The Livingston Rotary Club hosted an unforgettable beach day for the 20 Japanese high school students visiting New Jersey through our District's Youth Exchange program. Ocean waves, beach volleyball, tug-of-war, cheeseburgers and ice cream — and friendships that will cross oceans.The Livingston Rotary Club was proud to sponsor a day at the Jersey Shore for the students of our District's Japanese Youth Exchange program — a day of sun, saltwater, and cultural exchange that none of us will forget.
For 48 years, our District has hosted this life-changing program. This year we are delighted to welcome 20 high school students from the island of Oshika, Japan. They are spending three weeks in New Jersey, living with local host families and experiencing American life first-hand.
The beach trip was the highlight of the visit so far. Whatever language barriers existed at the start of the day disappeared quickly, and our American and Japanese students got straight to the business of making memories together:
- Jumping headfirst into the ocean waves
- Beach volleyball matches that ran all afternoon
- A fiercely contested — and thoroughly hilarious — tug-of-war
- Refueling with classic cheeseburgers, and cooling down with ice cream on the boardwalk
Between games, there was time to bury a friend in the sand, compare notes on life in Oshika and life in Livingston, and simply enjoy a grey-sky summer day by the Atlantic.
Programs like this do not happen by themselves. Our sincere thanks go to the host families who open their homes, to the volunteers who give their time, and to every member who has helped keep this tradition alive year after year.
Here's to lifelong friendships that cross oceans.
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