(From left) Lucy Duder, Chloe Needham, Neika Needham, Milan Nahna and James Duder enjoy some sushi after attending an information evening on Monday for the next Sister City trip to Tatsuno next year. Photo: Dan Tasker
The search for the next group of youngsters to undertake a trip of a lifetime to Waitomo’s sister city Tatsuno in Japan next year is underway.
More than 100 people packed into a room at Centennial Park School in Te Kūiti on Monday evening to hear about the ins and outs of the next Tatsuno trip proposed for June next year.
Waitomo Sister City committee chairperson Janette Osborne said the information evening was all about helping local children and their parents understand the commitment, expectations and rewards that came with the trip.
“It is a big undertaking for the students and for their families. It is also, without question, one of the finest opportunities this district can offer a young person,” Osborne said.
Members of the Waitomo Sister City committee, who organise the trip every second year, spoke to Year 6 and 7 students about what they can expect during the visit and the opportunities it provides to experience Japanese culture.
Applicants will fund their trip expenses of usually around $3000, be comfortable being away from home and open to new experiences.
To apply, students were invited to write a one-page hand-written letter outlining why they should be selected, provide two school progress reports and a character reference from one of their teachers by August 31.
A shortlist of candidates will be chosen from the group of applicants, who will go through an interview process on September 21 to determine the successful individuals.
A number of people who had gone on the trip in the past spoke to the group, including one of last year’s students Reid Koroheke, who spoke of his experiences.
“During our trip, we also had the opportunity to travel on Japan’s famous bullet train. It was an incredible experience to travel at such high speeds, while enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way,” Reid said.
“Later in the trip, we spent our final two nights in Tokyo, where we visited the iconic Shibuya Crossing and enjoyed some souvenir shopping.”
The long-standing relationship between Waitomo and Tatsuno traces its origins to an unlikely friendship formed after World War II between Tatsuno’s Professor Kinase and Waitomo’s squadron leader Les Munro.
Despite having served on opposite sides during the war, the pair discovered their communities shared a number of similarities, including Tatsuno’s famous fireflies and Waitomo’s glow worms.
Those connections eventually led to the sister city agreement being signed at the Te Kūiti Pā on March 30, 1995, establishing a partnership aimed at promoting friendship, goodwill and cultural understanding between the two communities.
The relationship reached another milestone last year when Waitomo and Tatsuno celebrated the 30th anniversary of the sister city friendship.
(From left) Lucy Duder, Chloe Needham, Neika Needham, Milan Nahna and James Duder enjoy some sushi after attending an information evening on Monday for the next Sister City trip to Tatsuno next year. Photo: Dan Tasker
