Carolina Montes vividly remembers where she was when the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and killed more than 19,000 people. She was learning Japanese in her class at Roswell High School. “We all wanted to help because we care about the Japanese people and wanted to make sure they were okay,” said Montes, 16, now a junior.
Montes signed up for Kizuna, the Japanese word for “bonds of friendship” and the name of a youth exchange project between Japan and the U.S. to build support for the tsunami recovery effort. For two weeks last June, 23 students from Roswell High and Elkins Pointe Middle School visited Tohoku, a region devastated by the tsunami.
On Saturday, a dozen Japanese exchange students from disaster-affected areas arrived in Atlanta for a four-day visit. The trip will include a tour of CNN and the World of Coca-Cola as well as lunch with the Roswell mayor and city council members.
Elkins Pointe will host a community forum 6:30 p.m. Monday in the school’s cafeteria focusing on the students’ experiences and featuring Joji Miyamori, Japan’s consul general based in Atlanta.
Montes and the student she is hosting are excited to share their thoughts.
Q: Why did you want to go to Japan?
A: It is our passion and love for the Japanese language and culture that made us want to go.
Q: What was the experience like?
A: It was life changing to see what happened from a first person point of view. Most Americans learn about disasters like the tsunami from the news. When news coverage ends, Americans think that is that. But some Japanese people are still trying to put the pieces together.
Q: What did you do in Japan?
A: We went around certain areas and learned about the effects of the tsunami. We talked with people who were emotionally damaged by the earthquake and reassured them that there would be hope around the corner. Our school gave Japanese people gifts such as a Roswell High School T-shirt. Several times throughout the trip, we had debriefing sessions in which students from each school involved would explain what they did and why the experience impacted them.
Q: You called the experience life-changing. How so?
A: It makes me thankful for having a house and people who care. It teaches me that we often take life for granted. We don’t know when these disasters are going to happen. It just reminds us to live life to the fullest.
Q: What surprised you about the Japanese family you stayed with?
A: They weren’t traditional Japanese — they liked the pop culture here in America. It taught me that cultures can borrow from one another. The integration of cultures makes the world special.
Q: Are you looking forward to hosting a Japanese student?
A: Definitely. My host student’s name is Mitsuki Koike. We are going to give her gifts — I am going to make her a CD of American songs. I know she loves to listen to music and wants to try American food. She plays trombone in her school band, which is cool because I play the clarinet.
Q: What do you want your student to take away from her trip?
A: That American culture is wonderful. I want her to see that we live on opposite sides of the world but we are not that different. We still are people who live on this Earth.
The Sunday conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by email at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
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