Shoko Harashima, 16, of Tokyo gave her Le Mars host family, the Kehms, an introduction to her Japanese family with a scrapbook she made before traveling to the U.S. Harashima is one of 26 Japanese students living with 4-H families in Iowa for a month to experience American life first-hand. [Click to enlarge]

Brian and Sarah Kehm have an extra sister in their house for a month.

She's 16. She likes to shop. She likes pop music and video games.

And she's a black belt in karate.

Brian Kehm, 16, of Le Mars and Shoko Harashima, 16, of Tokyo, Japan model some Japanese outfits Harashima brought the Kehm family as a thank-you present for hosting her for a month-long visit. [Click to enlarge]

Shoko Harashima, a Japanese teen, is living with the David and Janet Kehm family for most of August. She's part of a group of 26 Japanese students living with 4-H families in Iowa from July 24 to Aug. 21. Five of those 4-H families are in Plymouth County.

Harashima said Le Mars is a lot different from Tokyo, her hometown of more than 12 million people. But that's the point of her visit.

She's part of a club in Japan that meets weekly to study English and other languages and cultures of the world. This trip is sort of an immersion into the real thing.

The Kehms are doing their best to give her a taste of Iowa living. But it works both ways.

"We're learning about her life too," said Janet Kehm, Brian and Sarah's mom. "It's been really fun to ask questions and learn the differences between how we do things and how the Japanese do things."

They found out from Shoko that Iowan houses are pretty different from those in Tokyo.

"In Japan, the kids don't each have their own bedroom," Janet said. "There's one large sleeping room for all the children."

"And they don't sit on chairs," Brian chimed in.

Harashima "introduced" the Kehms to her family through a scrapbook she had prepared before coming to the United States.

Her dad, she said, is a carpenter. He designed her home in Tokyo, which some people mistake for a temple.

Her mom helps with after-school care.

"I like children, too," Harashima said.

"She spent a day at Guardian Angel Daycare, and she's going to do a day at another day care teaching origami (the art of paper folding)," Janet said.

Day cares aren't Harashima's only Iowa outings.

The 4-H family started off her visit to Le Mars with a trip to the Plymouth County Fair.

"I think she liked the rides," Janet laughed.

They also took her to an Iowa farm, where she got up close with sheep and kittens, and they took her on a family trip to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills, where they went camping.

"The tent is very cold in the morning," Harashima said with a shiver.

Japan is very hot at this time of year, she added.

The girls took a shopping trip together, and Harashima picked up shirts with American sayings on them.

"Shoko also helped with a pet parade at Park Place," Janet said.

And, with Le Mars as the Ice Cream Capital of the World, the Kehms decided a stop at the ice cream parlor was a must.

Harashima's favorite flavor: cookies and cream.

At the Kehm's house, even the kitchen has been a place for cultural exchange. Harashima helped Janet bake cookies. Then the 16-year-old taught Janet how to prepare a Japanese treat: rice balls. She also made them a Japanese meal including cabbage pancakes.

The kitchen is also where Harashima got her first real taste of Iowa sweet corn.

"She definitely wanted to try Iowa sweet corn," David laughed.

"I like it," she laughed. "Very sweet."

This is the second year the Kehms hosted someone from Japan. Last year one of the group's chaperones stayed with them. This fall, a student from Venezuela will be staying with them for the school year -- a young man named Gustavo.

"It's a real learning experience," David said about why the family enjoys opening their home to foreign students.

"And Brian learns all kinds of words in different languages from them," Janet laughed. "Some good, some not so good."

Other Plymouth County families hosting Japanese students are Jason and Michelle Hartman, Andrew and Susan Gottsch, Bill and Val Sitzmann, Jeff and Mary Roder, and Kyle and Lisa Sitzmann.

Harashima has a certificate to present to Le Mars mayor Dick Kirchoff from the mayor of her hometown, a section of Tokyo called Hachioji.

"We're going to have a neighborhood picnic, and since Dick Kirchoff lives across the street, Shoko will present it to him then," Janet said.

The 16-year-old Japanese student said one of the things she likes best about Iowa is the attitude people have when she meets them.

"The people are very friendly here," Harashima said.