Gina Ross laughs as she remembers the young boy from Hiratsuka, Japan who once stayed in her home as a part of the cultural exchange program between Lawrence and Hiratsuka, one of Lawrence’s two sister cities. She remembers the boy as very excited but also afraid - afraid that every American he walked past down the street would be carrying a gun.
"In his mind, everyone carried a gun," Ross, a system analyst for the Kansas Biological Survey and also the chair of the Lawrence City Commission’s Sister Cities Advisory Board, said. "But, of course, everyone he met didn’t have a gun. I guess what people see in movies, that’s what they think is real life."
Ross said that if that young boy had never had the opportunity to visit the United States through the cultural exchange program established between Lawrence and Hiratsuka, he may never have known that his stereotype about America wasn’t true. Bashing stereotypes is just one of the many benefits of having relationships with sister cities, Ross said.
"The primary mission is to bridge the gap that culturally exists between high school students," she said. "Lawrence high school students wouldn’t have the opportunity to travel abroad or experience other cultures without the program. They live with a family that they wouldn’t get to otherwise. It is very important to make young people aware of the global economy. If there is respect, then there will be better relations among countries."
Both Hiratsuka, which became Lawrence’s sister city on September 21, 1990, and Eutin, Germany, which Lawrence established a sister city relationship with on October 29, 1989, have become very important to Lawrence in the city’s efforts to become a more culturally diverse place. Not only does Lawrence sponsor cultural exchange programs with both cities - in which high school students, college students, and adults visit Eutin and Hiratsuka as ambassadors of Lawrence - but even when ambassadors from the two sister cities are not visiting, their culture is reflected in Lawrence. On the campus of the University of Kansas, there is a Japanese garden dedicated to the cultural exchange program students - a garden that Ross said Hiratsuka "spent a lot of money on." The American culture is represented abroad as well - when Eutin turned 750 years old recently, a Lawrence artist created a sculpture to give to the city that was unveiled just last week at a "Kansas Night" barbeque that attracted many of Eutin’s 18,000 residents.
The success of the relationships between Lawrence and its sister cities has prompted the Sister Cities Advisory Board to consider adding another member to the family - and, according to the advisory board’s staff liaison Michael Tubbs, it will most likely be a Spanish-speaking city.
"We are looking at potentially getting a Spanish-speaking city down the road," he said.
Ross said that the possibility of establishing a relationship with a Spanish-speaking city has drawn approval from the Lawrence community.
"The response has been overwhelming, and we’re looking at any country that is Spanish speaking," she said. "Mexico, Argentina - the only requirement is that the commitment must be reciprocal."
Lawrence and its sister cities spend roughly $12,000 annually on one another, Ross said. Any future sister city would have to be willing to spend roughly that much on Lawrence every year and would also have to be willing to host cultural exchange programs with Lawrence students and residents for it to be considered as a candidate to become a sister city.
Eutin - The "City of Roses"
Frank Baron has heard from many of his German students that their trip across the Atlantic to study in Eutin was "one of the more important experiences of their lives," he said. The German professor at the University of Kansas has seen many friendships formed, and two of his students have gotten married to women from Eutin. The University typically sends around 15 students annually to Eutin, and has been doing so for over 40 years.
"It’s one thing to study in class, and it’s another to visit and experience it," he said. "It is interesting to learn the context and the culture in which the language is being used. It’s a unique feature that students get to live with families and get to know what life is like."
Eutin is described in the Lawrence Sister Cities Program brochure as "a picturesque town with a long history, located in northern Germany not far from the Baltic Sea." Called the "City of Roses," the town of 18,000 is host to the Eutin Summer Festival, which attracts thousands to hear "open-air opera in the romantic setting near the medieval castle beside a tranquil lake," the brochure said. Lawrence and Eutin established a relationship in 1964, but it wasn’t until 1989 when Lawrence mayor Robert Schumm and Eutin mayor Gernot-E. Grimm signed the official sister city agreement on October 29.
"We believe that the contacts between nations and cultures foster international understanding, cooperation, and peace," the agreement said. "Awareness and appreciation of other cultures are essential in today’s world. The knowledge gained through visits and exchanges will enhance the quality of life in our respective communities."
