People in Wisconsin pride themselves on extending a warm welcome to visitors, but that became a bit of a challenge on the path around the Falls earlier this week.
The sister school delegation from Tomiura Junior High School arrived late Friday. On Sunday and Monday morning, Mother Nature blessed many local spots with a heavy layer of frost, so the personal warmth that is generated with the visit had to be turned up a notch. That turned out not to be a problem.
The schedule for the weeklong visit includes a variety of activities, well beyond just spending time in classrooms. For the two adults and the eight students, this truly is an opportunity to learn about Wisconsin and the American way of life. The first full day is spent with host families for a little bonding and jet-lag recovery. There was a deeper connection with five of the Japanese students, since they had hosted our students when the Washington Middle School delegation traveled there last spring.
There were fun events, like canoeing and a hay ride. The official start of the visit came Monday morning with a welcome assembly at Washington Middle School. Many adults from the host families were on hand for the ceremony. The ceremony included an exchange of plaques commemorating the visit. The city hosted the group for a tour of Oconto Falls, including a stop at Springside Cheese, ST Paper and a local dairy farm.
Each of the Japanese students prepared a presentation for students. Learning English is a priority for the students, and they have lots of practice in a number of settings. The visit comes to a close with a farewell banquet on Thursday night. Families share thoughts about the experience. If the trend continues, there will be a few tears and lots of hugs. There are many ways to compensate for those frosty mornings on the first few days of the visit.
As has been the tradition, this observer had the honor of hosting the adults in the delegation, their hosts and a few others at the farm I call home. The event took place Sunday night, right between those two frosty mornings. Hosting the group is never a formal affair — after all, this is rural, up north Wisconsin. Four varieties of cheese from Springside, including cheese curds, helped start off the evening.
There were a variety of beverages coming from Chippewa Falls and several side dishes. Making a strong connection with Wisconsin was important, so venison prepared in three different formats was on the menu. The brats were made in Wisconsin, even if they did not contain any venison. They were topped with Jim Damp’s famous sauerkraut made from cabbage grown on the south side of Highway 22. That combination, and the whole evening, was just about perfect. The visitors are so polite that if anything was not of their liking, they would not tell you.
There are a number of “take aways” from the exchange program, which is now marking its 20-year anniversary. One might conclude that the effort only has value for the eight or 10 people who are part of the delegation. In fact, the impact extends well beyond that group. All of the students at Washington gain from the exchange as they learn first-hand about another culture half way around the world.
There is great deal of satisfaction that comes from the hosting, confirmed by this observer’s small part in that effort. The pride comes out for city officials as they show off the highlights in the area. Host families feel the warmth that comes from giving.
The entire effort is a real positive for the Oconto Falls School District. Learning first-hand about another culture in the school setting is a rare opportunity. We have much to be proud of, and this is a great opportunity to share that message.
There’s a message I include in letters to teachers whose retirement requests are formally approved: One never knows all the lives we have touched and the impact those connections have made. The same could be said for the sister school project. When this delegation returns to Japan this weekend, their minds will be forever changed. They will have strong impressions of what America is like. Those impressions will be of Northeast Wisconsin and our community. Despite the frost, it will be a long-lasting, warm memory.
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