Eleanor Roosevelt High School had the pleasure of hosting 22 students and 2 teachers from its sister school in Japan, Yokohama Suiran High School. The students saw the sights, gave presentations, and were able to interact with students at ERHS. They were even hosted by some of them.

While the Japanese students were here, they were shown Mount Vernon, took a walking tour of Washington, D.C., and even had a potluck party. At the school itself, the students visited World Languages classes, a chorus class, and also a cooking class.

On why he wanted to host, freshman Ben Hung said he “thought it would be a good experience.” He added, “It would be nice to see the good side of America from a Japanese perspective.”

The exchange program started in 1989, according to Mr. Tetsuo Ogawa, and has been “going
strong” in the years since. Mr. Ogawa is the Japanese teacher at ERHS, and explained that students from Yokohama Suiran High School come to the U.S. in March, and students from our school go to visit Japan in June.

Hung agreed that programs like this are important. “Not only do these trips allow them to see how America functions, but it also allows us, as hosts, to see the different functions of Japanese culture,” he wrote in an email. “I was particularly impressed by their courtesy and eagerness to try new things.”

While the students were here, they gave presentations to classes they were visiting, one of which was freshman Megan Leonard’s French class.

“Yeah, it was good,” she said when asked about it. Her friend Rokhaya Niang agreed with her, and when asked if she would like to go to Japan to visit, she replied affirmatively.

Mr. Ogawa was also an exchange student, and came to the United States for the first time when
he was in high school. “That’s the reason I’m still here,” he said as he sat at his desk. “I don’t think I ever thought of coming to the United States to teach,” and yet, here he is