Michigan Council

Join us at
The Arab American National Museum
on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
starting at 5:45 pm.

The members and friends of the Michigan Council of Hostelling International will be the only guests at the Arab American National Museum that evening. Learn more about one of the world’s largest Arab American communities which is in the Detroit area. We will be visiting during the holy month of Ramada.

The evening includes:

• Self-guided tours of the Museum
• Dinner
• Mini cultural workshop

Dinner will be provided by a local restaurant and will include: 

• Shish Kebab
• Rice 
• Shish Tawook
• Flat Bread  Hummous
• Relish Tray 
• Fatoosh Salad
• Bakalava 
• Soft Drinks

Coffee Dinner will start promptly at 6:00 pm in a classroom of the Museum

Cost: $35/person

Questions? 248-302-8026

Deadline for registering: Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Reserve a seat online

or by mail: Click here to download the event Registration form.

A record number of teens from the Detroit area learned about hostelling this summer by participating in summer programs. 

The Michigan Council of Hostelling International collaborated with two community partners, CU.SAME and Bridge Camp Through Madonna University, to introduce hostelling to the teens.  The teens learned about hostelling while creating Community Walls murals at the two programs. 

Bridge Camp Through Madonna University was conducted June 22-28, 2008 with teens from the Holy Family Community Center in Southwest Detroit.  The purpose of the program is to help students with academic potential to visit and stay at an area university.  Most of the teens do not role models who have attended college.  During the morning at Bridge Camp, the future college students visited museums, historical sites and other points of interest.  In the afternoon, the teens sat in actual college classroom lectures, which were related to the morning field trip.  Each evening, the teens would divide into 3 groups and participate in the Community Walls program. 

CU.SAME is an exciting museum based program made up of: Shalom Street the Address for Jewish Discovery, The Arab American National Museum and The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and The Henry Ford Museum.  A total of forty lucky teens represented the museums, during the four day program.  Each day the teens visited a museum to learn about the culture of the group’s museum and to complete a segment of the Community Walls curriculum.  On the final day, everyone met at The Henry Ford Museum to tour the museum and paint their Community Wall. 

The Michigan Council of Hostelling International would like to thank the volunteers and staff of the two programs.  We enjoyed training and working with your staffs.

A windy day turned calm and beautiful as the canoists, kayakers and Island Queen II riders traversed Kent Lake on July 18th to enjoy the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Kensington Metropark.  Participants enjoyed a catered dinner and great company in this beautiful setting, helping the Michigan Council generate funds for their cultural travel education programs such as Community Walls and ODOM (Opening Doors, Opening Minds). 

We thank Al Heavner and the Heavner Canoe Rental staff for their help, and especially, all who joined us for this successful annual event.  We invite you to watch a the slide show of pictures and relive an enjoyable evening of great food, beautiful scenery, and a fantastic orchestra! 

To see the pictures of the 2008 Paddle to the Symphony, click here

The Michigan Council is sad to receive the news of the passing of our valued member and friend, Don Dahlin, on May 14, 2008.  Don was an extensive traveller, valueing the benefits of developing cultural understanding through hostelling.  An leader for various HI (AYH) activities, he eagerly shared his quiet passion for hiking and the outdoors with other members, and was a regular at various Hostelling International events.  Don  shared his interest in the out of doors through his membership with the Sierra Club also.  A true leader and friend, Don will be missed.  We send our sincere condolences to his wife, Catherine, and family. The following obituary was posted in the May 18th issue of the Detroit Free Press showing the arrangements for honoring his life. 

Joan Smykowski, volunteer coordinator for the Michigan Council    accompanied Susan Trudeau, President during the recent International Coffee Hour Appreciation Luncheon at Wayne State University.  In 1951, the Coffee Hour began when 37 students showed up at the WSU Foreign Student Office.  International education had just begun at Wayne State, and a global environment was created on campus.  Over the years, various community groups sponsored the coffee hours for all students in an effort to enhance learning of world culture from each other in an intimate setting.  Today, over 3000 international students and 675 scholars from 100 different countries are enrolled at Wayne State. The Michigan Council of HI USA was able to be part of this unique opportunity to help create global citizens.  We sponsored a coffee hour for Halloween last year, prompting lively discussions of the various symbolisms followed throughout the world. 

At the luncheon, we were presented with an award for our participation in the International Coffee Hour, and were told of the new plans to begin in the fall on behalf of the Office of International Students and Scholars.

 The Michigan Council continues to develop many relationships with Wayne State University.  Please view our Newsletter and Calendar for events and opportunities to participate in our community efforts to educate and become involved in the wealth of culture we have in the Southeast Michigan area.