Salem seeks host families for Japanese exchange students

Remember how I shared info about Salem’s sister city, Ota, Japan the other day? Well, now Salem is looking for host families to bring some exchange students into the witch city.

According to the Salem Ota Cultural Exchange,

“The Salem-Ota Cultural Exchange is looking for host families for the Japanese Exchange Students coming Summer, 2017. Would you like to be a part of this exciting program? You’ll expand your cultural horizons and provide a home base and a family away from home for an Exchange student’s week-long educational adventure!

The Students will be here July 23-31, 2017.

Hosting an exchange student is one of the most rewarding experiences you and your family can have! Besides the hands-on opportunity for learning about a new culture, you and your children will see our American culture through an entirely new lens. And we make it easy! The Japanese students stay with us in our homes for one week in July. They participate in activities with their fellow students and teachers during the weekdays and we have them to participate in our family activities in the evenings and on the weekend. The activities we arrange during family time do not have to be expensive or planning-intensive! For example, exchange students enjoy shopping with us at the grocery store, going to Winter Island, playing board games or games in the backyard. Often host families work together to have nail-painting parties, basketball games, etc. Many of us also form carpools so getting the Japanese students at pickup and drop off becomes even easier.

Requirements

– You must have a middle-school aged student currently and we will match a Japanese student to his/her age and gender. The student must be in the home during the student visit (not at summer camp for example!)

– Preference is given to families who live in Salem, but those from neighboring communities are welcome as well.

You must provide for your exchange student

– A bed. Aerobeds, camp cots are fine! They do not need their own rooms.

– All meals including bag lunches on some weekdays.

– Transportation to and from their scheduled activities. Generally we drop off the students at 8am and pick-up is approx. 3:30 each day.

Omiyage

Omiyage is the traditional practice of gift-giving. Unlike in America it is not the value of the gift that matters -just that you have something to present to the student when they give gifts to you and ALL your family members. Generally we give things representative of the area – a Salem T-shirt, a Red Sox hat, Boston playing cards, etc. and something to being back to their family- a  Salem dishtowel, Boston postcards. etc.

Application

Click here to apply.
Once you fill out the application we will call you and arrange for a home visit. There is no fee to participate.”

 

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