| UW-Richland and Youth for Understanding Developing friendships through language By Jonathan Gramling (Photos by Heidi M. Pascual) |
| orientation," said Mamiko Reeves, the Japanese support liaison for YFU. "Another reason is that a lot of Japanese students have this preconceived notion that the U.S. is Hollywood or New York and a lot of students are placed in the countryside or suburb of a city where things are different from downtown. We want to give them a realistic view of what the exchange experience is all about. This is a wonderful place. The kids can't sneak out in the middle of the night to find trouble to get into. We can stay focused on the reason we are here." One important aspect of the program is that the ESL classes integrate information about the U.S. and its culture into the curriculum. "We pick them up at Chicago O'Hare Airport and bring them here where they get intensive ESL training as well as a cultural introduction to the U.S.," said Diane Treis Rusk, UW-Richland's continuing education and outreach director. "To do that, we have certified ESL teachers who work with small class sizes to work on grammar and vocabulary. We do that in the context of some cultural issues too. So they are learning some cultural aspects at the same time they are working on their grammar and vocabulary." Another element of the program that makes it effective is the use of American high school students as mentors for the Japanese students. They literally stay with the students 24/7 for the 10-day program. "Teenagers would rather talk to teenagers," Rusk emphasized. "And so having U.S. teenagers around really helps the Japanese students feel comfortable talking to someone. And secondly, the teenagers can really teach a lot about what it's like to be a teenager in the U.S. We have 18 teen mentors. They live with the Japanese students in the residence halls. When the Japanese students have concerns about being in a U.S. high school, some of the staff is a little far removed from the high school experience. We can check in with the U.S. teens and say 'This is a concern. What is it like in your high school?' And they help us address those worries and anxieties. One worry the Japanese students have is that they worry about making friends. So the American teens can really help them with what to look for in a friend, with conversation starters, how to introduce yourself, what American teenagers talk about and so on. The American teens help them understand the different high school activities and clubs." One of the biggest events during the program is when each of the 18 high school mentors takes 3-4 of the Japanese students to their homes for a visit. "They met families," Rusk said. "They saw an American |
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| At the end of World War II, governmental agencies and private citizens were concerned about the deep rifts that developed between Germany and Japan and the U.S. These concerned individuals wanted to create lasting bonds between their people and so, they created the Youth for Understanding (YFU) Program to foster a student exchange program to promote the healing of the wounds the war had created. Sixty years later, YFU is still going strong and has expanded to involve youth from 60 countries, although the U.S. - Japan relationship continues to be its strongest connection. All of the students receive intensive training in their home countries before they travel to the U.S. to stay with their host families in communities from Alaska to Florida. However, there are some Japanese students whose elementary English skills may leave them a little nervous about embarking to the U.S. for a year's stay. And so, YFU has teamed up with University of Wisconsin-Richland -- located in Richland Center about 65 miles northwest of Madison -- to provide a customized, 10-day English as a Second Language (ESL) experience for the students. UW-Richland proved to be an ideal partner for YFU. "We wanted to find a campus that was closer to Chicago so that it would be easier to have the |
| YFU's Mamiko Reeves |
| UW-Richland's Diane Treis Rusk |
| (Top 2 photos) Girls and boys pose for Asian Wisconzine; (above left) Kazuna Furukawa; (right) Kunihiro Shimoji |
| (Above, l-r) Teen mentors Patrick Meuer, Aly Wheeler, and Chelsea Spurley |
| home. They had a conversation with American parents. And they could compare and contrast how that was different and the same as Japanese homes. That was something that was very enjoyable. Because using English is so important, they did presentations in their ESL classes about what they saw and heard." The trips to the American mentor's homes were memorable. Kazuna Furukawa is a 17-year old from Kumamoto in the southern part of Japan. She came to the U.S. as a kind of an adventure to learn new things. "I want to learn about another country's culture and I want to know about things I have never seen and I want to learn English," Furukawa said. "I'm scared a little, but I have more courage. I have learned how to communicate. I have made many friends. During her home visit, she went to a shopping mall in Dubuque, Iowa and also met her teen mentor's family. Both were a new experience for her. "I saw an American house," Furukawa exclaimed. "It was made of brick. I was surprised. Most of the houses in Japan are made of cement or wood. The bathroom was very different. In Japan, the bathroom is separated from the toilet." Furukawa also noticed a big difference in the relationship between the different family members. "American families are friendlier to each other," Furukawa observed. "The parents and the children are very friendly to each other. Japanese parents are very busy so we don't have time to talk and communicate. Most families have no time. My parents are very strict." Furukawa will be attending Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas. For Kunihiro Shimoji, a 16-year old from Okinawa, this isn't his first trip to America. Last March, he spent some time in Hawaii. He also has an uncle and cousin who live in the U.S. When they came to visit Shimoji, he felt frustrated because he couldn't speak English and communicate with them. He resolved that he was going to learn English. And he plans to come back to the U.S. after he graduates from high school to attend a university -- where he plans to major in law and eventually get his MBA. During his home visit, Shimoji noticed the differences between Japanese and the rural American family he visited. "In Japan, most of the parents have their own jobs, so we cannot eat dinner together," he said. "But in the States, families eat breakfast or dinner together." Shimoji is a very affable young man who will be staying with a family in Indianapolis -- his host mother is a Filipina. And he is excited about learning a lot about the U.S. "What has surprised me is how friendly and helpful many Americans are," Shimoji said. "I like it here. We have no snow in Okinawa. So I'm looking forward to seeing snow and participating in winter sports. I have never seen snow. I am so excited. Many students are going to rural areas, but I'm going to Indianapolis. I am so excited. Also they have a very strong football team. There are many sweet foods." The American teen mentors also come away from the program with having their lives enriched. "I've learned more about being a humble person because they are so humble, it isn't even funny," said Patrick Meuer, one of the teen mentors. "They say thank you for every little thing you do. They are always saying 'Welcome' and trying to be a nice person. And if you tell them they are good at something, they will insist that they aren't. They are very humble." And Aly Wheeler has learned to look at her life a lot differently. "I've learned a lot about America, actually," Wheeler said. "It's made me think about how different it really is here. They were saying how much they envy us and what great lives we have here. I appreciate a lot more things. They were talking about even when they go to school that we have more freedom. I hadn't really thought about it." As an old saying goes, those who give often receive much more in return. |