COEUR d'ALENE - Bryan Elementary School third-grader Hattie Owens held the colorful letter she wrote to her Japanese pen pal and read part of it aloud.

"'Dear Haru' - she likes to be called Haru," she began. "'Hawaii was awesome. We went to an aquarium and I saw sharks there. They were big and scary.'"

Hattie, 8, gave her pal Haruka a big hug Friday morning, which the Japanese college sophomore happily returned.

Heather Jensen's third-grade classroom was alive with excitement and conversation as her students spent a couple hours with their pen pals, who were visiting one last time before heading home.

"I haven't seen her in a long, long time, so I finally have another chance to see her and have some time with her," said Ashlynn Grennon, 8. Her pen pal's name is Mariko. "It's cool because she's not from the same state as me. It's really cool that I get to meet a person in Japan and not in the United States."

The 14 Japanese young women who have been corresponding with the younger kids are exchange students at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute in Spokane, where they have been studying abroad since February. They attend Mukogawa Women's University in Nishinomiya, near Osaka, and chose to travel to Spokane as part of their program.

They originally met the third-graders upon arrival in the U.S. They played games with the younger students, taught them origami, showed them how to write their names in Japanese and did other "get-to-know-you" activities.

"My students, oh my gosh, they love it," Jensen said. "We're North Idaho, so you don't really get a taste of another culture like this. They were walking on air; it was so different from anything that they've had happen before. Just to experience all the different activities and try to communicate with them, they were very gracious with each other and very patient to get their messages across."

During this visit, the Japanese students gave a presentation about the "Friendship Doll Exchange," a historic showcase of friendship between Japanese and American children beginning in 1927. They presented Jensen and playground/resource aide Stan Brixen with two friendship dolls and gave their pen pals handmade, custom books as well as colorful gifts.

"I'm just really happy because this is the last day we get to see them," said Jack Selby, 9, whose pen pal's name is Mio. He was excited to show his pen pal pictures of his cat. He said he wrote to her about his career plans.

"In the future, I want to be a baker," he said.

Sarah Williams is the exchange students' writing instructor at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute. She has helped facilitate the pen pal program for three years, and she said her students always really enjoy it.

"When they receive letters from their pen pals they're just so excited, you know, they're asking questions," said Williams, of Coeur d'Alene. "They get so excited to come, they're just like, 'We want to visit again.' It's really great for them."

She said the Japanese students learn a lot about American culture through building friendships with the younger students, and even thought there is a bit of an age gap, they adore each other.

"I think these kinds of exchanges are important because it breaks down the stereotypes that we create in our minds," Williams said. "When you know someone as a friend, then it's so different from talking about people in the abstract sense."