A cultural exchange in Marina ‘binds us together across the oceans.’

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about cultural exchange and diversity.

On Tuesday, the City of Marina held a special meeting to welcome a delegation from Izunokuni, Japan, which included Mayor Masayuki Yamashita.

The group spent three days exploring the Monterey Peninsula and learning about Marina’s diversity. They visited different places, including Ramco’s ag fields, Locke-Paddon Park, Joby Aviation and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

“Here we are having this amazing new industry at our airport, and our sister city program develops with the two countries that Joby Aviation has partnered with,” Councilmember Kathy Biala says. (Joby has partnerships with Toyota and SP Telecom, a South Korean telecommunications company.)

Last year, Marina unanimously approved two sister city relationships with Izunokuni, Japan and Namwon, South Korea.

Marina’s partnership with Izunokuni was also showcased in the classroom. A group of six students from Marina High School participated in a Zoom cultural exchange during the school year, with students from both groups sharing their interests, including K-pop music, languages, food and immigration. 

In May, a Marina delegation visited Namwon and attended the 94th Namwon Chunhyang Festival, a music festival. The delegation also learned about America’s role in South Korea’s democracy.

“These are the kind of things that bind us together across the oceans,” Biala says.

On Thursday night, the city and volunteers prepared a goodbye celebration at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott for the Japanese delegation. It included an international buffet with food from different countries including Mexico, China and the Philippines, with Biala noting that much of the food was cooked by local community members. It also included singing and dance performances.

In Marina’s future, there is a plan to create a Japanese garden at Locke-Paddon Park. 

“Izunokuni gave us a cherry blossom tree for the future Japanese American garden,” Biala says. “We had a tree-planting ceremony right outside of our city hall.” 

Being exposed to people from different cultures and backgrounds is a great way to learn and try new things we may not have known about otherwise. It’s something many of us in the U.S. can do without having to travel abroad.

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