By Chiharu Kusama

I applied for this program because of my longing to speak English and to go abroad​

However, what I gained in those 10 days was a hundred times more intense than I had imagined, and what I had longed for turned into a goal to become an English speaker and a dream to work internationally.

Before I met my host family, I was worried about whether or not I could speak English well. However, my host family took me to many fun places and talked to me a lot, so my nervousness gradually melted away. I am very happy and have the best memories of going to the neighborhood park with my buddy, going out and going to school together and gradually getting to know each other.
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I was very happy to be able to eat delicious American food that I longed for, such as hamburgers from IN-N-OUT BURGER, clam chowder from San Francisco, and chocolate ice cream from Ghirardelli Square!

By Isabella Wang, 8th Grade, JLS 

Every time my dad came back from his trip to Japan, saying how clean it was and how friendly the people were, I was fascinated by Japanese culture, and especially liked Japanese food. Japan seemed so different from the United States, which is why I chose to study Japanese. This is also why I had always wanted to go. When I heard about the Neighbors Abroad student exchange program from my Japanese teacher, I knew I had to sign up. This exchange program provided me with the perfect opportunity to go, and it was an unforgettable experience.

Staying at someone else’s house was a new experience for me, and I was very nervous. However, my host family was extremely welcoming and I felt right at home. The fact that I already got to know my buddy as she had already come to stay in my house in March helped to ease some of my anxiety as well. I enjoyed doing many fun activities with them, such as making takoyaki and playing with sparklers, and also recently discovered that I liked coffee jelly. I ended up liking takoyaki so much that in America I, with help from my host family, bought my own machine and learned how to make it. I also learned that we shared a passion for manga, and got to browse through their collection, as well as go to a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. I also got to go to a public bath for the first time, which was a very interesting experience. 

In addition, I also got to visit many different Japanese cities such as Himeji, Osaka, and Tokyo and see many culturally important landmarks. We visited Himeji Castle, and learned about its conflicted past. Japan has such a rich history and culture. I very much enjoyed learning about it. I made many new friends, and I think that going to Japan helped to broaden my horizon.

I also enjoyed going to a Japanese school. The students were all very welcoming. Going to school via train and wearing indoor shoes at school were new experiences for me. I thought that it was impressive that Japan was so safe that children could travel on their own. In Japanese schools, the students help serve lunches, and in my opinion, the quality of the lunches are much better than in American schools. 
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I returned to America bearing loads of souvenirs to share with my friends. My host family was kind and generous enough to give me gifts, and I also went on shopping sprees in the malls. Japan has a lot of wonderful gifts and unique things you can’t get in the U.S.

Because of this trip, I got to spend more time with friends and make new friends. I experienced many firsts during this exchange program, and I learned so much more about Japanese culture and society. I am so grateful that I got this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from Neighbors Abroad, and this wouldn’t have been possible without the organizers, Evelyn Shimazaki and Christine Saxon. I look forward to seeing my host family and buddy again next year, and I’ll be sure to treasure the memories I make during this trip.

By Monica Schreiber

​We were delighted to welcome a delegation from our French Sister City in September 2023.  With an eye toward expanding existing programs and rolling out new collaborations for the 30th anniversary of the relationship, the three-member delegation spent five busy days meeting with local business leaders, Stanford University energy sector thought leaders, Palo Alto elected officials and city staff, directors at the Cantor Arts Center and the Palo Alto Arts Center, the city's sustainability team, and the directorship of Neighbors Abroad, among others. Frédéric Jung, the French Consul General in San Francisco, participated in a meeting at Palo Alto City Hall with Vice Mayor Greer Stone. Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou graciously welcomed the group at one of several lively social events. The delegation also enjoyed time in San Francisco and Carmel, where the famous Carmel Mission features a beautiful plaque in honor of Albi Native Son Jean François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse. See a gallery of photos here. 

By Toby

Tsuchiura is a special place for me and my family. My dad was invited by Tsuchiura city to run the Kasumigaura Marathon back in 2013 so I got to visit Tsuchiura when I was 4. Unfortunately I don’t remember anything, but the photos show we had a great trip. My mom went to University of Tsukuba near Tsuchiura for college. So when I had the chance to go visit this summer through this program, it seemed like a great opportunity. I wasn’t sure of my choice initially, but after the trip, I was decidedly glad I had gone.

I have been to Japan many times before to visit my grandparents, but I was left with a completely new and different perspective after this trip. Not only did I get to experience new and exciting things traveling across the country, but I got to meet new people, try new types of food, and see new places. I got to visit the floating torii gate of Miyakojima (where they recently had the G7 Summit), visit the Hiroshima Peace museum, and try new foods like okonomiyaki. 

