Erin Park
BURBANK -- An onslaught of questions ranging from "What's the weather
like over there?" to "Do you like 'N Sync?" bombarded 12 exchange
students from Burbank's sister city, Ota, Japan when they visited summer
school at Luther Burbank Middle School this week.
The Japanese students, 12 to 18 years old, took a tour of Luther
Burbank, visiting several classrooms to get a taste of what school life
in America is really like.
"I hope they saw a lot of nice students and were welcomed," said
summer school student Veronica Wachowiak, who will be entering her senior
year at Burbank High School.
Dropping in on a variety of classes, including film and video
production, a Macintosh computer lab and an English class, the most
interaction occurred with students who are learning English as a second
language in English Language Development.
There, the Japanese students mingled and muddled through discussions
of their nationalities, academia in the United States and their favorite
movie stars.
"They have many questions," said Rei Nakayama, 15. "I think they are
more positive than Japanese students."
As part of their two-week stay with Burbank host families, the
students from Ota also visited the Burbank City Council meeting Tuesday
evening to get a glimpse of the inner-workings of local politics.
After introducing themselves at the meeting, they presented gifts to
the council members, including a traditional decorative Japanese vase,
umbrellas and a photograph of the group. Mayor Bill Wiggins received a
tapestry depicting a historical Japanese scene.
In turn, Wiggins presented gifts to the students and chaperons on
behalf of the city of Burbank. Those gifts included pens and pencils as
well as buttons and a map of the city.
During their first week in town, the students also took tours of the
Burbank Recycling Center on Monday and the Police and Fire Headquarters
on Thursday.
Friday evening, they were to experience the great American pastime,
attending a baseball game between the Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.
