After a year as Gilroy's reigning Garlic Queen, Jessica Brewka is ready to go international.The 23-year-old has three months to pack her bags, master the Japanese language and prepare herself for her new job as Coordinator for International Relations in Takko-Machi, Japan - Gilroy's sister city of 22 years.
"The title sounded really political so I was a little wary of it at first," said Brewka, who is currently earning her teaching credential at Santa Clara University. "But I heard it's actually a lot of teaching. I think my experience teaching (in Takko-Machi) will help me in the future with English language learners."
The outgoing coordinator of two years, Patrick Foley, "was the one who really got me amped up about the job," Brewka said. "He could tell how much I enjoyed myself when I visited in October."
Brewka's initial apprehension dissipated quickly after she learned more about what the job entailed - a mixture of teaching, developing a new exchange program and serving as an ambassador. As the 15th young adult to fill the role in Takko, Brewka has nearly two decades of tradition to build on. After settling in, her first significant project will be promoting a program Foley worked hard to get off the ground during his time in Japan. After years of sending only members of the high school choir and Garlic Queens over to Gilroy's sister city, the Gilroy-Takko Student Exchange Program aims to boost the number of opportunities for all high schoolers to travel to Takko-Machi.
"That's my new baby," Brewka said of the program.
She will depart for Takko-Machi in June, along with the program's first batch of students. In the past, Gilroyans who visit the tiny town in the hills return home with only words of praise about their Japanese hosts.
"I'll definitely be leaving my heart in Takko," Foley said.
As Queen, Brewka visited for a week last October and, based on that experience, is looking forward to a year of getting to know the residents of her new adopted home. A graduate of the University of San Francisco with a degree in English, Brewka moved back in with her parents in Morgan Hill after graduating and while working on her teaching credential and teaching 10th grade at Leland High School in San Jose. Homesickness may be a part of her new job, but as the coordinator for international relations, she'll make frequent trips home to show the students of Takko-Machi around Gilroy.
The hospitality of the town's residents also eases the pain of being away from home, Foley said.
"The whole community really took me under their wing," he said. "Every week, I would have dinner at someone else's house.
"It's been an amazing experience, something I will always cherish," he continued. "The fact that we're now in our 22nd year as sister cities definitely speaks volumes about the people in both Takko and Gilroy. We've taken two communities and merged them into one even with an ocean in between us."
Garlic Queen
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