High school students from Nagano, Japan, Yuna Mizutani, left, and Aki Katsuyama, take part in a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony as part of a cultural exchange with 3rd grade students at Lillie B. Haynes Elementary School in East Lyme Monday, March 17, 2014. Forty-five of the Japanese students along with two teachers are in the region for two weeks living with area families, studying English at Montville and St. Bernard high schools. The students at Haynes have exchanged video greetings with their Japanese guests and today learned various aspects of Japanese culture. Haynes' students participated in a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, learned Origami, Japanese calligraphy and practiced math while learning to use chopsticks.

Daniella Regan, center, watches as classmates Dina Sokolovskaya, left, and Lucas Clement, react to the bitter taste of Japanese green tea as they join a group of high school students from Nagano, Japan, in a cultural exchange with third-grade students at Lillie B. Haynes Elementary School in East Lyme on Monday, March 17, 2014.