Cypress College Hosts Japanese Study Abroad Students

Far away from their home in Nagoya, Japan, the country’s fourth largest city, the visiting students eagerly made their way across the sunny coastal Orange County, Calif. campus at Cypress College, guided by a group of institution representatives. The institution was one stop of many in the visiting students’ study abroad summer program.

Cypress College students enrolled in the institution’s Japanese program joined the visiting students’ tour of the campus and acted as guides and interpreters for the students, who were primarily middle school age. During the tour, the Japanese and American students who acted as their guides practiced their foreign language skills, exchanged ideas, shared their cultures, and expanded their horizons for greater understanding.

“It was such an honor having the Nagoya students visit us at Cypress College. They seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the tour we gave them,” said Cypress College Japanese Professor Mihoko Terada Luther. “Our students studying Japanese truly enjoyed sharing our culture with them and practicing their Japanese with the study abroad students. We hope they will come back to visit again soon.

“The Japanese students were especially interested in the community colleges’ missions and roles in their communities because community colleges do not exist in Japan,” Luther added. She shared a Career and Technical Education course brochure with the Japanese students to demonstrate some of the kinds of courses offered at the college.

“They seemed very surprised that we had so many student services, such as free hot meals, a food pantry, free wardrobe, and the veteran’s center.”

Fernando Lizarraga, student president of the Cypress College Japanese Culture Club, said sharing this experience with the exchange students was “amazing” and said he and other club members enjoyed practicing their secondary languages with each other.

“What made this awesome was that we were all at the same level even though we were adults and they were middle schoolers,” Lizarraga said. “We were all new to the language, so not only was it challenging, but we were able to connect, and we had something in common.”

Luther credited many in the college with making the visit possible.

“I am grateful to Vivian Kim, the International Student Services coordinator, who provided this opportunity for my students. David Okawa, director of Student Life and Leadership, and Dario Resendiz, counselor of the Charger Experience Program, also assisted in facilitating the Japanese students’ campus visit,” she said. “Additionally, Janet Vera, Dean of Language Arts, always supports me and is always willing to assist in the success of our students. Finally, I am deeply thankful for the culture at Cypress College that allows for cross-departmental collaboration for the benefit of our students.”

Lizarraga said he was proud to share Cypress College with the visiting students.

“Not only was it an honor, but it was also a privilege to be able to represent our school. I would love to do this again,” he said.

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