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Natsumu Hayashi, a 16-year-old student from Japan, shops in downtown Manchester during a recent tour of the village.
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As part of an international cultural exchange program, the Manchester Lions Club is hosting a student from Kyoto, Japan as a guest of the village for the next four weeks.
Since arriving in Manchester nearly a week ago, 16-year-old Natsumu Hayashi said she has learned a lot about America.
"Everything here is bigger," she said. "The first day I arrived, we went to McDonalds and I got a chicken sandwich. America's size portions are twice the size of Japan's."
Though Hayashi has traveled to the United States before, she said living in a rural community is a new experience.
"I've been to Las Vegas, Chicago and Florida," she said. "Before I came to (Manchester), I thought all of America was one big city."
Hayashi said the rural character of Manchester appealed to her because she grew up in a small village in Japan.
"This is a very nice place to live. There are so many farms and forests and you have very clean air here; it's not like the city," she said. "My village is small like this but different."
Hayashi said she enjoys spending time outdoors and has come to particularly enjoy searching for flowers.
"There are a lot of flowers; I love the flowers in America," she said.
Hayashi is one of several students that participate in the Lions Club Youth Exchange Program.
The program allows youth between the ages of 15 and 21 to travel to foreign countries and live among the community. Though Lions International sponsors it, participants do not have to be Lions Club members and are not always sent to a club member's house during the duration of their visit.
"The program is not conducted for tourism, education, or employment. Instead, it is a unique cultural learning opportunity," the organization states on their Web site.
Hayashi is staying with her host parents, Lions Club President Barry Allen and wife Peggy.
"Barry and Peggy are very nice," Hayashi said. "I made homemade lasagna with Peggy for the first time; it was a lot of fun."
Barry Allen said the club first heard of the program through its district zone chairman.
"We started talking about it and decided we had room to take someone interested in coming to Manchester," he said.
The couple was originally scheduled to take in two program participants, but an allergy to cat dander forced the other attendee to stay elsewhere.
Peggy Allen said she has enjoyed Hayashi's visit and has plans to take her to various tourist attractions in the coming weeks including the Chelsea Fair, Niagara Falls, Frankenmuth and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, among others.
"We just got back from Minnesota after visiting the Mall of America," she said. "We have a lot of things planned for Natsumu's visit."
In the future, Allen said the club plans to reach out to the Manchester school district to seek participants who would like to travel outside of the United States.
"Exchanges can occur in any of the countries in which Lions clubs exist," he said. "Most exchanges last about four weeks and do not take place during the school year."
Travel arrangements for exchangees are made between the Lions Youth Exchange chairpersons in the sponsoring and hosting regions. The costs of transportation (including actual fares, insurance, airport fees, customs duties and layover or overnight fees) are the responsibility of the sponsoring Lions club. Costs to cover the trip are often paid by the club through district funds or by the exchange members and their family.
For more information about the Lions Club Youth Exchange Program, contact Peggy Allen at 428-7034. Hayashi is scheduled to make a presentation about Manchester during the Lions Club meeting on Aug. 27. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. at the Whistle Stop Restaurant.
Editor Daniel Lai can be reached at 428-8173 or dlai@heritage.com.
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