The Santa Monica Sister City Association (SMSCA) sponsored four high school student goodwill ambassadors in an exchange program with Fujinomiya this summer. The four, Santa Monica High School seniors Garrison Finley and Julia Menyhart, sophomore Alanna Shepard and Culver City High School junior Bella Browning, spent two weeks in the homes of Japanese student ambassadors representing Santa Monica in a variety of activities including an official meeting with the Mayor of Fujinomiya.
They also shared information about Santa Monica and our culture while experiencing typical Japanese family life, culture, customs and local sights including Mt. Fuji.
“Visiting Fujinomiya was an incredible experience for me. I had never been to Japan before and I learned so much about Japanese culture and really enjoyed staying with my host family. I loved visiting my host sister’s school, Mt. Fuji and Tokyo as well as participating in the Summer Festival,” Alanna Shepard said. “I have made new friends and have wonderful memories of my trip. Thank you Santa Monica Sister City Association for this opportunity.”
Japanese student ambassadors, Mai Kugawa, Natsumi Ito, Yumi Yokoyama and Yuriko Omura returned to Santa Monica with the students and enjoyed the same cultural exchanges including visits to the Santa Monica Pier and many popular tourist venues in the Los Angeles area. 17-year-old Alexander Menne from our Sister City Hamm, Germany, was coincidentally in Santa Monica at the same time and joined the group on several occasions.
“I had the distinct pleasure to sign the agreement that designated Fujinomiya and Santa Monica as Sister Cities nearly 40 years ago,” SMSCA Vice President, Japan, and former Santa Monica Mayor, Nat Trives said. “I am thrilled that our partnership has formed many lifelong friendships and created treasured memories for our ambassadors over the years. I am especially pleased that I will be leading a large delegation of adult and student ambassadors to Fujinomiya in 2015 to celebrate the fortieth year of this wonderful partnership.”
The SMSCA Student Exchange program is an excellent opportunity for youth to strengthen their foreign language skills and learn about each other’s culture and customs, to experience typical family life in each other’s countries, and to see local sights.
The Santa Monica Sister City Association was established in 1961, with a mission of “Peace in the World One Person at a Time.” A major component of the Association is the Student Ambassador Exchange. For more information, please call Holly Kiger at 310-924-9826 or visit www.santamonicasistercity. org.