Mikeila Fujimoto, 16, sat patiently as Sean Conklin, an artist from Burbank's Make-up Designory, applied bloody gashes onto her face.
It was one of the many activities scheduled Wednesday for Mikeila and her 11 other classmates from Ota, Japan on their two-week visit to Burbank.
PHOTOS: Japanese visitors get made up
Each year, Burbank families host students from one of four sister cities while sending local high school students to another. This summer, a dozen Burbank students visited Incheon, Korea, and another eight visited Gaborone, Botswana to volunteer on its malaria elimination campaign, said Library Services Director Sharon Cohen, whose department partially funds the program.
“Our kids, when they go, they come back changed,” said Win Ieraci, a seven-year Burbank host parent whose two teenage sons visited Japan and Korea in the past. “They become more grown up.”
This summer, her sons are staying local.
“My kids consider this their vacation,” Ieraci said. “It’s not a matter of what they see, it’s getting to know people and making new friends.”
