Hawken Families Hosts Guests from Japan

This program was originally started by a Hawken Middle School teacher to promote cultural exchange between our school and a small community about one hour outside of Osaka, Japan. Every other year, students travel to the village of Haibara to participate in homestay with our host families, and on alternate years, Hawken host guests from the Haibara community here in Cleveland.

This year, guests from Haibara visited with seven Hawken Middle School host families from Mach 25 – April 1. Group outings, chaperoned by Anna Delia and Tood Webster, included a trip to Holden Arboretum followed by lunch and bocce game as well as visits to West side market, Terminal Tower, Public Square, and East 4^th Street. There was also ample time to explore other activities like water park, shopping, attending the Cleveland International Film Festival, and just spending time at home.

In the trip blog, Webster reflects on the 20 years of exchanges, writing, “We have been building a connection across the globe. We have helped students discover that they can push themselves and be successful. We have helped families bridge distances that they might have thought too broad. We have helped people – here and in Japan – discover that we are more similar than we are different…. We are making the world smaller."

To read more about his year’s exchange, visit the Hawken-Haibara Exchange blog.