Thursday, August 13th, 2015
St. Marys teenagers' trip to Japanese sister city included experiencing typhoon
By Jared Mauch
Photo by Jared Mauch/The Daily Standard
Bradley Eberle, 15, at Wednesday's St. Marys Rotary Club meeting spoke about his recent trip to Awaji City and Tokyo, Japan. Awaji City and St. Marys have been sister cities for almost 30 years.
ST. MARYS - Two St. Marys teenagers this summer experienced a different culture - and a typhoon - in Japan.
Bradley Eberle, 16, and Alyssa Wicker, 16, at Wednesday's Rotary Club meeting shared details of their trip to St. Mary's sister city, Awaji City.
It was the first overseas trip for each of the teens, though Eberle has visited Canada. They, three other teens and two chaperons visited St. Marys' sister city and Tokyo in July.
The group arrived in Tokyo first and visited the Ikebukuro earthquake museum, which was built on a fault and included a quake simulator.
The museum reminded him of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., Eberle said.
The group also experienced a typhoon.
"All night all we heard was the rattling of the window covers and we could hardly sleep," Wicker said.
"It reminded me of a thunderstorm that wouldn't stop," Eberle added.
Eberle celebrated his 16th birthday while on the trip. His Japanese birthday cake was different from the American version, he said.
"It's not as sweet as the United States'. It reminded me of angel food cake with fruit in it - grapes, strawberries," he said.
Eberle also enjoyed Raman noodles with pork and bamboo shoots.
Japanese-style pizza with shrimp and octopus was another favorite of Eberle.
The seafood in Japan was fresher than it is here, Wicker said. Sadly, she was unable to try any sushi.
The delegates and chaperons stayed with host families on the trip. They agreed the trip was a great experience. Eberle made new friends and Wicker said the people were very kind.
They made incense and Japanese paper. Eberle made a strong pine incense and Wicker made a citrus scent.
Wicker spent time at a kendo match, which is similar to fencing.
For souvenirs, Eberle bought a small replica samurai sword and postcards while Wicker found anime and manga books.
The delegates received honorary citizenship from Awaji City. St. Marys officials make the same gesture for visiting Japanese delegates, Susan Crotty, industrial and community development manager, said.
St. Marys and Awaji City will celebrate 30 years of sister city relations in 2016, she said.
Photo by Jared Mauch/The Daily Standard
Alyssa Wicker, 16, at Wednesday's St. Marys Rotary Club meeting spoke about her recent trip to Awaji City and Tokyo, Japan. Awaji City and St. Marys have been sister cities for almost 30 years.
