2013 TOMODACHI Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program
Arrives in Atlanta

    On July 24th, 120 high school students from the Tohoku region of Japan (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures) arrived in Atlanta as participants of the 2013 TOMODACHI Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program.

    The students were welcomed by officials at the airport, and took a photo to commemorate their arrival into Atlanta. After going to lunch at the restaurant Joli Kobe, the students visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.

    The students traveled from Japan to Washington D.C. before coming to Atlanta. The accompanying Coca-Cola officials said that during their stay in Washington D.C., the students had a bit of jetlag when they visited the White House and the Smithsonian Museums. Now that the students have recovered from their jetlag, they hope they can enjoy their stay in Atlanta.

    The TOMODACHI Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program, which is sponsored by both the Japanese and U.S. governments, as well as the U.S.-Japan council, is intended for high school students from areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The high school students will visit the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta areas and experience a homestay during the 3-week summer exchange program.

    The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia are working together to support the participants’ stay in Atlanta.