Four Japanese exchange students traveled 7,980 miles to grasp the American dream. Between Monday, November 17th and  November 20th, exchange students attended the classes of their Miami hosts. The students from Kagoshima, a city on the southwestern tip of the island Kyushu in Japan, have studied their entire lives learning the English language and used it during their visit to the United States. The Miami host students, Emma Feldman, Isabel Jarmel, Samantha Pederson, and Aimee Jornlid each invited a Japanese student into their home.

“Hosting a Japanese exchange student was extremely fun, but the language barrier limited communication between us,” said sophomore Isabel Jarmel. “It helped me both learn Japanese and gain a sense of Japanese culture.”

Kagoshima, a sister city to Miami, sends students to expose them to American culture and give them the opportunity to practice their English at a larger scale than just a classroom.

During both lunches, the Palmetto students studying Japanese invited teachers and classmates to a  luncheon, where they introduced Latin and American food to the exchange students.

“This is my first time in America, and I can tell its going to be the best,” said exchange student Rena Gato. “I have studied a specific course for a year and took a national exam to have the experience I am having this week.”

Although limited to basic English phrases, the many hours spent learning vocabulary for Gato’s trip, paid off.