South Bay : JAM SESSION

The Russians are jamming, the Russians are jamming.

A group of exchange students from Petropavlovsk, Russia, concluded a three-week stay Tuesday with host students at Peninsula High School, where they set up plans to embark on a jam-making business. Russian students will pick strawberries and blueberries on their native soil and prepare the jam while Palos Verdes Peninsula students handle marketing and sales.

The students are participating in a federally funded exchange program that pairs high school students with students in a foreign sister city. Palos Verdes Peninsula and Pertopavlovsk were thought to be a good match because the defense industry has played a major role in both economies.

Before the Russians’ arrival, six Peninsula students spent three weeks in Pertopavlovsk, where they discovered the tasty Russian jam they will market.

“It’s just sugar and berries, but the kids love it,” said Rosemary Claire, a district official who oversees the program.