Morgan Hill was paid a visit by its sister city friends from
Mizuho, Japan who took a whirlwind tour of the city and the Bay
Area this week. Six junior-high aged students are staying with
Morgan Hill host families for 10 days, ending Sunday. Two
chaperones came along as translators and were the hosts for sister
city organizers Murv and Judy Little on their trip to Mizuho with
several Morgan Hill students last year.
Morgan Hill
Morgan Hill was paid a visit by its sister city friends from Mizuho, Japan who took a whirlwind tour of the city and the Bay Area this week.
Six junior-high aged students are staying with Morgan Hill host families for 10 days, ending Sunday. Two chaperones came along as translators and were the hosts for sister city organizers Murv and Judy Little on their trip to Mizuho with several Morgan Hill students last year.
The students also got a glimpse of a day in an American classroom when they visited Martin Murphy and Britton middle schools Thursday. Sandra Roman, host mother to Tomoko Fujimori, 13, thought bringing an exchange student into her home “would be great for our daughters to learn a little bit more about their culture,” since Roman is Japanese-American. Roman’s 13-year-old daughter became fast friends with Fujimori, whom she’s sharing a room with; “somehow they can communicate better than we can with her, even though they can’t speak each other’s language,” Roman said.
The Romans took Fujimori to In-N-Out for cheeseburgers – a very new experience for her, Roman said – and also to Hanami Sushi when Fujimori was feeling a bit homesick. The students made day trips to Morgan Hill Bowl, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Chictactac Park, San Francisco and a tour of fruit farms in Morgan Hill.
Along with Mizuho, Morgan Hill has sister city partnerships with Headford, Ireland; San Casciano, Italy; and San Martin, Mexico. The cities take turns in hosting exchange students. The organization’s mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation through municipal partnerships.
