In mid-March when so much changed around the world, the Hot Springs Sister City Program had a very full year of exchanges planned with our sister city, Hanamaki, Japan. We had just held a very successful Cherry Blossom Festival event on March 7 which served as a Japanese cultural event and a fundraiser for the students traveling to Japan in the summer. We had planned to host a student from Hanamaki's Fuji University as the second half of our first exchange between National Park College and Fuji University. The student delegation from Arkansas School for Math Science and the Arts sister school, Hanamaki Kita, which had been planned for mid-March had to be cancelled due to Covid travel restrictions. This was the same story for all of the annual exchanges of education and culture planned to take place between our cities.
     While we cannot visit our sister city or host visitors from Japan or have any other physical exchanges, we can still connect. I encourage you all to reach out to your friends in Hanamaki on social media. Follow the Hot Springs Sister City Program, Hanamaki International Exchange Office and The Japanese Consulate in Nashville on Facebook and Instagram. We are planning online exchanges, but if you have any ideas on virtual exchanges, please email hotspringssistercity@yahoo.com.

     Hanamaki was originally slated to serve as an Arigo Host Town for the 2020 Olympics, meaning they would welcome Olympic visitors to their city as a way to express gratitude for the international outpouring of support following the 2011 Great East Earthquake and Tsunami. When the Olympics were postponed, the Hanamaki Office of International Relations looked for another way to reach out an lend to support during our time of need as the effects of the pandemic were felt globally.  The decision was made to design masks with a theme of Kenji Miyazawa's poem, Strong in the Rain.

     The graphic design for these beautiful masks was done my Jesse Gutman and the printing and sewing done by Koyata whose Managing Director is Yoko Kosegawa. These beautiful masks were sent to the sister cities of Hanamaki as a gift that will not only help protect us from Covid-19, but offer encouragement during our time of need. One hundred masks were received and distributed to the 72 students taking Japanese at ASMSA, the student travelers where were unable to travel to Japan last June and to Hot Springs City Directors.