Translation of the article on the youth exchange in the City Bulletin, issue 12/2007, page 4 Forever a bridge between our hearts Messkirch youth exchange delegation visits Kahoku Hosting students' comments Takamatsu Junior High School, Grade 3 Yu Matsumoto: Lets meet again someday! I was a member of the group that visited Messkirch last year, and this time I had the opportunity to spend meaningful days as a host family member. I am happy that I could also make friends with the other visitors especially during the overnight trip. Takamatsu Junior High School, Grade 1 Issei Asao: Day-to-Day To live with the Germans wasn't as big of a deal as my friends thought. I realized that one's thoughts can be understood even though the country and culture is different, and I enjoyed living the "daily life" with them very much. Kahokudai Junior High School, Grade 2 Shinya Higashimoto: From the Exchange with Germans to... When I first met the foreign students I was surprised by how different their appearance was. But by living with them, I realized that your feelings can be understood even if you don't speak the language, and I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to communicate with foreigners. Kahokudai Junior High School, Grade 1 Takahiro Tachibana: English is the Keyword of Friendship I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to communicate, but when I gathered my courage and spoke to them in English, they replied back to me, which made me very happy. I want to learn more English and meet them again. Kahokudai Junior High School, Grade 1 China Hashimoto: Overcoming the difficulties I was very nervous in the beginning, but I am happy they enjoyed Japan. I regret not being more active with the students, and I want to learn more English conversation from now in order to overcome that. Unoke Junior High School, Grade 2 Anna Sawada: Exchange with German Junior High School Students I wasn't very confident in my English and felt frustrated about it. I want to learn more English so that when I see them next time we will be able to have meaningful conversations. Thanks for coming to my house. I want to meet you again! Unoke Junior High School, Grade 2 Yu Sawada: Impressions about the Homestay Up until now I haven't had many opportunities to speak with foreigners in English, but when I could make myself understand and translate what the German students were saying, I was very happy and also gained a lot of confidence. Moreover, I began to believe that I can learn from the foreigners concerning certain manners. Unoke Junior High School, Grade 1 Hisako Okamoto: Becoming friends with the world I was eager to find out how comprehensible my English would be. In the beginning both sides were nervous, but as the days went by we became good friends. Their one week stay felt very short.