Richmond welcomes sister-city group from Japan

Thomas Jefferson High School students had a very special visit yesterday.

A delegation of students from Saitama, Japan, came to the school for a morning of cultural exchanges as part of the sister-city relationship between Richmond and Saitama.

Students at Thomas Jefferson's International Baccalaureate program greeted the eight Japanese students and their two teachers with a jazz band performance of "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly and an African dance presentation in the school's auditorium. They shook hands with their peers and said "hi" in Japanese.

The Japanese students also showed their dancing skills, performing to a traditional Japanese song in traditional Japanese outfits.

It was an unusual learning experience for the Richmond students, said Michae Jamison, coordinator for the IB program. She said the students' interaction with their Japanese peers contributes to their program's curriculum, which encourages students to learn about other cultures.

Lamart Banks, a Thomas Jefferson senior who speaks Spanish, said understanding other cultures is key to a successful career in a global economy.

"It opens doors," he said.

Students from Chesterfield County's Clover Hill High School are hosting the Japanese students, who arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday and will be staying for 12 days. The delegation will visit other schools and will tour Williamsburg and Washington.

Earlier yesterday, the delegation met with Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones at City Hall and gave the mayor a letter from Saitama's mayor and exchanged gifts.

This is the 10th anniversary of the educational exchange program with Saitama. In addition to Saitama, Richmond has sister-city relationships with Thames, England; Olsztyn, Poland; Uijeongbu, South Korea; Windhoek, Namibia; and Zhengzhou, China.

The sister-city concept, initiated in the U.S. in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, establishes an official friendship between two cities with comparable populations or similar interests to promote cultural, educational and economic wealth. There are more than 2,400 sister-city partnerships around the globe.

"The sister-city program is such a phenomenal program. Government reaches out to government, and people reach out to people," said Catherine Nexsen, a member of Richmond's Sister City Commission. "We find that we are not so different after all."

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .