MHS students, Japanese visitors exchange notes on culture

 Students of Marianas High School demonstrated island hospitality to their counterparts from Ueda Nishi High School in Japan with a welcome ceremony at the MHS gymnasium yesterday morning.

The event opened with the singing of the national anthem by the MHS Chorus, composed of about 100 student members of short choirs, chorale, and the glee club.

MHS Student Council president Vinni Orsini and vice president Audrey Ada served as the emcees for the program that featured dance presentations by the MHS Chamorro and Refaluwasch Cultural Clubs, plus song and dance performances by Ueda Nishi High School students.

Orsini, who addressed the visiting students in Japanese, expressed hope that students of both schools would share smiles and laughs and that they would add each other on Facebook.

“With Saipan being a small rock on the map, student exchange programs like this help the people of Saipan, especially students, realize that we’re not alone in the world and that we’re part of a bigger world,” Orsini told Saipan Tribune.

A video of events and sites in Ueda City prepared by the Ueda Nishi High School English Communication Club was also featured.

Ueda Nishi High School principal Kenji Muramatsu said the visiting group, composed of 201 students, 19 teachers, and four tour coordinators, flew to Saipan to pray for peace and to study its history and how it relates to Japan.

“We had a wonderful experience through this exchange program. Students from both schools had a wonderful time. We learned about the local culture through the performances,” Muramatsu said through an interpreter.

Muramatsu also presented gifts to MHS officials led by principal Cherlyn Cabrera, including a doll wearing a kimono made from the famous Ueda silk, a fish-like statue that symbolizes courage, and a traditional wooden box.

In return, Cabrera presented Muramatsu with the book We Drank Our Tears: Memories of the Battles for Saipan and Tinian and a DVD about Saipan and created by the History Channel.

Cabrera said they are “always excited” to host exchange students at MHS. “This is part of our program in school to bring multi-cultural awareness or expose our students to different cultures.”

According to Cabrera, this is the fourth visit they received from a foreign school this year. The other two are from sister schools Seisa High School and Kitatoshima High School.

Cabrera said that MHS students help Japanese students learn about Saipan’s culture through activities such as coconut husking, weaving, and local dances. In return, MHS students learn about various Japanese dances and games.

The visiting group, which held a peace ceremony at Banzai Cliff on Tuesday, flew back to Japan yesterday afternoon.