Currently 13 students from the Germanic Languages and Literatures Department at the University are abroad in Eutin, and members of the Sister Cities Advisory Board are also currently returning from visiting the city. Ross said that Eutin students stay for six weeks and attend school in the city. She also said that even beyond sending students and members of the advisory board, the Lawrence Children’s Choir has performed in Eutin in the past.
Baron said that his students say that their trip to Eutin was important because of many reasons, but mostly because of the cultural knowledge that they gained from the visit.
"The people that they meet and get to know, the places, seeing the way that people live - it’s so different," he said. "It’s a totally new way of life."
Hiratsuka: The 10-Day Tour Is Underway
Last Wednesday, June 13, delegates from Lawrence set out on a 10-day visit to Hiratsuka, a city of 244,000 residents located one hour by train southwest of Tokyo. Called "a modern trade center" by the Lawrence Sister Cities Program brochure, Hiratsuka is home to the five day Tanabata - translated in English as "star" - Festival, which is held every July and attracts over three million visitors to the city. Though the Lawrence delegates will not be there for the festival - they return this Thursday, June 21 - they will be there for an abundance of activities ranging from visiting with Hiratsuka’s mayor to participating in rice transplanting at the local agricultural high school.
The group’s 10 days will not involve going to school but will instead focus on the students staying with their host families and learning important parts of the Japanese culture. Of their 10 days in Hiratsuka, two days are completely devoted to home stays, where the students will closely bond with their host families and learn about their daily lives.
When Lawrence mayor Shirley Martin-Smith and Hiratsuka mayor Kyoichi Ishikawa signed the sister city agreement on September 21, 1990, they said that they established the relationship "to deepen the understanding and friendship between the two cities in fields such as education, culture, industry, economy, and youth," the agreement said. "It is our intent that this relationship will contribute to promoting better relations between the two countries and consequently to the peace and prosperity of the world."
Tubbs said that he realizes - just as Martin-Smith and Ishikawa did when they signed the agreement - that building relationships between the people of the sister cities is what makes the program important and valuable to both Lawrence and Hiratsuka.
"It is important from a cultural standpoint that relations are established," he said. "In the end the people make up the cities and the countries, and nations and cities will get along better in this world. If nations know each other better, they will get along better."
Even before the Lawrence delegates return from Hiratsuka this Thursday, the Friends of Hiratsuka are already planning a welcome reception later this summer to welcome delegates from Hiratsuka to Lawrence. Details are forthcoming, but as Ross said, "the friendships - that’s what we’re all about."
Looking Forward to the Future
When President Dwight D. Eisenhower established Sister Cities International in 1956, he may not have been able to predict the success that it would have. According to the Lawrence Sister Cities Program’s brochure, as of the brochure’s publication 900 United States cities had at least one sister city, with 1400 cities in 96 foreign countries also participating. According to Ross, it isn’t uncommon for a city to have more than one sister city - she said that she is aware of some cities in Texas that have 10 sister cities.
"One city can have many different sister cities as long as relations are active relations," she said. "As long as you have a response from the community, you can have as many as you want, just not two from the same country."
Ross said that she is thankful for the support of Lawrence families - who open their homes and offer room and board to visitors from Eutin and Hiratsuka - and said that without them "we cannot function very well," she said.
The Sister Cities Advisory Board was established by a city ordinance in 1986 and reports directly to the Lawrence City Commission. The 14 members of the advisory board are appointed by the mayor and serve three year terms. The advisory board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the Fire and Medical Station No. 5, located at 1911 Stewart Avenue. Meetings are held at 5:30 p.m. in the Jayhawk Room. Within the advisory board exists two groups - the Friends of Eutin group and the Friends of Hiratsuka group - and each group plans the trips to and from their respective city.
Ross said that the sister city relationship was forever and was so important not only for participating students today, but also for the world of tomorrow.
"We say ‘one friendship at a time,’" she said. "It is so important that the kids experience this and make friends forever. The kids today equal the leaders of tomorrow, and this international forum gives them more understanding. That’s what we need in this world - to bring everyone together."
