Sister City Delegates Share Experiences

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Story Published: Aug 21, 2008 at 10:58 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 2:02 AM MDT

By Mary Sturgill

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IDAHO FALLS - A few weeks ago we brought you the story of the Payton McGriff and the student delegation heading to Tokaimura, Japan for the sister cities program. The group is back so we caught up with Payton earlier this week to see how the trip went.

It seems like yesterday Payton Mcgriff was packing for this trip to Japan. Now she's back home with memories and experiences she will remember forever. "Went camping in the mountains and it was kinda like a rain forest but it wasn't American camping. It was like in big cabins it was a lot of fun."

The fun did not stop there. "They loved the ken do class. They got to put on some of the ken do gear, the chest plates, the helmet. They practiced with Ken do sticks and got to whack opponents and stuff."

But the trip wasn't just about fun. The students visited a school and discovered that even though traditions are different.

"They take off their shoes and wear slippers in school." The Japanese kids were a lot like us. One part of experiencing any culture is eating the food. So some parts of a new culture take some getting used to. But Payton says her host family was gracious and kind. You may remember Payton celebrated her birthday on the trip. Her host family threw her a party. "It was the best I ever had. It was banana and strawberry with a creme inside."

The sweetness of this life experience filled up two suitcases on the trip home. There was a lot of luggage. "One of the chaperone's said that I had the most, but I don't know."

Next year the Japanese delegation will visit us and the following year we send one back to japan. If you are interested in being a host family next summer or traveling to Japan with the group you check out their website at http://myweb.cableone.net/gob/SisterCities/

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