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Ochazuke
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 Mikey Hirano Culross |
As graduation ceremonies begin to fill the late spring evenings with speeches and soaring mortar boards, I’m reminded of one universal admonition. We’ve all sat there, eyes rolling sarcastically, as our teachers and invited speakers blathered on and on about how we were the future of the world, the leaders of tomorrow, yadda, yadda, yadda... As promising as that sounds, we all know that it’s often untrue. For every “leader” that emerges from our group, there’s also a Paris Hilton, that “Hey, Verne!” guy or some dude groping schoolgirls on a train. Reality is hard to take when it fails to live up to exalted expectations.
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Working as a teacher for five years in our glorious public schools, I was able to hold court daily with the best–and worst–of our future leaders. Some students, quite obviously, are on their way to doing great things. Others, I must admit, appear on their way to doing other people’s laundry. But every spring, I have the opportunity to spend nine days with the best and brightest from around the world. Since I was in high school, I’ve been involved with AFS, the student exchange organization formerly known as American Field Service. It’s the world’s oldest and largest exchange program with thousands of students from more than 100 countries participating each year. For the past 15 years, I have taken part in a trip through the southwest, conducted late in the school year for students who have been living in the Los Angeles area. It’s pretty tough to convince most folks that spending nine days camping with a dozen teenagers is anything short of punishment, but these are no ordinary teenagers. Before coming to the U.S., they had to pass muster in their home countries and once here, they have the daunting task of trying to fit in with host families and schoolmates—in most cases, as they learn English. Sure, a few squirrelly ones get into the program, but they don’t usually make it all the way to the Southwest Trip. The itinerary is a wonderful vacation for anyone—desert landscapes and red rocks, grand canyons and river rafting. We take the students to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. They spend a night on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado, tour cave dwellings and a dam, and see a way of life vastly different from the one they’ve built during their year as American kids. To listen to what most of them have to say, on just about any topic, is to renew one’s faith in youth. Sure, kids tend to be resilient, but these students also have the credentials of world travelers. They have plenty to say about socializing, music, George Bush (not too many good things about the latter.) During this year’s trip, taken at the end of May, one girl had her own take on the Scooter Libby affair. How many teenagers even know who Scooter Libby is? Perhaps the most vital purpose of the trip is to prepare the students for their return to their home countries–Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Latvia, among others this year–which happens a couple of weeks from now. In addition to all the labor involved—finishing school, packing, visiting countless friends—there’s the emotional aspects. Over the past year, they’ve built relationships with families, classmates and yes, boyfriends and girlfriends. To the pain of separation, add some soaring adolescent hormones and you’ve got tough times ahead. With a few exceptions, they all get through it pretty well. This is a breed of teenager that has become used to change and is able to deal with life-altering events. Their flexibility and insight is what makes them such wonderful people to be around for a week and a half, and why participating in the Southwest Trip is one of the better things I do with my life. Want a more encouraging look into the future? Go find yourself a group of exchange students. You’ll end up the wiser for it. |
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