For the first time, Parkdale’s Japanese Honors Society students were able to have face-to-face interactions with real Japanese students this school year.
Seiko Gakuin High School, an all boys Japanese school—visited Parkdale on Mar. 27. This was all possible because of Ms. Michiko Ogata. As a teacher at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Ms. Ogata was able to teach Japanese level one and level two for the past 10 years. She took notice of the relationship shared between UMBC and a private school association in Kanal prefecture.
“The state of Maryland and Kanal prefecture have a sister state relationship,” explained Ms. Ogata “My supervisor has been working with the private schools there, to build relationships.”
Last year, Ms. Ogata noticed that there was a school coming to UMBC every year during spring break time. UMBC pays for the flight of Seiko Gakuin High School students who come to the Language School at UMBC, stay on campus and study for two weeks. One week out of the two weeks overlaps with spring break at UMBC.
This is when Ms.Ogata thought of the idea to bring those high school students to her high school. While UMBC was on spring break, Parkdale was still in session, which created the perfect one-day opportunity for students to connect to other students their age and learn from each other’s cultures. Luckily, it happened this year.
President of the Japanese Honors Society junior Ruth E. Vasquez thinks it’s very important to understand and bond with a variety of cultures and found so much value in the visit from the Seiko Gakuin students.
“When you try to understand people from different cultures, you will see people as more than individuals rather than stereotypes,” Vasquez said.
Ms. Ogata was afraid that her students wouldn’t be able to connect with the Japanese students because they were so afraid they wouldn’t be able to understand each other. Despite their fears about the language barrier, the students were able to overcome that.
“I really loved seeing students’ reactions to anything we have and they don’t,” Vasquez said. “They were very respectful, my favorite part was saying goodbye. Although it was sad to see them leave, it was very heartwarming remembering everyone yelling at each other and smiling”
Junior Jasmine Lapira Sayoto also enjoyed interacting with the students. She explained that she has grown much from the experience.
“They taught me some words like split, which is “スプリット” but is said like supuritto, similar to split,” Lapira Sayoto explained. Her favorite part from the visit was talking with all of the Japanese students, when she was able to see where their interests aligned, and trying the snacks that the students brought.
Ms. Ogata knows that this opportunity is rare and appreciates how much the students benefited from the experience. “I think I’m very blessed to teach at UMBC and then be able to teach here, so I have access to things that other highschool teachers may not have,” she explained.
Another way that Japanese Honors Society students are able to connect with Japanese students is by writing directly to them. There is a private Japanese school whose students exchange letters with Parkdale Honor Society members throughout the year and they get to meet these students online once a year in January. Click here to read about a virtual meeting that students participated in during the 2021-2022 school year.
Despite initial fears about language barriers, students bonded and shared their cultures. Vasquez emphasized the importance of understanding different cultures while Sayoto enjoyed learning new words and finding common interests with the visitors.
Ms.Ogata is hopeful the Japanese students will come visit Parkdale for many school years to come.
