As you may be aware, people in Hawaii live harmoniously together for many generations, despite differences in customs, cultures, religion, or food. Our community is based on recognition of those differences and furthermore we respect and accept them.
We renamed the homestay program as “Culture Sharing Program (CSP)” in hope that visiting students will proactively share their own stories, including family, school life, and regional food and festivals, as well as learning about the local lifestyle in Hawaii. They will experience a difficulty in communication due to the level of English or not understanding the culture. However, it is expected, and we hope the students will come up with solutions on their own during the stay with local families.
Staying with a local family is not an alternative to a hotel stay. It is a learning opportunity for the students as well as the host family. Safety and wellbeing of the visiting students are at most important to us. Our host families are selected by referrals only. We meet prospective families in person and visiting their homes after examining the application form. Hosting foreign students is also a learning opportunity for those host families. It gives their children global perspectives by spending time together.
HGEF offer online pre-trip lessons in preparation for CSP by providing useful phrases to communicate with the host family, manners, and other aspects to help your students in advance.
ABC Program is designed to give the visiting students an opportunity to practice English, regardless of level or ability, and communicate with native speakers, particularly local college students (ABC leaders). Students will be divided into small groups (6 to 8 students per group) and are required to speak and communicate in English, so ABC leaders also need to learn how to converse with non-English speakers.
Students and ABC leaders can spend time together during sightseeing and shopping for a 4 to 8 hours period. However, ABC leaders are not tour guides. Students need to work as a team to convey what they would like to say to the assigned ABC leader.
If they are a little more confident, we can set up workshops and discussions according to interests and subject matters. Popular themes are Hawaiian culture and history, United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other social issues. We can design the SDGs to match with the State of Hawaii’s “Aloha + Challenge” is aiming for.
*Hawaii Tourism Authority
Each group comes to Hawaii with its unique purposes and accomplishments in mind during the study tour. HGEF can identify and match appropriate counterparts. We provide planning and arrangements for educational institution visitation, preparational study sessions, educational tour guides, interpretation, bilingual coordinators/interpreters, homestay, hotel bookings, transportation, and 24-hour safety support. We provide you a safe and substantial study session in Hawaii.
We offer a total coordination of your study tours. Please consult us with an itinerary fit for your purpose and budget. We also provide pre-trip learning opportunities in person or online.
For local groups in Hawaii, we offer the same services when you plan for a study trip to Japan. We have the network of schools, government offices, and businesses in Japan to assist you. Please feel free to inquire by using our “Contact” page.
All HGEF staff members are bilingual and have college degrees in the U.S. or other foreign countries. We can assist and advise students and teachers from our own experiences.
Some of us work as professional interpreter/translator. We proudly share our “Aloha Spirit” with clients and visitors alike. Please let us know if we can be of any assistance for the onsite coordination.
Communication in English might be one of the issues your group may encounter while making arrangements with hosting groups/organizations, in Hawaii, whether for letter writing or simple email exchanges. HGEF can supply interpreters at any level from intermediate to highly skilled simultaneous interpreters according to each situation.