Junior high school students from Hiroshima Prefecture to visit hometown of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Aug. 4, 2014
by Daisuke Matsumoto, Staff Writer
Twenty-five students, ninth graders in junior high schools in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, will visit Americus, a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, from August 5 to 12. Americus is the hometown of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and it became a sister city of Miyoshi in 1995 after Mr. Carter visited Konu Town in 1990. This will be the 23rd delegation of junior high school students to Americus. They offered the enthusiastic message: “We would like to learn things that will inspire us in our future activities.”
Of the 25 students, 17 are from Konu Junior High School, four are from Tohkaichi Junior High School, two are from Kisa Junior High School, and one each attend Shiomachi Junior High School and Funo Junior High School. Since the summer break began, they have been preparing for their visit. At the Jimmy Carter Civic Center in Konu Town, they are studying about Mr. Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., an American pastor and leader of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and other topics. They are also practicing English conversation, taught by English teachers who will chaperone them, so they can talk about their family members and other things with their host families.
In Americus, they will visit schools and take part in an exchange with a volunteer organization. An appointment with Mr. Carter is being arranged, too. Ayu Hiraki, 14, a student at Tohkaichi Junior High School, said, “I would like to meet Mr. Carter and talk to him.” Sota Shimoi, 14, a student at Konu Junior High School, said eagerly, “I’m not good at English, but I’ll try my best to communicate with the people there and learn a lot.”
According to the Konu branch office of Miyoshi City, the program involving junior high school students visiting Americus was launched in 1991. To date, 22 delegations, with a total of 620 students, have made the trip. One of the students, a graduate of Konu Junior High School, was inspired by this experience and has become an English teacher. This year, Miyoshi Mayor Kazutoshi Masuda will be the leader of the delegation. He said with enthusiasm, “Through this visit, we would like to come up with a new framework for promoting exchanges.”
(Originally published on July 31, 2014)
Twenty-five students, ninth graders in junior high schools in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, will visit Americus, a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, from August 5 to 12. Americus is the hometown of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and it became a sister city of Miyoshi in 1995 after Mr. Carter visited Konu Town in 1990. This will be the 23rd delegation of junior high school students to Americus. They offered the enthusiastic message: “We would like to learn things that will inspire us in our future activities.”
Of the 25 students, 17 are from Konu Junior High School, four are from Tohkaichi Junior High School, two are from Kisa Junior High School, and one each attend Shiomachi Junior High School and Funo Junior High School. Since the summer break began, they have been preparing for their visit. At the Jimmy Carter Civic Center in Konu Town, they are studying about Mr. Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., an American pastor and leader of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and other topics. They are also practicing English conversation, taught by English teachers who will chaperone them, so they can talk about their family members and other things with their host families.
In Americus, they will visit schools and take part in an exchange with a volunteer organization. An appointment with Mr. Carter is being arranged, too. Ayu Hiraki, 14, a student at Tohkaichi Junior High School, said, “I would like to meet Mr. Carter and talk to him.” Sota Shimoi, 14, a student at Konu Junior High School, said eagerly, “I’m not good at English, but I’ll try my best to communicate with the people there and learn a lot.”
According to the Konu branch office of Miyoshi City, the program involving junior high school students visiting Americus was launched in 1991. To date, 22 delegations, with a total of 620 students, have made the trip. One of the students, a graduate of Konu Junior High School, was inspired by this experience and has become an English teacher. This year, Miyoshi Mayor Kazutoshi Masuda will be the leader of the delegation. He said with enthusiasm, “Through this visit, we would like to come up with a new framework for promoting exchanges.”
(Originally published on July 31, 2014)
