hospitality toward the Japanese.

Mr. Kiyomi agreed, and then, after very politely asking if he could express an opinion, added that he hoped that more people in Sisters would "take an interest in the Japanese culture."

He pointed out that it is common for French or Spanish to be taught in schools, but not Japanese.

"I would hope that some day you will be able to provide Japanese as well as other Asian languages."

He also pointed out that he could not find a shelf of books on Japan in the Sisters High School library.

"It may be difficult to find teachers (of the Japanese language) but it is easy to find books on Japan." Both teachers acknowledged that such books were expensive in hard- cover.

They hoped that more U.S. citizens would go to Japan. Many times more Japanese come to the U.S. than U.S. citizens travel to Japan, despite the fact that English is fairly common in that country.

There is another group of 13 students and two teachers from Josai High School in Sweet Home. Josai first started bringing students to Sisters 14 years ago.

Rie Nakata of Azumano International, the agency in Portland that established the tours, said that some groups have 50 students in individual home stay.

Azumano orchestrates tours for nearly 1,000 Japanese students every year, with 500 in Oregon in July and August and visits at Christmas and over Spring vacation.

Azumano directs adult groups, as well, including adult education and study tours to offer Japanese people an "intercultural experience and practice speaking and hearing English," said Nakata.