Two cultures collide on ONU's campus

ADA - They arrived a week ago barely able to communicate with each other.

It's still not easy, but the American and Japanese high school students are finding their way. They help each other with homework, laugh while playing games and even console each other when they're homesick.

"In just a couple of days we could already see this appreciation for each other, of their cultures and their differences," said Robert Alexander, who's heading the summer camp at Ohio Northern University.

Sixteen American students from around the country and 20 Japanese students from Saitama Prefecture are spending three weeks together on campus for the Kasukabe-U.S. Summer Camp.

This is the first year of the camp. Kasukabe is a high school in Saitama that focuses on ways of teaching English. Students earn college credits for participating in the summer camp.

The Japanese students came armed with electronic translators and the American students have dictionaries, but the majority of communicating comes in other ways.

"There's a lot of hand gestures and pointing," said 16-year-old Raelin Ingram, of Washington Courthouse. Her sister traveled to Japan a few years ago, sparking her interest in the camp.

Kasumi Sato and Shiori Tokuse, both 17, said through an interpreter that the program is a good chance for them to study in the U.S. and learn English. While they understand English pretty well, they have trouble speaking it.

The students room together.

"Sharing a room with an American student is a new experience. Lifestyle is totally different," Tokuse said, saying that she has tried to teach Japanese phrases to the American students, and learn American phrases from them.

The students are picking up more than just the language from each other. Seventeen-year-old Nate McMeans, of Xenia, has found himself taking on Japanese habits, including nodding a lot and simplifying his speech. Communicating is becoming easier, he said.
"All of the activities brought us together and kind of forced us to find some way to communicate," he said.

The students spend most of their days together, including eating meals, recreational activities and fieldtrips. The group is headed to Cedar Point this weekend and will attend a Toledo Mud Hens game.

Alexander said it's important for the activities to include both cultures. A recent trip to a Japanese restaurant introduced the American students to seaweed salad. The Japanese students weren't sure what to think about a large meal of fried chicken and mashed potatoes that same day. They laugh together when remembering the past week's experiences.

"It's really hard to believe they've only been together for a week," Alexander said. "They have really bonded a great deal. ... We've been planning this for a year, and to see that they are connecting in this way is really rewarding."