Japanese students experience Coffs Coast life in special sister-city exchange

THREE Japanese schoolgirls are getting a first-hand taste of life on the Coffs Coast as part of an exchange program designed to strengthen a friendship between two cities thousands of kilometres apart.

The Year 8 students from Sasebo are visiting Coffs Harbour for their first overseas trip, hosted by students and families from St John Paul College (JPC).

Their busy itinerary has included visits to the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary and The Big Banana, along with a surfing lesson, with plenty of opportunities to experience Australian life beyond the classroom.

“They are learning about Australian life and culture,” JPC Head of Languages Kirsten Binnie said.

For the students, the visit is also an opportunity to make new friends and experience everyday life with their Australian host families.

The exchange is part of a relationship between Coffs Harbour and Sasebo that has been building for decades, with student exchanges beginning as far back as 1953.

The cities formally became sister cities in 1988, creating an ongoing connection that has allowed generations of students to experience each other’s cultures.

Mayor Nikki Williams said she valued the relationship and the opportunities it created for young people.

“The friendship between our two cities is genuine and based on respect,” she said.

“The relationship is an opportunity for us to share culture and understanding.”

Mayor Williams recently joined the visiting students and their Coffs Harbour hosts for lunch at Donovans Surf Club Restaurant at Park Beach.

The cultural exchange will continue later this year, when the JPC students who hosted the Japanese visitors travel to Sasebo in December.

The relationship is also supported by community organisations including the Japan-Australia Society of Sasebo and the Australia-Japan Society of Coffs Harbour, which have helped foster connections between the two communities.

For the visiting students, however, the sister-city relationship is being experienced in a much more personal way, through new friendships, unfamiliar food, surfing, sightseeing and a glimpse into what life is like on the other side of the world.