Originally, I was nervous because I had recently become vegetarian, and because a lot of Japanese meals consist of meat and fish, I was worried that it would cause a lot of stress on my host family. However, when I arrived in Tsuchiura, they greeted me with a welcoming sign with my name and prepared delicious vegetarian meals for me. I enjoyed making tofu “burgers” with my host family, which were one of the many special meals they made to accommodate me.

I found the Japanese Junior High to be very orderly and structured. The family made sure I fit in by having a school uniform ready for me. I’d never been to a school where everyone wears uniforms. It does make mornings easier to not have to think about what to wear. When I did my introduction in Japanese to the class, students were welcoming and asked many questions about my dog. It seems like dogs are humans’ best friends in Japan as well. I was surprised to see students participating in preparing and serving nutritious hot lunches with multiple dishes, which is very different from my middle school where we simply line up to get a prepared lunch. My buddy and his sister were great hosts helping me navigate the school.

My host family was very friendly and helped make my experience memorable. For example, they took me to see Ushiku Daibutsu, a massive statue of the Amitabha Buddha, said to be the fifth tallest statue in the world. Pictures don’t do it justice, it was so huge!  I also got to see my buddy run in the track meet at a big stadium. It was fun to be a spectator at a Japanese track meet, and watch my buddy run very fast.

This trip broadened my understanding of Japanese culture and gave me many new experiences that I will cherish for years to come. I am so grateful to my host family for their hospitality and generosity. I hope we stay in touch. I look forward to continuing my Japanese studies in high school. Finally, thank you to everyone who helped make this trip possible for us. Arigato gozaimashita!

By Evelyn Shimazaki

​When our bus pulled into the Tsuchiura community center parking lot on June 14, 2023, we were greeted warmly by the Tsuchiura students and their families, holding up signs of each student’s name. In true Japanese fashion, we were treated to a program with City of Tsuchiura officials and staff as well as the President of Tsuchiura International, Yuko Fujita, who formally welcomed us to Tsuchiura before our Palo Alto students were ushered off to join the households of their homestay families. ​We had been an hour late and feeling weary from travel after visiting the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Himeji over a period of five days. The excited and eager faces of the Tsuchiura students and their families buoyed our spirits as the long-awaited homestay portion of the trip was finally here. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Palo Alto students to experience life in a Japanese household, attend a Japanese school, and be immersed in Japanese language, culture, and cuisine.

By Monica Schreiber

Some people dismiss Sister Cities as a relic of the past, a hold-over from a post-World War II world when Sister Cities were created to build bridges across fractured borders. A June 2023 teen trip to Palo Alto’s Dutch Sister City served as a reminder that the past is not to be dismissed. Indeed, the past is often what matters the most.

The one-week trip to Enschede was the culmination of a cross-border high school essay contest we launched last year to honor a little-known Dutch Resistance leader from Enschede, Pastor Leendert Overduin, who saved hundreds of Jewish children and their families during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, then later helped the children of imprisoned Nazi collaborators.

The trip brought together essay contest winners from a four-way Sister and Sibling City network that included Enschede’s German Sister City, Münster, and Palo Alto’s Sibling City, Bloomington, Indiana. Looking at the group of students through the lens of World War II, these were the descendants of the invaded, the invaders, and the liberators, who gathered in Enschede to learn about the horrors of the past and contemplate the promises of the future.
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Here are two of my biggest history-focused takeaways from the week-long trip:

By Nodelyn Lago Smith

Little did I know when my kids used to carpool with Iraida Espinosa's grandchildren in the 1980s that the perfectly coiffed, always-elegant lady who used to hand out snacks during car rides was busy transforming the lives of young people on the other side of the Pacific. 

​I would learn decades later, when I joined the board of Neighbors Abroad, that Iraida was instrumental in establishing life-changing programs in Palo Alto's oldest sister city, Palo, Leyte, the Philippines. The initiatives she helped establish when she was president in the 1980s included a children's library and scholarships for deserving college students. Those projects endure to this day. The number of scholarships over the years has dwindled down to 5 but the Palo Committee hopes to increase the number back to the original 9 and more.  So when Iraida recently passed away at almost 105, we decided to honor her legacy by naming one of our scholarships after her for a student pursuing teaching and education, as Iraida was a teacher for many years at Walter Hays Elementary. 

We owe Iraida and the other past Neighbors Abroad members a debt of gratitude for their efforts and countless hours spent laying the foundation for our organization.  Iraida had just retired from teaching when she became the president of Neighbors Abroad,  She worked tirelessly with Neighbors Abroad for more than two decades!   We can use Iraida’s legacy as a call to action to do our part to bring people from across the world together to support one another and take Iraida’s words to heart when she wrote that we are all  “members of the broader family of nations.” 
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If you would like to help us expand our scholarship program for deserving and disadvantaged students, please click here.