In “Where the Wild Things Are,” the main character, Max, finds himself in a new land filled with creatures and things he didn’t know. Yet, he found his way through the chaos.
Ninth grade student Chihara Sakamoto from Koshu City, Japan, found herself drawn to the book, which she chose to take home after her week-long visit to Ames.
As sister cities, Ames and Koshu City allow students to visit a new country for a week and immerse themselves in a new culture. This exchange is made possible through the work of the nonprofit Ames International Partner Cities Association (AIPCA).
AIPCA’s goal is to build bridges between people from different cultures and allow students to learn new languages and customs through experience.
While on the trip, students got to tour the Iowa Capitol building in Des Moines, Ames city organizations, downtown Ames, Iowa State’s campus and Ames Middle School.
Students in Japan typically start to learn English in the third grade, and having the opportunity to interact with native speakers in person reinforced those skills beyond the classroom.
“The people who live [in Iowa] speak like the English in our textbooks,” said Yakuri Saigusa, the principal of Enzan High School in Koshu City. “It is a good speed and good pronunciation.”
Reinforced language skills are not the only benefit to be had from new cultural experiences.
During their trip, the students stayed with host families. Host families are volunteer Ames residents who agree to take one or more students for the week.
“Ames is a wonderful community, and we’re excited to share Ames, Iowa and the American culture,” Stacey Roberts, a host family member, said. “It’s a great cultural exchange because we learn about Japanese culture as well.”
Host families also feel the impact of the program on their relationships.
“This is the second time we’ve done this,” Roberts said. “It was such a great experience that we decided to do it again. We’ve been able to keep in touch with the families in Japan, so we have friends in Japan now.”
This year, a new free day was implemented, which allowed the students to choose an activity they wanted to do with their host family.
Many chose to spend the day going shopping or out to eat, where they got to see the differences between the U.S. and Japan.
“Everything is so big,” Sakamoto said.
One of the Ames city organizations that the students explored was the Ames Public Library, where students played games, interacted with educational tools and explored books such as “Where the Wild Things Are.”
The Ames Public Library’s youth services manager, Brianne Anderson, did research before the arrival of the students and discovered many similarities between libraries in Japan and the U.S.
“Understanding that there are a lot of similarities between how our two cultures live and operate on a daily basis makes the world feel like it’s a much smaller place,” Anderson said. “The more we can share with other cultures, visit other cultures and just be able to learn about more people who are different than us, makes the world become a better place.”