In late August members of the Pittsburg Unified School District commemorated a 20-year Sister City relationship between the City of Pittsburg and Shimonoseki, Japan.
Photo by Pittsburg Unified School District
In late August Pittsburg Unified school District Superintendent Janet Schulze), Rancho Medanos JHS Principal Eric Peyko, and school resource officer with Pittsburg Police Department (Officer Manly) traveled to Pittsburg’s Sister City, Shimonoseki, Japan with five Pittsburg USD students.
Our group of world travelers arrived at their destination in Japan after 14-hours of traveling. Their first stop was a meal at the airport!
While in Shimonoseki, they packed in as much site seeing and meeting of wonderful hosts as they could. One day of the trip included the men getting dressed up in traditional samurai outfits and the ladies dressed in traditional kimonos.
The adults were able to stop by the Shimonoseki Police Department for a special tour where they even learned some martial arts skills.
Photo by Pittsburg Unified School District
Later that day, they had lunch with the Superintendent of Shimonoseki Schools. The entire group also went sightseeing and walked in an underwater tunnel from the main island to a small island to see the Mekari Shrine.
While the students were with their wonderful host families, the adults were invited to a special banquet celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Sister Cities. There was spectacular drumming, delicious food, and even fireworks to commemorate the evening.
On the last day of the trip, Superintendent Schulze summarized what they experienced:
Photo by Pittsburg Unified School District
“During our last full day, we were joined by Japanese leadership students and toured an elementary school, a Junior High school and visited the beautiful Fukutoku Inari Shrine. That night, we had a farewell party with the host families, students from Japan who visited Pittsburg over the past few years, and other guests. We ended by attending the last night of the festival and watching the traditional dance where 4K people participate! The next morning, we were off to the airport, after an early morning visit by the Mayor to wish us safe travels. Thank you to the City of Pittsburg and the donors who made this trip possible! Students will be presenting about their experience at upcoming City Council and School Board meetings.”
The group arrived back in Pittsburg on August 28.
Information released by the Pittsburg Unified School District
