The Brothers of the Christian Schools have a network that stretches across 80 countries, which includes 4,000 brothers, 90,000 lay colleagues and 850,000 students.

The week of Dec. 9, two Lasallian schools from across the world connected as Hakodate La Salle High School spent a week at Christian Brothers Academy for the second year in a row.

Hailing from Hokkaido, Japan, 80 Hakodate students and 10 faculty members, including principal, Christian Brother Fermin Martinez, immersed themselves in the CBA community. More than 40 current CBA families volunteered to serve as host families for the Hakodate boys, an additional CBA students served as “day hosts” to show the Hakodate students around the Lincroft academy.

“As I said to all the students, the Lasallian network is a global community,” CBA president Brother Frank Byrne said. “When the Hakodate and CBA students get together, they come from two different backgrounds and two very different cultures. During the week, however, they realize how much they have in common thanks to Lasallian education.”

The Hakodate students spent each day with their host CBA students, attending classes, lunch and extracurriculars with them. CBA hosted a short welcome assembly Dec. 9 and a grand farewell ceremony Dec. 14, which was filled with presentations from both school communities.

“This experience began months ago,” Brother Fermin said. “The students who came [to CBA] last year set high expectations for this year’s group. I would say the week surpassed all expectations for them. this opened our students’ eyes to a new kind of brotherhood. Thanks to the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the brotherhood is in the DNA of all our schools.”

The Hakodate students departed CBA with a commemorative “Lasallians Without Borders” shirt, as well as a special certificate to recognize their cultural achievement.

“It was funny how relatable we were to each other, even though we live 6,000 miles apart. Just because they may speak differently and look differently, does not mean that we are different,” CBA senior Saverio Caruso said. “The connections and international friendships created from this event are something that will be remembered for the rest of our lives.”

The unity between the two schools – 6,000 miles apart – was impressive, all thanks to the Lasallian bonds that transcend culture.

“This week would not be possible without our CBA families,” Brother Frank said. “We are the first Lasallian school to welcome the Hakodate students for this experience. Our parents and students did a tremendous job stepping up to support this unique and tremendous opportunity.”