Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

I got to talk to people in another country and make friends with them. This made me feel happy knowing that one day when I go to Japan, I will have friends already there.

I was able to meet new people from halfway across the world, and learn about their culture and interests. It was amazing, how even though we never met them in person, it felt like we did, through videos, gift exchange, and discussing various topics.

Ever since I started studying Japanese I'd sort of yearned to know what life in Japan was like. Especially for a millennial such as myself, the high school culture in Japan was of prime interest. Of course I could never go to a Japanese high school given my current circumstances, so the Global Classmates program was, in my case especially, a journey into the impossible.

After wrapping up the 6-month long exchange, these were some of the feedback we received from Global Classmates participants. Through various discussions, sharing photos, exchanging gifts, and creating videos, the students from Japan and the U.S. developed friendships, deepened understanding of each other’s cultures, and improved their language skills.

The students were excited to see and learn about the everyday lives and cultures of their partner classmates that were so different from their own. The U.S. students were amazed with the beautiful obento lunches that the Japanese students made themselves, while the Japanese students were impressed by the energy of the U.S. students at a pep rally. At the same time, the students found a lot of similarities and common ground with their new friends. A student was shocked to have found someone on the other side of the world having the same favorite band as him, while another shared the same future dream. The exchange really made the students realize that regardless of where they lived, there were many similarities that allowed them to connect and bond.

 As a culmination of the 6-month online exchange and getting to know one another, some students had the opportunity to meet.  In February, six students from Center for Global Studies in Connecticut visited their partner school Nichinan Shintoku High School in Miyazaki Prefecture. The students from Center for Global Studies attended classes with their Japanese classmates as well as experienced Japanese culture through various hands-on activities.   From picking local kumquat fruit and cooking a meal together, to seeing a presentation on the students’ project on ‘virtual idol’ created with computer graphics, the students had a great time together and deepened their friendships further.

 We are so happy to see that our students had a great time with Global Classmates this year and we are excited to be able to offer the program to more students in September. We want to thank the individuals and organizations who generously donated to make this possible!