Sister Cities exchange a worthwhile lesson
My family has had the privilege for the past week of hosting one of the students with the Sister Cities program. What a wonderful experience.
I will be the first to say that as last Sunday approached I had more than one doubt about hosting a student who for all practical purposes spoke no English. Those doubts surfaced again as we stood at Riverfront Park, one of a group of families gathered together to take a total stranger into their home for a week.
Both groups, the McMinnvillians and the Japanese, stood a little less than comfortable as the introductions were made. The students were quiet, casting doubtful glances at one another and wondering how long the week was going to be. That was when I learned lesson number one.
My son went to the car and got out his soccer ball. The next thing I knew was that instead of two groups standing across from each other, polarized, there was one group in a circle, kicking the ball, laughing together and trying to impress each other with their skill.
Lesson one: Soccer is a universal language. Over the next few days we came to really know Yutaro and the rest of the Japanese students. The amazing thing was that I came to not look at the two groups as separate, the McMinnville kids and the Japanese kids, but rather as one group — those teenagers.
Thus came lesson two: Being “teenager” is also a universal language. It was on way the home from Nashville, Opry Mills and downtown, when my side was hurting from laughing at those crazy kids that I realized lesson three — humor, too, is a universal language.
As the week draws to a close and we all think about Saturday, the final day of their visit, I can’t help but to feel a sadness at the thought of Yutaro leaving us and going back to Japan. We will surely miss him and though we may never see him again, he will always be a part of our lives, a friend and wonderful memory.
Thank you Sister Cities program and those who make it possible. You have helped all those involved this year learn not just a lesson in language but a lesson in love as well.
Sincerely,
Gina Cleek
114 Westwood 4th Ave.
McMinnville