They came, they charmed us, and they said sayonara far too soon.
How quickly time went! No sooner had they arrived than Ayami Ujihara, Rikuya Satoh, Fuko Asabatake, Tomonori Umeda, Takahito Narita and Miwa Nakadai were saying goodbye to Barrhead.
Or at least that’s how it appeared.
It is the penalty for having fun, which is what the week was all about as our friends soaked up Canadian culture and improved their English.
“Any time you want to come back, you are very welcome,” said Town coun. Roy Ulmer, chairman of the twinning committee.
Fifteen-year-old Ayami and 16-year-olds Rikuya, Fuko, and Tomonori – who were accompanied by teacher Narita and interpreter Nakadai – enjoyed an action-packed week. It included a hayride, tours of a daycare centre, mobile homes plant and RCMP station, and visits to dance and combative arts studios.
Last Thursday evening, the six were the stars at a farewell dinner at the Multi-Purpose Room, which brought together twinning committee members and host families.
Also present was Barrhead Composite high school student Sarah Wilson, who has family ties with the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She helped chaperone her Tokoro peers.
Plenty of gifts and kind words were exchanged, showing that the 21-year ties between Barrhead and its sister city of Tokoro are as strong, if not stronger, than ever.
There were even some tears, although the mood was celebratory as everyone wanted to ensure the guests received a great send-off.
Coun. Shelley Oswald spoke on behalf of the Town Council as Mayor Brian Schulz was in Whitecourt on official duty.
She thanked the delegation for coming and hoped they enjoyed their stay.
Coun. Darrell Troock, speaking on behalf of Reeve Bill Lee and Barrhead County Council, said their visit was greatly appreciated. He extended an open invitation for them to return.
Grant Widdup, on behalf of Pembina Hills School division, also thanked the delegation.
He added that PHRD chair Sharon Volorney wished to send her best wishes.
Ulmer praised the host families for opening their homes to Barrhead’s guests.
He also hailed Barrhead Composite High School associate principal Karen Fischer and teacher Dan Sribney for their efforts in ensuring the visit was a great success.
Ulmer thanked the students, their teacher and Nakadai for being such gracious guests and invited them to return.
After group photos were taken, the evening culminated in a rousing drum circle, facilitated by Dale Kiselyk.
Earlier, the delegation had gone neon bowling, just one of many activities since arriving on Friday, March 8.
Two of the more unusual highlights were a hayride at John Kippers’ farm north of Neerlandia and a visit to the Northplex plant, where everyone donned hard hats, goggles and steel clip-on boots as manager Jeff Tuininga showed the different stages in building a modular home.
“They liked the tour very much,” said Sarah Wilson, whose mother, Kimura, is Japanese. “It was very interesting. They are not used to all this construction back home. It is a new experience.”
Nakadai said the students were fascinated.
“In Japan, they never build a home like this,” she added.
On Wednesday evening, the group dropped in on the Barrhead Judo Club and Irene Widdup’s class at the nearby Footworks Dance Academy.
If they thought the dancing would involve gentle stretching, they soon knew otherwise. Twisting, turning, spinning, rolling – there was scarcely a pause as the students joined in a high-energy routine, doing their best to follow the movements of Elyse Hewitt, Keanna Widdup, Krissy Kormos, Alena Widdup, Allison Kryscow, Samantha Emery and Kaitlyn Christiansen.
Tomonori even managed to stand on his head, and then his hands, with a little help from Irene Widdup. Afterwards, Widdup handed out Footworks tops to the special visitors.
The delegation returned to Japan last Friday. They took, and left behind, the perfect farewell gift – unforgettable memories.
