Document text
83 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 21, 2004 Clockwise from top, Robert Harrison, 38, Isis Contreras-Harrison, 31, Sofia Harrison, 10, and Diego Harrison, 9, are a bilingual family living in Talent. Robert and Isis met when he was a participant in the student exchange program visiting Guanajuato. A joining of cultures An Ashland-Guanajuato bond has yielded friendships, exchanges — and 78 marriages By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune When Robert Harrison and Isis Contreras-Harrison met in a language program in Guanajuato, Mexico, Ashland’s sister city, it was love at first sight — for one of them anyway. "Not for her, but for me it was," said Robert Harrison, 38. His wife of 11 years is quick to explain the only reason it was not love at first sight for her was because she did not know his family. "In Mexico, you need to know the family of the person you’re going to marry," said Contreras-Harrison, 31. Advertisement Harrison was a Southern Oregon University student at the time; his wife is a native of Guanajuato, located several hours by car north of Mexico City. Since meeting her husband, Contreras-Harrison has learned there are many cultural differences between the United States and Mexico, especially in the area of raising children. Their daughter, Sofia, is 10. Son Diego is 9. However, more surprising to Contreras-Harrison are the similarities between the two sister cities: Guanajuato and Ashland both are nestled in the mountains. Both are university towns. Both are the home of internationally renowned theater festivals: Ashland’s is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Guanajuato’s is the Festival Internacional Cervantino, or International Cervantes Festival, known throughout the Spanish-speaking world and named for the author of "Don Quixote de la Mancha," one of the great works of Spanish literature. The Harrisons, both teachers at McLoughlin Middle School, are among the many hundreds who have taken part in the sister city and university exchange programs between Ashland and Guanajuato. The program has resulted in 78 marriages. "Seventy-nine is going to happen this summer," said Chela Kocks, known to Ashland and Guanajuato residents alike as Se�ora Chela. Now a retired associate professor of foreign languages and literature at Southern Oregon University, Kocks founded both the Amistad academic exchange program between SOU and the Universidad de Guanajuato, and the Amigo Club program, an intercity business and friendship exchange program, in 1969. The programs are celebrating their 35th anniversary this year. Kocks says the reason for the success of the partnership is the people-to-people connection. "Other sister cities are generally (made up of) officials," she said. This sister relationship has several levels. In addition to the academic and business exchanges, there is now a high school exchange program, she said. In fact, the Ashland High School Band is in Guanajuato this week. There also are exchanges between dentist and doctor groups. Even the fire departments are connected. A donated fire truck from Ashland drives the streets of Guanajuato with the words Ashland Fire still on it. The two-city connections are deep, and they also are at the highest level. In the 1980s, after graduating from what is now SOU, Jose Luis Romero Hicks of Guanajuato went on to become finance minister of Mexico. His brother, Juan Carlos Romero Hicks, is governor of the state of Guanajuato. The city of Guanajuato is the state capital. Five years ago, 100 Ashland city officials, residents and Guanajuato program supporters traveled to Guanajuato for a 30th anniversary celebration. They included city and university officials, service club members, health professionals, business people and students. Sean Van Ausdall, owner of Inti Imports in Ashland, helped organize the trip. "It’s personally been a very gratifying experience for me," he said. "I’m interested in cross-cultural relationships � . Barriers come down, everybody becomes a human being," he said. Part of this year’s celebration included the dedication of a new Guanajuato Room in the Ashland branch of Jackson County Library Services, which includes photos, testimonials and artwork from Guanajuato. "People of Guanajuato have given the city of Ashland many art pieces and the city wanted a place to display it," said Ashland Reference Librarian Amy Blossom. The new room is already too small to display all the pottery and paintings and prints the city has received, Blossom said. "We’re hoping to get some display cases to help display the art," she said. Robert Harrison attributes the success of the program to the size of the two cities. "They’re two small places," he said, explaining there’s an air of hospitality in both. "People never go to Guanajuato once, they go back," he said. Kocks said it goes beyond that. "People go to each others’ weddings, funerals �" Contreras-Harrison said those involved are like a large extended family, and it’s not just the friends and couples who gain. "The ones who are going to benefit are the kids who are going to be so completely bilingual," she said. Her own family alternates between English and Spanish in the home, and travels to Guanajuato two or three times a year. Meredith Reynolds, coordinator of SOU’s Amistad program, attributes the success of the exchange in part to the fact that SOU students and faculty are consistently well received in Mexico and have positive experiences. "Students are well taken care of down there," she said. "Right now there are 10 students returning and 15 going down next year," she said. "Some of them go for a semester and some go for a year." Reynolds first visited Guanajuato in 1972 as a student, then moved there in 1980 and taught Spanish to foreign students and translated for university officials. The attraction for her, she said, is that the people value family and friends above all else. Reynolds said she’s inspired by the rich connection she’s seen between these two cities. "(It) just makes it seem possible that we could work out problems on a human level and not resort to war," she said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Three other S. Oregon cities have bonds with communities abroad Representing nearly 2,500 communities in 124 countries, Sister Cities International is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the United States and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after President Eisenhower called for city partnerships, the program is tailored to local interests between the communities involved. For more information, visit www.sister-cities.org on the Web. In addition to Ashland and Guanajuato, Mexico, local sister city partnerships include Medford and Alba, Italy; Grants Pass and Rubtsovsk, Yaroslavskaya, Russia; and Klamath Falls and Rotorua, New Zealand. Miss Guanajuato to visit Ashland on July 4th The next scheduled event in the Guanajuato-Ashland program is a visit by Miss Guanajuato and other representatives who will ride in the Ashland Fourth of July parade. The Amigo Club will have a booth in Lithia Park, selling Mexican Popsicles for $1.50. Flavors include mango, watermelon, hibiscus and guava, among others. For more information about the Amigo Club, contact John King at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times