No.139 Visiting delegation from Foster City City

Inagi City's first citizen exchange with an overseas sister city began last October when a group of 33 people from Foster City (hereinafter referred to as "FC") came to Inagi for the "I-no-Machi Inagi Citizen Festival." In February of this year, a group of 11 people including myself visited FC on a tour sponsored by the Inagi City Sister and Friendship City Exchange Association.

This summer, the FC boys and girls soccer teams came to Japan for the first time, and the original purpose of the program was to begin interacting with children.

This time, the delegation arrived at Narita Airport on July 13th and returned to Japan on the 25th, during which time they held exchange activities in Inagi City for a week from the 15th to the 21st.

On the first day, an orientation was held at Inagi Daiichi Junior High School. A total of 27 people from the FC, including girls' teams aged 14 to 15 and boys' teams aged 11 to 12, over 40 people in total, including coaches and parents, participated, and elementary and junior high school students from Inagi played a brass band. We welcomed them with dance performances, etc., and we exchanged gifts.

On the first day, the participants moved to Ajinomoto Stadium, toured the stadium facilities, and then watched the J-League match between Tokyo Verdy and Tokushima Vortis.

On the second day, a social gathering and a social game were held at Nagamine Verdy Field, planned and managed by the Inagi City Soccer Federation.

On the third day, the students enjoyed a tour of the city, including Japanese cultural experiences such as kimono dressing, calligraphy, and tea ceremony with the cooperation of Komazawa Gakuen, a lecture on pear cultivation with the cooperation of local farmers, and a pair terrace.

On the fourth day, an exchange class was held at Inagi City School, and the FC children were divided into Inagi Daisan Elementary School, Inagi Daini Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, and Inagi Daisan Junior High School to participate, and participated in each class of each school. Each of them had a unique reception, classes, school lunches, and cleaning activities.

On the day, I toured Inagi Daiichi Junior High School and Inagi Daisan Elementary School. At Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, each class held a self-introduction program.In English class, Inagi students introduced themselves in English, FC students introduced themselves in Japanese, and in physical education class, We tried to communicate through basketball.

At Inagi Daisan Elementary School, each of the three classes played a game that also served as a self-introduction. Similar to Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, Inagi students introduced themselves in English and FC students introduced themselves in Japanese.

In elementary school, both boys and girls were active and seemed to be able to make friends quickly, but in middle school, while the girls were actively engaged in conversation, the boys were quiet and seemed shy. I guess he's around that age. In any case, all classes were a great success!

On the fifth day, an exchange game was held at Nagamine Verdy Field in the evening.

In the morning of the sixth day, we received instruction from Tokyo Verdy's coach at Tokyo Verdy's clubhouse, and in the afternoon we experienced Japanese culture such as koto, dance, and tea ceremony at Komazawa Gakuen, and in the evening, we exchanged information at Nagamine Verdy Field. The match was held.

On the seventh and final day, the participants toured Jindaiji Temple in the morning, took a walk around Kawasaki City Japanese Folk House Garden after lunch, and returned to Nagamine Verdy Field in the evening for the final exchange game and farewell party.

The week after the FC visiting team came to visit us was a hot and sunny day, but after the final day's exchange game, as I was saying farewell, it started to rain. It left an impression on me that many children were crying as if they were sad to say goodbye to their children.

In implementing this exchange program, many related organizations, including Foster City Sister City Association President Saito and others, Inagi City Sister and Friendship City Exchange Association, Inagi City Soccer Federation, Komazawa Gakuen Educational Corporation, Tokyo Verdy, etc. We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation.

We also received supplies from supporting companies including Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Yutaka Co., Ltd., and Suntory Products Ltd.

We would like to thank everyone for their efforts in making this public-private partnership possible.

Although this was our first experience with this exchange and we had no idea how to implement the project, I believe it was an irreplaceable memory for both children.

The economic situation surrounding Japan continues to be difficult, such as high prices of goods, soaring fuel prices, and a weak yen, but I hope that the children of Inagi will have the opportunity to visit a FC next time.

I hope that the exchange between our two cities will continue for a long time, and that the children of Inagi will become more international.