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Photograph courtesy of Natalie Meyer
Saratoga High School students joined high school students from Saratoga's sister city, Muko, Japan, at the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands after the group crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. The group includes (back row, from left) Taylor Hibbett, Shotaro Ito and Bryce Cronkite-Ratcliff, and (front row, from left) Clara Wang, Yurisa Miki, Pat Fasang, Natalie Meyer, Ayaka Ito and Asaki Yamada.
Crossing a bridge, and not just the Golden Gate/h2>
By Natalie Meyer
A contingent of exchange students crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.
We were cold, the wind battered at our clothing and cars whizzed past with envious speed. We didn't have that speed, but we did have that same drive to get across: We were going to cross this bridge, and it didn't matter how long it took us.
Four Americans. Four Japanese. We were eight students eager to have an adventure, to learn from one another and to get across that bridge.
Rewind two weeks. Wait, rewind six months, because it really all started in February 2006 when each of us separately decided that not only did we want to travel over the summer, we wanted to immerse ourselves into wherever we traveled.
Each year four American students are selected to participate in an exchange program with Saratoga's Japanese sister city, Muko, a town southwest of Kyoto. They are given $1,000 to fly to Japan and spend 10 days with a family before getting a chance to show their Japanese counterparts the way Californians live.
Kiyoshi Yasui, the architect of Hakone Gardens, organized a sister city relationship in 1983 with his hometown of Muko. It has been going strong ever since, with community members finding ways to share events and celebrate the relationship. This includes the exchange itself.
Pat Fasang coordinated this year's exchange and Bryce Cronkite-Ratcliff, Taylor Hibbett, Clara Wang and I (Natalie Meyer) were chosen to participate. We stayed with Shotaro Ito, Yurisa Miki, Asaki Yamada and Ayaka Ito, respectively.
Coming into the exchange, none of us knew exactly what we were in for, only that a profoundly satisfying experience awaited us. Although the idea of living with different families in a different country appeared daunting at first, the transition was made surprisingly easy due to the kindness of our host families and the excitement of our days.
Thus, we were great friends by the time chance set us on that bridge. Together we had sampled the delights of all the tourist venues--Japanese soccer games, famous temples and geisha costumes--but we were also treated to a taste of everyday life there. This included karaoke, gigantic shopping districts and traditional Japanese food.
We performed the same routine back in California, intermingling trips to places such as the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot with poolside barbecues.
There were more perks to being part of the Sister City Exchange. At a formal party in Kyoto, the American students dressed in yukata and sang Aladdin's "A Whole New World." We all took part in a Shinto ceremony at Muko's 1,000-year-old shrine. Back in Saratoga, Ayaka Ito read a letter from Muko's mayor to Saratoga's mayor.
All these events combined for wonderful new friends and families, amazing sights and the adventure of a lifetime.
The important thing, however, is not just that we were able to travel over the summer. What really mattered was that this adventure encompassed two countries--two different languages and ways of life--that taught us about friendship and culture all at once.
I see it now. We are still all the same despite the cultural differences. Whether it was crepes in Japan or burritos in California, Disney music in Japanese or Disney music in English, in the end we were both Japanese and American at the same time.
As we stepped off the Golden Gate Bridge, we felt like we had accomplished something. But this exchange gave us more than the chance to sightsee. Just as we crossed that bridge, we bridged the gap between our cultures, and discovered that there wasn't really a gap to begin with.
