In the summer of 2023, Jefferson County teachers Jeff and Karen Smith and their three children took part in a four-week Japanese cultural experience they’ll never forget – all without leaving their home in New Market. From late July through mid- August, the Smiths welcomed a Japanese teenager into their lives and introduced her to the local community through their participation as a host family in the Tennessee 4-H International Exchange Program (IEP).
Launched in 1982, the IEP invited more than 900 Japanese middle and high school students to Tennessee homes and sent numerous Tennessee youths to experience homestays in Japan until the program ended in 2002 due to leadership and priority changes at the national and state levels. Tennessee reinstated the program in 2022 and expanded it in 2023, with 17 counties now participating.
Aimed at fostering leadership and language skills as well as an appreciation for other cultures in youths ages 12 through 18, the program is a collaborative effort of the Seattle-based States’ 4-H International Exchange, Japan-based Labo International Exchange Foundation and Tennessee 4-H. Host families must have a child in their home who is the same gender and around the same age as the visiting Japanese student.
Part of the Family
Karen Smith grew up in 4-H and now volunteers at the county, regional and state levels. She first heard about the program in 2022 from a social media post. With fond childhood memories of her family’s experience hosting a 4-H exchange student from Nebraska, she was intrigued, but initially thought her family would be too busy with their kids’ music and 4-H commitments to participate.
“Our state coordinators, Steve Sutton and Jamie Harris, both emphasized that the exchange students don’t necessarily want to be entertained while they are here; they want to join your family while they are here,” Smith says. “We could do that!”
The Smiths signed up for the program in 2023, and from July 24 through Aug. 17, 15-year-old Himi Kanamori joined their daughters – Callie (18), Ella (15) and Ainsley (13) – as part of the family. An apartment dweller in the large coastal city of Fukuoka, Japan, their guest brought a fresh cultural perspective to the Smith family and the small town of New Market.
“The girls loved teaching each other words and laughing at their language attempts,” Smith says. “We loved learning about each other’s cultures. They enjoyed doing origami together. Himi has mad origami skills!”
Kanamori also joined the family at church each week, accompanied the family on a trip to Dollywood, visited Ainsley’s school, played sports like pickleball and volleyball, participated in 4-H activities and camp with the Smith girls, toured local farms, and learned to cook American foods, including biscuits, pancakes, pizza and – her favorite – fudge. In turn, she taught the Smith family how to prepare a traditional Japanese noodle dish called women.
Smith says her daughters still keep in touch with Kanamori and consider her their “best friend in Japan.” All three girls hope to go to Japan as exchange students to visit their friend.
“The experience of hosting an exchange student broadened their cultural awareness,” says Smith, noting that her family has also applied to be a 2024 host family. “I will never forget Himi’s wonder and amazement at some of the sights and tastes of America. We take so much for granted! And we will never forget Himi’s kindness and wonderful, gentle spirit.”
Journeys in Personal Growth
Likewise, Honoka Kono, a 16-year-old high school student in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, will always remember her experience as an exchange student in rural Decatur, Tennessee. One of the 11 Japanese students in the first Tennessee International Exchange group after the program was reintroduced in 2022, Kono, who was 14 years old at the time, also has cherished memories of fishing, shopping, watching her first rodeo, discovering new favorite foods like apple pie and biscuits and gravy, and visiting Dollywood and Great Smoky Mountains National Park with her host family. Kono signed up for the program both to experience life in the U.S. and for self-improvement.
“I had no confidence in myself,” she says. “I thought this program would help me grow as a person.”
She persevered through the challenges of meeting new people and learning to speak and understand English, emerging from the experience with stronger language skills and new friends.
“I think ‘smile’ and ‘try’ are the most important words,” she says. “If I remember those two words, I think I can be friends with anyone all over the world.”
Jamie Harris, Tennessee 4-H Extension Specialist for Citizen/ Leadership and Teen Programs, says the state is prioritizing the 4-H IEP to provide 4-H’ers a pathway to enhanced awareness of themselves and the world around them.
“Families hosting exchange students promote awareness, appreciation, friendship and cooperation,” she says. “Exchange programs allow students to understand their differences better and appreciate similarities.”
The dates for the 2024 Tennessee 4-H International Exchange Program are July 21-Aug. 15. For information on participating as a host family or exchange student, contact Steve Sutton at ssutton2@utk.edu or Jamie Harris at jhharris@utk.edu. To support the exchange program and other 4-H activities, donate to Tennessee 4-H today.
