This year, our Japanese sister students visited us;the visits alternate yearly and next year a small number of Missoula students will be visiting Kumamoto, Japan. These visits are important to cultural exchanges, showcased in presentations given by Japanese students where they teach Hellgate students about life, school, and culture in Japan, as well as personal 

Aspects. This sister city relationship has been set up and maintained through the Mansfield center throughout the years. 

This year was particularly special because the program has not been active for the last few years due to COVID restrictions. Now that the pandemic is not a primary concern, this 35-year tradition will be continuing.  

Cultural exchanges like these are extremely important to repairing relationships between countries. This sister city relationship is very important to Missoula specifically, as it is meant to heal the cities relationship with each other after there have been Japanese internment camps in Missoula, at Fort Missoula.

Nagizimo Sai, a Japanese exchange student, said that she wanted to come to Missoula because it is Kumamoto’s sister city. She said that some subjects that she studies and enjoys in her high school are “Japanese, art, society, technology, math, and science.” She remarked on how the trip to Missoula from Kummamoto highlights cultural differences between the U.S., but more specifically Montana, and Japan in terms of educational structure.

“American schools are bigger” said Sai, another cultural difference that is prevalent between the two countries. Several students said that the very first thing that they noticed was the difference in class size. One student from Kumamoto said that the most noticeable structural difference between the countries’ schools was that instead of students going from classroom to classroom, they stayed in one room and the teachers moved to the class they needed to be at. 

Interesting cultural aspects such as these would not be known by us had the sister city program not exist. Hopefully, the relationship between Missoula and Kummamoto will do good in terms of healing history and taking responsibility for past actions. Not only this, but encourage understanding of foreign cultures and cultivate international friendships.