The Ron Clark Academy Travels to Japan for First Global Trip of the School Year

Konnichiwa!  Ogenki desu ka?  Those are just a few of the words the seventh and eighth graders of Ron Clark Academy (RCA) utilized while spending their Thanksgiving in Japan.  The students had plenty of opportunity to not only practice their Japanese speaking abilities over the course of the week, but immerse themselves in this unique and rich culture by living with Japanese families for four days. 

After a direct 16-hour flight from Atlanta to Tokyo, the students and faculty were welcomed by overwhelming amounts of hospitality, kind gestures and wonderful hosts.  The group traveled by bullet train southwest of Tokyo to the town of Wakayama the next morning to spend time at Wakayama Junior High School and meet their host families. 

The students were immediately reminded of the cultural differences when they entered the school and had to change their outside shoes to inside sandals.  Any nerves that students from either culture had were quickly put aside when the RCA students were able to join in with the Japanese students for after school activities like basketball, table tennis, and soccer.  RCA students also had the chance to teach the Japanese students how to do step.  The American and Japanese students performed a wonderful joint step show.

Over the next four days, the RCA students and their Japanese host families spent valuable time together and formed a special bond that was indescribable for many students.  The experience culminated in a memorable dance, where the RCA students, Japanese families and faculty from both schools enjoyed a great night of fun. 

It was a tearful goodbye for the RCA students and their families in Wakayama.  The sight of the Japanese host families waving as students and staff pulled out of the train station was imprinted in the minds of all there. 

“Seeing the genuine tears in the eyes of the students showed how special the host families meant to the students in just that short amount of time,” said Adam Dovico, a global studies and mathematics teacher at RCA.

In addition to a magical experience with their host families in Wakayama, the students expanded their cultural horizons by testing their palates on a number of new and fascinating foods, witnessing a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, trying on kimonos, visiting a samurai castle, stepping inside Buddhist temples, practicing their Kanji writing, and much more. 

The trip ended with a long flight back, but it gave the students a chance to reflect on their trip and think about all of the special memories and friendships they had formed while in the country also known as the Land of the Rising Sun.