American Fork Junior High School had a few extra students recently, with 41 junior high age students from Japan.

A total of 260 students from Japan visited schools in Utah. The group at American Fork Junior High visited in late October to experience life in the United States. They got to spend time with children their own age, go to classes at Utah schools and visit local attractions, including Antelope Island, Utah Olympic Park and This is the Place monument. They also dug for fossils in Delta, toured BYU for a day and helped out on a farm.

Most of the American Fork group stayed with host families and attended classes with the local students, following their schedules.

Living with the families while they are here serves two purposes -- the costs are kept down and they get a better view of what life in America is like.

"Being with families is a much better cultural experience for them," said Brooks Wynn of Selnate USA, the company that made the local arrangements. "In a hotel you don't have American food, culture and family life."

Two of the students said they enjoyed the activities they did with their host families.

"I liked doing jigsaw puzzles with the family," said Masaharu Maruyama. "We watched TV and played soccer."

"I went mountain biking," said Tomomiti Honja. "That was fun."

Each had their favorite American foods -- hamburgers for Tomomiti and tacos for Masaharu. While Tomomiti said he liked all the food, Masaharu did not care for pickles.

Their host students also enjoyed the experience.

"It is really fun," said Miles Farnsworth. "It is cool to do stuff with them. They are actually really good at a lot of stuff Americans do."

Grant McKenna said he was happy with their language skills.

"I was surprised how good their English is and how they understand things so well," he said. "They are so nice. They tell you nicely what they need. They are very helpful sometimes."

Miles agreed.

"They are always doing the dishes," he said.

The American students also learned that they have a lot in common with their new Japanese friends.

"They like sports a lot," Grant said. "They play sports. They do things that we like to do."

"He really got into soccer or anything physical," Miles said about his guest student. "We went on a bike ride and he was way aggressive with it."

Academically, there are certain areas in which the Japanese students seem to do better than the local students. "They are very good at math and science," Grant said.

"They came to my algebra 2 class," Miles said. "They were doing all the problems."

Masanao Fukushima, one of the teachers accompanying the students, had the same viewpoint.

"Math is more advanced" in Japan, he said. "In math they are very happy. They can understand very easily."

He did not say the same about language skills.

"All the students speak English," he said. "They learn from the seventh grade. In Japan, English education is focused on reading and writing. Speaking and listening is not so good. It is interesting for them to keep up with the classes."

This is the third year the Japanese students have come to Utah. Four years ago they went to Sacramento, and found it to be not so friendly. They were put in touch with the Selnate USA company, which coordinates home stays. Wynn said the group recommended Utah.

"We have the best host families here in Utah," she said. "They are very friendly, kind and warm. We very much appreciate them."

The feelings seem to be mutual.

"The home stay families want them to stay longer," Wynn said. "After one week the students start to relax and try to use their English more. I have had many parents say they want them longer."

"Most of the students say they want to stay much longer," Fukushima said. "Japanese students have much knowledge about English, but not how to speak and listen. After a week they are much better. They can enjoy their life much better."