Franklin Academy’s Student Government hosted this past Monday a cross-cultural exchange with 10 students and 2 staff from a recently established Indonesian school in East Haddam. Here is a report from Pete Govert, FLI Residential Dean, who organized this visit.
These Indonesians students are participating in a semester abroad program from their home boarding school, Insan Cendekia Madani, that is located in Jakarta. This new venture in East Haddam is funded by the Nusantara Foundation that is headquartered in New York City. During their 2.5 hours on our campus, the Indonesian students lunched with members of Student Government, had a campus tour, and then participated in a facilitated discussion with a selection of our students. Discussion topics included shared hobbies (music, art, and video games were common themes), determining future careers, American likes (food, movies, Statue of Liberty) and dislikes (politics), and a comparison of each country’s monuments. It was a positive experience all around, and we have agreed to host the next group of Indonesian students who will be spending spring semester here in East Haddam.
Thank you, Pete. We will look forward to even more interactions with our new neighbors.