Exchange group gets brief glimpse at school

MOSES LAKE — On Wednesday morning the halls of Moses Lake High School were empty with the exception of a few teachers, athletes and five exchange students from Yonezawa, Japan.

While teachers and athletes were most likely gearing up for another school year, the exchange students were getting a taste of what public school life in the U.S. is like as part of their second full day in Moses Lake.

The students will spend a week touring Moses Lake and the Basin as part of the sister city program begun between Yonezawa and Moses Lake 25 years ago.

MLHS, with more than 1,600 students, is a bit overwhelming for some of the sister city guests.

There are so many classrooms compared to a typical high school in Japan, said 16-year-old Kazuma Tamahashi through an interpreter.

The fact that many programs have their own designated space, such as choir, was impressive to Tamahashi who plays in a band back home.

Perusing yearbook photos of students in formals and at sporting events appeared to be a favorite on the tour.

School dances are not common in Japan, said interpreter Mariko Tsuruzoe.

Later in the tour students spent time singing songs in each other's native language and playing word games.

One game called for students to guess a word being described by their partner.

"Boom, boom, boom …," said 15-year-old Hiroki Aita as he tried to describe the word popcorn to his partner Donald McGraw.

As looks of uncertainty passed between McGraw and Aita, others in the class erupted in laughter at the humorous confusion the game had caused.

It was those moments of release when it seemed as if deeper connections between the students were being made; where they could be themselves, enjoy having fun and be silly amongst one another.

Moses Lake students also had a chance to learn what some of the interests of their guests are such as Tamahashi plays the sax and 17-year-old Risa Ito likes jazz music.

"We hope that this will continue forever with the purpose of connecting Yonezawa and Moses Lake," said Yukio Seino, president of the Yonezawa newspaper.