While most people think of pumpkin pie, pilgrims and roast turkey, giving thanks for the year’s harvest is a tradition lots of nations celebrate around the world. For those who don’t know much about the traditional US Thanksgiving (taking place on the 4^th Thursday of November each year), here’s the real basic (mainly accurate) story: In the 17^th century, a group of English Pilgrims sailed the famous Mayflower to North America, for a new life. There, they celebrated their first corn harvest by sharing a feast with the friendly Native American tribe, who taught them how to farm the land.

The day is associated with being thankful and charitable while celebrating the Autumn Harvest before the cold Winter sets in. The Americans are not the only people to give thanks;

America vs Canada – Thanksgiving

Aside from the date, Canadian thanksgiving is not too different from their American neighbours. Now, celebrated on the 2^nd Monday of October as the cold weather sets in much earlier over Canada. Similarly, Thanksgiving is still about celebrating the fall harvest and giving thanks for the food it provides to get through the winter. While in modern times, Canadian Thanksgiving dinner has very much appropriated the traditional Thanksgiving meal from America, there are some regional differences. After all, Canada is a large country made up of dozens of cultures with their own culinary influences.

Netherlands (kinda) – Dankdag

‘Dankdag’ in The Netherlands is a religious festivity celebrated by some Orthodox Protestant churches on the 1^st Wednesday in November. While there isn’t much celebration in modern times (other than some restaurants offering a ‘Thanksgiving-style meal’), Holland holds a significant place in the story of the Pilgrims who travelled to the US in 1620 – let me explain.

The Pilgrims were Puritans who rejected the Church of England and at the time, England required its citizens to only practice in (you guessed it) the Church of England. Those who refused, faced harassment, fines, and jail time. The liberal Dutch were more accepting of other religious practices. However, spreading out to live in Leiden and building new lives, the Pilgrims began to lose their religion. They were grateful for everything given to them, but after about a decade, were struggling to adapt to the Dutch culture while keeping their own, and eventually set sail for North America.

Pieterskerk in Leiden holds a non-denominational Thanksgiving Day service every year on the 4^th Thursday of November. The service commemorates the time the Pilgrims spent in Leiden and the service includes a rabbi, Catholic priest, Protestant ministers, and a Cantor. One of the pilgrim leaders, John Robinson, is even buried there, forever commemorating the Dutch brush with the Pilgrims.

Germany – Erntedankfest

Translating to “Harvest Thanksgiving”, Erntedankfest is a religious festivity typically celebrated on the 1^st Sunday in October, per the recommendation of the German Catholic Church. In cities, churches often hold a Thanksgiving service, but the exact date and festivities vary from region to region and mostly held in rural areas. German Thanksgiving celebrations include religious ceremonies where church altars are adorned with seasonal fruits, vegetables and grains, with the altar centrepiece usually a harvest crown made of wheat. Communal gatherings are filled with singing and dancing in traditional clothing and, of course, an abundance of food. Often, parades are held with beautiful floats a vibrant atmosphere.

Japan – Kinro Kansha no Hi

Japanese ‘Thanksgiving’ – “Kinro Kansha no Hi” – actually translates to ‘Labor Thanksgiving Day’ when, in modern times, the hard work of the labourers is celebrated as opposed to the harvest of the year. Unlike the US, it is a quiet national public holiday, not a religious-based holiday and takes place on 23^rd November each year, many families spend the day out, followed by a modest dinner. (Don’t worry they also celebrate Labor Day separately on 1^st May.) Originally, it was an ancient Autumn Harvest Festival from when rice first began to be cultivated in Japan. The reigning Emperor, Tenmu, would hold a ceremony to taste the year’s rice for the first time. It later became more associated with celebrating the hard work of the year so far, but the day was not established as Kinro Kansha no Hi until after World War II to reflect important changes in the Constitution of Japan, especially the expansion of worker’s rights.

China – Gan'en Jie

Gan'en Jie is a day that has blended Chinese and American cultures. They call it literally; 'thanks for grace holiday'. People generally have a Western meal and thank friends, family, workmates, and teachers or bosses and exchange small gifts. Some Chinese Christian churches have adopted Thanksgiving as a special day for giving thanks.

South Korea – Chuseok - also referred to as ‘Hangawi’ signifying the Harvest moon, the largest full moon of the year

Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving Day, is one of Korea’s three major holidays and extends over multiple days. Family members from near and far come together at the head house to share food and stories and to give thanks to their ancestors. Many Koreans visit their hometowns to spend quality time with their family and visit their ancestral graves to tidy the surroundings and pay respects to the deceased with a simple memorial service. For tourists, the holiday also provides a good opportunity to experience traditional culture throughout Korea.

We have some exciting news, our Language Immersion destinations are growing to ASIA. One of our newest additions is KOREA. After receiving many enquiries for Korean language programs we decided to take a deeper look into why is the Korean language trending in 2024.  Not only Korean, Japanese and Mandarin.  

The rise of Korean culture and trends across industries is undeniable from K-Pop to K-Beauty to K-Drama, the world is going K-crazy! There is certainly a Korean Wave (Hallyu) happening and we are all here for it!   An article written by SBS KOREA, explains.. 

Experts attribute the surge in Korean language learners worldwide to the growing interest in Korean popular culture, commonly known as the Hallyu, or 'Korean wave'. 
 
Even Jung at Campsie Public School says Korean popular culture has become a motivating factor for students' learning." When we do music integrated with Korean ... I can see their engagement grow higher and they (the students) seem to know a lot of K-pop stars that I don't even know," she says. 

So what is K-Pop?  

