CULTURAL EXCHANGE : LATINAS, SOKA STUDENTS MINGLE.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer On a school trip among the lush Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. , far from the gritty, confining apartment projects she calls home, Nancy Jauregui made a new friend named Allison. They both love bell-bottom jeans, live in crowded cities, and know what it's like to learn English as a second language. But their native countries are a world apart. Twelve-year-old Nancy, a student at Virgil Middle School Virgil Middle School is a middle school in Los Angeles, California. This school is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and teaches classes to students who range from grades 6 through 8. The present enrollment of this school is approximately 2,800 students. , was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and lives in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Maki ``Allison'' Shimamura, 21, grew up in Aomori, Japan, and goes to college in Tokyo. The unlikely duo were brought together, along with 30 Japanese college students and 40 Latina youths, at Soka University of America SUA's educational philosophy was established by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first president of Soka Gakkai, who had worked as the principal of an elementary school in Japan. Makiguchi published the Value Creating Educational System based on his belief that "the purpose of education is to on Wednesday as part of an unusual exchange program to share cultural experiences and understanding. ``She's very fun and friendly,'' Nancy said after spending an afternoon with Allison. ``She gave me a postcard from the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. and she showed me pictures of her family.'' Sponsored by the Alliance for a Drug-Free Community, students from Virgil Middle School and Berendo Middle School paired up with Japanese undergrads This article is about the television show. For the educational term, see undergraduate education. This article or section does not cite its . You can Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations. for a day of fun and discovery. While the Japanese students, enrolled in an English course at Soka, taught their new friends how to make swans using the traditional paper-folding art of origami The code name for Microsoft's Ultra-Mobile PC. See Ultra-Mobile PC. , the young Latinas gave lessons on salsa, conga-line dancing and The Macarena. Shimamura said Wednesday's experience will help her to ``destroy stereotypes of the world'' as a special-education teacher. She plans to keep in touch with and serve as a mentor for Nancy, who hopes to become a secretary or professional ice skater ice skate n. A shoe or light boot with a metal runner or blade fitted to the sole, used for skating on ice. ice . ``I'm surprised that many youngsters have a dream. Like her - she can speak English and Spanish,'' Shimamura said slowly, reaching occasionally for an English dictionary for the right words. ``I am surprised that many people have different circumstances in America.'' This was the second exchange trip of its kind for middle-school girls of Los Angeles. It was modeled after the success of the first meeting held in January, said Raquel Ortiz, director of the alliance's program for women - COMADRES, or Community of Mothers and Daughters Redefining Empowerment Strategies. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Vanessa Castaneda, 11, left, of Los Angeles and Soka University student Tetsuko Nakajima chat Wednesday. (2) Young Latinas from Los Angeles join Soka University students in an impromptu conga line. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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