A connection program between two cities over 6,000 miles apart made its way to the Food Science Institute last week.
The City of Abilene’s Abilene-Omitama Sister City Board hosted the 16th delegation from Japan. 20 delegates from Omitama had arrived, 16 students and four adults.
The exchange takes place every year. The Japanese guests visit Abilene in odd years and Abilene sends a delegation to Japan in even years.
“The Sister City relationship developed from Japanese interns coming to the Harold Scanlan dairy farm to learn about U.S. dairy operations,” according to the Abilene RC. “In 1984, an agreement to form a Sister City relationship between Abilene and Minori, Japan, was signed. Since that time, adult and student delegations have made annual visits to each other’s towns.”
“The Sister City Committee has identified student exchanges/youth friendships, daily life experience and cultural experience as the main emphasis of the program.”
On Friday, the middle school students visited FSI to learn about food science. Dr. Fadi Aramouini and Dr. Kelly Getty, with the assistance of various food science students, provided a hands on experience for the visiting students.
This included teaching the students how to make chocolate chip cookies, learning about nutrition labels and the different kinds of American foods.
We hope these students enjoyed their stay and continue to learn more about exciting food science field!