K-pop is typically used to describe “idol music” made by artists trained by entertainment companies to become pop music stars. K-pop includes upbeat pop, dance music, and ballads. It can incorporate a variety of influences, including reggae, hip-hop, salsa, and other types of music. The biggest trending K-pop band at the moment is - BTS  Bulletproof Boy Scouts 

BTS stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates literally to 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts'. According to member J-Hope, the name signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim at adolescents like bullets". 

More and more students across the country are taking up Korean as a language, as well as more Schools widening their language subject selection. Which is K-Pop music to our ears... 

The Australian Department of Education released a program called Foreign Language Education. We now see more the 10,000 students learning Korean across 67 secondary and primary Schools. As well as the School of Languages courses available to students by online correspondence or weekend classes.  

Support Centers such as The Korean Education Center offer plenty of assistance right across the industry. Such as: 

• Financial support to Schools offering Korean Language, Based on a survey of Australian schools offering Korean courses conducted every September-October, the Centre offers funding assistance for schools to purchase Korean teaching material and to hold Korean Day events.  

• Korean Teacher Associations. The Centre holds regular meetings with associations of Korean teachers in Australian schools to discuss ways to further develop and extend Korean education in primary and secondary schools 

• Supporting the development of Korean teaching and learning material. In order to constantly improve Korean education and align it with new changes in the Australian curriculum, the Centre financially supports the development of Korean teaching and learning material 

 
Our Language Immersion Programs are tailored for students who are deeply passionate about improving their language skills through full cultural and linguistic immersion. By engaging in intensive language study while living with a host family, participants can expect a highly effective and enriching experience that significantly boosts their language proficiency. 

We are thrilled to expand our program destinations worldwide! Join us as one of the first students or groups to travel to Korea and experience the Korean Wave (Hallyu) firsthand. 

Start spreading the news – Exchange Me has welcomed back another successful group from their New York Arts tour! The concrete jungle where dreams are made has so much to offer for both creative and performing arts. Our latest tour was arranged for Drama, Dance, Music and Visual Arts students. It was jam-packed with workshops lead by industry professionals, Broadway performances and loads of touring and sightseeing. The package included flights, accommodation, a tour manager every day, city passes and unforgettable experiences.  

There are great benefits to travelling for anyone studying either performing or creative arts or both! Not only do the new surroundings spark new inspiration for current projects but leave lasting impressions on young artists for future work.  

Reader Question:
Plato’s “Art imitates the objects and events of ordinary life” vs “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” - Oscar Wilde
Which do you consider the most relevant? 

Art and life inarguably intertwine, as shown throughout history. Travelling anywhere as interesting and complex as New York City, allows the opportunity of exposure to different art forms, styles, trends, methods, societies, events and understandings of cultural and human histories. Enriching your knowledge of movements and art history while enhancing your skills through one-of-a-kind experiences that provide an intimate understanding of procedures and works from beyond the viewing seat.  

These programs also provide opportunities for young individuals to build connections and collaborate with industry experts through workshops and provide insight into people and networking in the industry. 

Our most recent group paired tickets to Chicago on Broadway and an exclusive post-show cast Q&A session with a Broadway Song & Dance Workshop. As well as tickets to the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby with a Broadway Behind the Curtain Workshop. This allowed the students to experience many of the moving parts within the performing arts and live stage production industry. Not to mention, fantastic dance and movement workshops with top academies and visual and cultural experiences all over NYC with qualified professionals. 

Travelling on an organised tour as mentioned above takes the hassle and stress out of trying to build an educational program from scratch and allows ALL group members to completely embrace the experience.  

Explore your creativity with us in the city that never sleeps! 

Before we dive into this blog, we’d first like to thank and acknowledge all mothers and mother figures in all shapes and forms, without them (you) there would be no us! Mothers -including host mothers- play a massive part in the lives of the young people around them, as they ultimately start making decisions that will shape the rest of their lives which can feel so rewarding. 

Take it from us, we’re ex-exchange students and still hold our host families and host mothers dear after all these years. The memories we treasure, lessons we learned and our passion for our work is all thanks to the wonderful experience we had as students taking a scary but exciting step and being welcomed with open arms by families and people just like you. 

Host families are not all the same cookie-cutter, nuclear families – they all look different and there is no limit to what a host family can be! We’ve outlined below just how easy it is and how much fun it can be! Or read the testimonials for yourself in a previous blog we’ve posted here! 

There are only 3 basic duties to perform as a host famliy 

1. Provide the student an adequate place to sleep – A room with a clean bed and enough space to move around comfortably (mint on pillow and towel origami animals optional)  

2. Safe transport to/from school (don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’ve signed up to be a private car service) – this usually looks like catching the bus/train with your child or providing the student with the tools they’d need to make the journey 

3. 2-3 meals a day – The student will eat with you/your family; Breakfast and Dinner every day and also Lunch on weekends/non-school days. No need to call Grodon Ramsy, an extra plate of whatever you’re having is more than adequate 

The optional extras of being a host family 

• You might like to re-discover your city and surroundings with some sightseeing  

• You may opt to partake in some wholesome, fun activities (picnics, bowling, cinema visits, etc.) 

• You will make memories with your family (exchange student included) that will last a lifetime 

• You may open yourself to new connections with people from places you’d have otherwise never made 

Non-optional extras of being a host family 

• You will help a young person grow. 

While this experience may or may not result in them packing their bags and moving halfway around the globe, it will definitely change their persepective of the world, the people in it, the kinds of places they may want to take their lives and the journeys they will look forward to embarking on.  

Thank you to all of our wonderful host-mothers who have already provided all of this and more to many, many students. We encourage you to become a host mum and wish you all a wonderful Mother’s Day! 

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