Japanese exchange students arrive at Camden-Rockport Middle School






CAMDEN - Nine Japanese students arrived in Camden on Monday, Jan. 6, for a week-long visit to Camden-Rockport Middle School for a cultural exchange of students that has been going on for 16 years. In February, 10 students and two chaperones from CRMS will visit Japan.
A full week of activities awaits the exchange students, including curling in Belfast and a tour of the Camden Hills Regional High School.
Activities include calligraphy lessons and tile painting, a town walking tour with shopping and ice skating.
Friday night, the exchange students will be treated to a school dance and then it’s a farewell gathering at the middle school on Saturday before departing Camden for home on Sunday morning.
Matt Smith, assistant principal at CRMS, said the language barrier is the toughest thing to overcome.
“Because the language barrier is challenging, it’s almost awkward at the beginning of the week,” said Smith. “By the end of the week, like every year, they’re hugging each other and crying. That’s the fascinating thing to me is that you can connect two cultures without the use of language. Connecting Cultures is the name of the program and you build incredible bonds over the course of a week.”
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