The Winona student connection to Misato, Japan, has been going strong for a decade, but this is the first year Cotter students have taken part in this trip.

From April 11-19, three Cotter students, Samuel Graff, James Galke, and Lauren Whyte, traveled have to Misato, Japan as part of an exchange group tradition between Winona and Misato.

Misato is a sister city of Winona and it is located in the northeast of Japan. This was the first year Cotter students attended this trip. A number of Winona High School students have been going there every year since 2003. Joe Lepley, a longtime Winona High instructor and for many years goes there with them.

This year there were 25 students who went on the trip, included Winona High school and Cotter students. And about ten adults on this trip.

They spent first couple of days in Tokyo and they stayed the hotel, named Tokyo Dorm Hotel. Also, they visited the National Diet Building. Most of the time during the trip was dedicated to spending time with their host families.

The group also visited Sendai and Misato. One of the days they were in Misato, they went to a Japanese high school. They also visited many different kind of Buddhist temples and shrines.

Samuel Graff decided to go to Japan because “I recognized the great opportunity I had to visit another country and learn about its culture.”, he said. Going to Japan was his dream. He heard about this trip form his older brother. His older brother has been this trip when he was in 8th grade. He told Samuel that how much fun it he had on the trip.

Also, James Galke signed up this trip simply, because his mother brought information about this trip and he was not sure about going to the trip. He decided to go because it would be a fun experience.

Galke was most excited about the home stay and going to Tokyo. His host family was very nice. They took him to Onsen (a public bath). First, he was worry about it but later, it became one of the most relaxing moments. He was also worried about trying to speak Japanese, as he knew very little of the language.  But he said, “that was never a problem, and it was a fun challenge to try and communicate”

Samuel Graff was looking forward to making new friends in Japan. He thought that he could meet a lots of people and had a chance to make many new friends. Also, he was looking forward to trying the new food.

“I was a little bit nervous because it is so different, but I really enjoyed all the food I tried, especially the sushi,” Graff said.

They all three were worried about language but they were able to communicate. Their host families were very helpful.

Also, Lauren stayed with a host family whose daughter I had hosted when Misato students were in Winona.

, “Getting to know and being with my host family was my favorite part of the trip,”Graff said.

He never get homesick and he always felt a home, because they were kind. His host family took him to a mall, a sushi restaurant, and a place where he could play soccer. “I did not want to say goodbye to them, and it was so sad to leave them.” he said.

James Galke wants to recommend this trip to other students. “I feel that this trip offers you a great opportunity to experience a side of Japan that most tourists will never be able to see. The fact that we got the chance to stay with home stay families made the trip much more meaningful, and was why I was excited to go to Japan. ”

They learned  lots of new things about Japanese culture and tried new foods. Not only they had good experiences but also, Japanese high school students had great experiences. They also faced new cultures and it should be helpful to learn English for them.