Eight Morgan Hill junior high students returned to school this fall with an exciting tale to tell in the standard essay question, "What I did on my summer vacation." Steven Baird, Brandt Garber, Laura Groen, Natasha Harried, Shanley Sullivan, Roshni Vyas, Marissa van Rhijn and Briana Yamagata were the first student ambassadors to travel to Morgan Hill's Japanese Sister City, Mizuho-Machi this past summer. The students were accompanied by two chaperones, Cindy Van Rhijn and Murv Little. The exchange, part of the Morgan Hill Sister Cities program, was the first program to send students outbound.
The student ambassadors were selected from a pool of junior high school candidates through an essay, an interview with a selection committee, talent, and then worked for several months on fundraising activities. All of the efforts culminated on the morning of July 9, 2009 when the group gathered at San Francisco International Airport to depart on their flight to Tokyo. They boarded Northwest Flight 27 excited to begin their adventure, but as student ambassador Marissa Van Rhijn later reflected, "no matter how much you prepare, something unexpected will always happen."
"We started hearing strange noises and a big boom on one side of the airplane," said chaperone Cindy Van Rhijn. "All of a sudden the plane dipped to one side. I've flown a lot and I knew this was not a good sign."
CBS 5 reported, an engine compressor on the Airbus A330 failed, disrupting air flow to the engine after its 1:35 p.m. takeoff.
After a one day delay, the students and two chaperones finally landed at Narita International Airport at 9 p.m. July 11, sleepy and sweaty.
"We arrived in Mizuho and when we started to unload from the bus we were greeted with cheers and camera flashes everywhere," student Laura Groen said. "I felt like a rock star!"
The students were quickly introduced to their host families and their 10-day adventure in Japan began. The students stayed in individual host families and attended school with their host students.
The Morgan Hill students, who were well-prepped in Japanese culture, quickly assimilated into the tradition of trading their street shoes for slippers at school and attended academic and art courses with their host students. After-school activities included calligraphy and rubber stamp making, painting Daruma dolls, dressing up in Yukatas, and making amulets. In addition, the students also had the opportunity to visit a well-known Daruma doll artist at his studio and learn the technique for painting the traditional face on the doll.
"Daruma dolls have a meaning/lesson in life," said Mary Wakatsuki, a member of the Morgan Hill Buddhist Church. "They have rounded bottoms, so when they're tipped over, it bounces back upright. Just like in real life, we have our 'downs,' but we come back up and face what life offers. The Japanese people say that the doll goes down seven times and on the eighth time, you succeed. No matter how many times you try and may not succeed, keep trying and eventually, you'll make it. The dolls do not have eyes. When a person decides on a goal, one eye is painted on. When the goal is attained, the other eye is painted on making it complete."
For the eight young students who served as Morgan Hill's student ambassadors to Mizuho, their eyes have been opened to the lessons and opportunities that traveling abroad has to offer. Student ambassador Natasha Harried sums up her experience this summer: "Japan has been the most memorable experience of my life!"
The Morgan Hill Mizuho Sister City Exchange committee is now preparing to receive junior high school aged students in August 2010 from Mizuho. They are looking for host families for 6 to 8 students. If you are interested in helping to host a student from Japan or donate funds or services contact Cindy Van Rhijn at cvrhijn@yahoo.com.
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