A group of six young adults in Manitowoc County are gearing up for their upcoming exchange trip to Kamogawa Japan.
Madysen Leiterman from Manitowoc Lutheran High School, Kai Meyer and Lilianna Bautista from Valders High School, and Kateri Estrella, Aiden Plues, and Teak Prigge from Manitowoc Lincoln High School all signed up for the 10-day trip to Manitowoc’s Japanese sister city.
Estrella tells us she has been waiting for an opportunity like this her entire life.
“My family actually hosted some of the Japanese exchange students from this program very early on in my life,” she revealed. “Ever since then, I really wanted to actually get the experience, and go to Japan for myself.”
Since she has a little experience with exchange students, Kateri says she learned the importance of being able to communicate efficiently.
She said that both she and the exchange student were shy at first, but “once we got to know each other, we had so much more fun, and we were actually going around and hanging out and talking.”
That experience, Kateri explained, is going to help her on this trip as, in her words, “Being shy is not something that you can really be doing to have the most fun.”
Estrella, who just graduated, says she is looking forward to seeing the Japanese school system, “solely because I want to be a teacher when I grow up.” On top of that, she tells us she is excited to try the food, see architecture, and absorb everything that makes Japan different from the U.S.
Lilliana Bautista tells Seehafer News she was drawn to the trip through her love of the Japanese cartoon style known as anime.
“It was so beautiful, the scenery that they showed, and their culture. It really made me so happy, and I really wanted to experience it,” she told Seehafer News. “So, when I got the chance to go, I did not let it go. I went straight for it.”
With the unique style of anime opening her up to the culture, and the distinct visual of the scenery, Lilliana says she is looking forward to seeing the real deal.
“I really love the mountains, and I love nature itself. I am so excited to see that,” Bautista said. “I am a big explorer, so I am going to go there and explore so much.”
Teak Prigge, who also just graduated from Lincoln, has already been to Kamogawa and has greeted delegations that have come to Manitowoc, but he said he wanted to go back.
“I was going to try to go my freshman or sophomore year, but we couldn’t go because there was a travel ban,” he noted.
Prigge is also excited about the overall experience, but the thing he is looking forward to the most is a bit different.
“I’ve never been inside a real Japanese person’s house,” he explained. “When we were there, we visited a friend, but she’s American, so she had a more American style house. So it will be interesting to see the family dynamic, and how the facilities in the house are. Like, the layout.”
The six-person delegation will be leaving the U.S. on July 20th and will have a return flight on July 30th.
We have been in contact with Tina Prigge, who is helping organize the exchange, and she plans on bringing the six Japanese students to the WOMT Studio for a tour, and an interview.
