Would you like to travel the world without even leaving the comfort of your home? With all the crazy travel restrictions, terror alerts, and rising ticket prices nowadays, my answer is increasingly becoming a yes.
That’s why when I learned about a decades-old program at the East-West Center that involved hosting students from other countries, I gave it a listen. It’s run by the supporting organization Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC), and it’s called the Host Family Program. (In the interest of full disclosure, my wife sits on the board of the FEWC.)
FEWC president Kenji Sumida explains, “We provide a link between East-West Center participants and the local community through home hospitality, not home housing.”
That’s key – hospitality, not housing. Most people probably associate host families with high school exchange students, but this program is not run that way. “A walk in the park, a day at the beach, a Thanksgiving dinner, a Sunday brunch – these allow participants the opportunity to participate in and enjoy a bit of local life with their host families,” continues Sumida.
In case you don’t have a spouse and kids, don’t worry. It doesn't take a traditional 'family' to be a family. Program organizers assure you it can be just you and a participant, sharing time together.
My biggest concern, however, is the time commitment. With a young daughter, I simply don’t have the time to play continual host. Once again, Sumida put my fears at ease. “It doesn't take a weekly visit. It might be just quarterly, because most of the participants are pursuing advanced degrees and their time is limited, too. You can work it out with your student.”
People who have been hosting students for decades rave about it. Program chair Trudy Schandler-Wong says her family’s life has been enriched through the friendships forged by this program. She’s been participating for her entire married life - 33 years! – and loves it. “We have visited our participants in Singapore (where two are professors at the University), Japan (another professor at a University) and across the United States from Seattle to New York.”
“Many have returned ‘home’ to Hawaii for brief stays and the opportunity to revisit the East-West Center and our home. We receive phone calls, eNotes and mail from Switzerland, Mongolia, Thailand, Bhutan, and the list goes on and on.”
For Schandler-Wong, it’s a wonderful opportunity to quasi-travel the world from her doorstep. “The idea of understanding and learning about another culture, and making a lifelong connection with individuals from that culture is too tempting to miss. We can truly cross the US and continue around the world and have one of our ‘ohana to visit along the way!”
“Our own daughter spent a year teaching in India, and reconnected with two of our former participants that she considers ‘sisters.’ They were amazed to see how our young child had grown into an independent worldly woman, not realizing that they contributed greatly to her world view.
At our Sunday brunches, participants from countries that have long histories in which they lack a peaceful coexistence instead find themselves talking, laughing and respecting each others points of views. One step at a time, around our table, a difference is being made. To our family, this is the essence of the East-West Center. They do it well, and we merely serve as a conduit for those participants to continue their dialogues with each others, with Americans and with people from Hawaii. They return home knowing they will have life long ‘ohana in Hawaii.”
Another host mom, Barbara Fischlowitz Leong, says she has an ‘unbelievable story’ about a Fijian student she hosted 3 decades ago. The woman “found me last summer. She now lives in Canada with her husband and son. When I saw her cute face, it all came back and she really had thought of me as her mom, even in those days.”
Susan MacKinnon adds, “We've been involved with the EWC for about 3 years. It's rewarding to meet young people from all over the world with different cultures and religions. We had a girl from Azerbaijan, another from Japan, and now have a girl, Evelyn, from Papua, New Guinea and a boy, Raza, from Pakistan. These last two call each other brother and sister, and me, ‘Mom.’ So nice! I still keep in touch with Chie from Japan.
A few years ago, my son, Rob, was in Scotland and suddenly needed a place to stay in London. Trudy (Schandler-Wong ) had a former student living there and put him in contact with him. Rob ended up staying with him for a night or two and Jock even helped him get his airline ticket which had been left at a friend's townhouse in London. It helps to know people all over the world.
On a separate note, Trudy is amazing. She has had so many students over the years and makes it her business to keep in touch with them. Truly an incredible and very rewarding effort! While they are in the Islands, they are included in family events and outing as much as possible. Her own two children think they really have many more siblings.
The program encourages us to make efforts to understand other cultures. It's something we in the U.S. really need to learn to do. Not everyone is like us; they don't have the same freedoms as we do, or their way of life is different from ours. But different doesn't mean wrong. I think this program teaches us and the students that people all over the world have commonality and that can lead to accepting the differences we have and understanding that all life is precious. We may have similar beliefs or we may all have different ones, but we all want to live compassionately with each other.”
A cross-cultural connection is there for the making. What am I waiting for?
For an application to be a host family, go to friendsofewc.com and click on the Programs link. Scroll down to Ohana Program. Or, contact the FEWC office at (800) 944-7691 or friends@eastwestcenter.org.
CELEBRITY SUITCASE
What can’t they live without?
Singer and ukulele player Pomaika’i Keawe Lyman is filling some large shoes- that of her grandmother, Aunty Genoa Keawe. The legendary island songstress died last February. Lyman took over Aunty Genoa’s musical legacy with her own show at the Waikiki Beach Mariott Resort. Her show is labeled "The Keawe 'Ohana" since Keawe’s passing. It also includes her son, Gary Aiko; niece, Momi Bee Kahawaiola'a; and long-time family friend, Alan Akaka. She performs at the Moana Terrace every Thursday from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Lyman is the mother of three young children, ages one to four. She travels about four times a year for work, she says, to both the neighbor islands, mainland, and Japan. When she’s on the road with her husband, Shane, and children; Malie, Iosepa, Ziona, and Baby, she says she takes:
- Diaper bag
- Other baby stuff
- Ipod
- Books, including scriptures
- Food for the whole family
