Students are invited to apply for the Handa-Midland Sister City Student Exchange program, a program in which three MPS students will travel to Handa, Japan for three weeks. During this time, students will stay with three different Japanese families to learn more about Japanese culture and build friendships between the sister cities.The trip will take place either late July or early August 2015. Students from Handa travel to Midland during even numbered years, and students from Midland travel to Handa during odd numbered years. Past MPS participants include Nick Smith, Cara Mitrano, Scout Parsch, Keenan Hammer, and Emily Bischoff.
The program is offered to current sophomores and juniors who have a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Applications for the program can be found in the counseling offices at both DHS and MHS, or at the City of Midland website. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 27. Prospective participants will take part in interviews during the end of April, and will hear back in early May. Three students are chosen each year from the group of candidates.
Senior MaryClaire Bassett hosted a Handa exchange student, Eri Sakakibara, for a week during summer 2014.
“It was a lot of fun,” Bassett said. “She brought a traditional Japanese Kimono along with other Japanese items, so I got to learn a lot about her culture while she learned about mine. It was a great experience.”
More information about the Handa-Midland Sister Student Exchange program can be found here
Applications can be downloaded here
By Maddy Adams
