Phoebe Wiener and Hinako Fujita sit at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach. Hinako lived with the Wiener family in Highland Beach while participating in a foreign exchange program. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Most 16-year-olds don’t usually sing arias from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro as they’re on their way to school; but then again Phoebe Wiener is not like most 16-year-olds.
One of the few school-age residents living among the retirees of Highland Beach, Phoebe will tell you that classical singing is one of her passions — but her list is a long one. “My friends know that I’m interested in things a typical teenager isn’t,” she says.
A junior in Atlantic Community High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, Phoebe is part of her school’s debate club and also volunteers as a student attorney in Palm Beach County’s Youth Court. In between, she finds time to get her schoolwork done and stays focused on her education.
Amid all that, Phoebe not only was selected to visit Miyazu, Japan, in June as part of the Delray Beach Sister Cities program, but also found time just a few weeks ago to host 17-year-old Hazuki, a Miyazu high school student who spent a week with Phoebe and her family.
The trip to Miyazu, Phoebe says, not only exposed her to another culture, it also provided her with a view of Japanese life that few high school students will get to see.
In addition to seeing all the sights of Miyazu — including spending time in a Japanese high school — Phoebe spent several days living with a Japanese family and eating a traditional Japanese diet that included raw eel and rice for breakfast.
“The Japanese people are the kindest people you’ll ever meet,” she says.
Last month, Phoebe and her parents, Mayde and Jonathan, were weekend hosts for another student from Japan, Hinako Fujita, who was taking a three-week course in Fort Lauderdale.
“The Japanese students are surprised by how wide our roads are,” Phoebe says. “They also are impressed by our schools and how much freedom we have in school.”
— Rich Pollack
Q. What do you like most about high school?
A. The diversity of the students that I have met at Atlantic and the rigorous academics.
Q. What has been your most exciting adventure?
A. Other than Japan, touring Alaska was extremely exciting to see glaciers, animals and historic sites. I love traveling all over the world.
Q. What’s your favorite part of living in Highland Beach?
A. The relaxed atmosphere. It’s so nice to have the beach easily accessible for me to enjoy and to live in a place in the middle of two major towns, but have the option of staying in Highland Beach for the quietness.
Q. What was the best part about being a foreign-exchange student?
A. The best part was definitely being immersed in the Japanese culture. From a young age, I have always been fascinated with Japan. It was truly amazing to actually have the opportunity to attend school and live with a host family there, all thanks to the Delray Beach Sister Cities program.
Q. What do you like most about hosting a student from Japan?
A. It is so much fun, for it is so interesting to see what foreign visitors find fascinating about our country! For example, students from Japan have been so amazed at the large width of our streets, which is something Americans never even notice.
Q. If someone made a movie of your life, who would you like to play you and why?
A. Myself. I actually love to act! I attended Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, where I studied theater. I was also enrolled at a very young age in Dolly Workman’s children’s theater program at the Delray Beach Playhouse.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. My favorite artist is Regina Spektor. She is a wonderful pianist whose songs are so beautiful and different from most music my generation listens to nowadays. Her songs are about important issues, and she reaches out to all different age groups and people. When I want to relax, I like to listen to classical music and Norah Jones.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
I think this is a really important motto for life; it’s self-explanatory.
Q. What’s the last book you read, and would you recommend it?
A. Woman at Point Zero, by Nawal El Saadawi. I would recommend it to people who don’t mind graphic topics. It definitely was an eye-opener about the treatment of women in different parts of the world.
Q. Who or what makes you laugh?
A. Ellen Degeneres, Stephen Colbert, family and friends, and my dog!
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