Faculty Exchange Brings Global Learning to Carrollwood Day School
Reflections on My Summer in Japan
by Ashley Veselis, Middle School Fine Arts Teacher
I was incredibly honored to be awarded a Round Square Teacher Exchange, giving me the opportunity to represent Carrollwood Day School while visiting Kansai International Academy in Kobe, Japan, this past summer. What began as a teacher exchange grew into an incredible journey, one which allowed me to explore different regions of Japan, participate in professional arts programs, and immerse myself in communities that revealed unique perspectives on culture, creativity, and learning.
People have asked what my favorite part of the trip was. The truth is, I don't have one. Instead, I keep returning to the moments that quietly changed the way I think. One of the greatest gifts of travel isn't simply seeing a new place. It's allowing that place to shift your perspective.
Learning Through Place
While each location I visited offered new and unique perspectives, one place I keep wondering about is Naoshima. Known as Japan’s “Art Island,” Naoshima has a way of staying with you and reminds us that art has the ability to do more than decorate a place. It can transform it.
Public artworks, an underground museum, and vibrant art installations have become woven into the new identity of the island, which was once a fishing community. Visitors of the island are seen riding on bikes from place to place, in search of Art. Naoshima shows that creative spaces can transform communities because they create places where people gather, reflect, ask questions, and experience the world a little differently.
Learning Through History
Hiroshima was undoubtedly the most emotional place I visited. What stayed with me wasn't only the history, but the overwhelming sense of hope intentionally cultivated throughout the Peace Memorial Park. It is a place where students sing songs of hope, offer paper cranes for peace, and visitors line up to ring the Bell of Peace. There was an intentional effort to build community around remembrance rather than fear. It showed me that, while we cannot rewrite history, we, as a community, can choose how to respond to the past and what values we carry forward.
Learning Through Practice
Throughout my journey, I had the opportunity to explore traditional Japanese artistic practices including calligraphy, mokuhanga woodblock printing, indigo dying, and taiko drumming alongside practicing artists and educators. These weren't simply demonstrations. They were reminders that meaningful work develops slowly.
Watching artists dedicate themselves to their craft with such patience and care reinforced something I echo in my own classroom: mastery isn't built through shortcuts. It grows through repetition, curiosity, humility, and a willingness to remain a learner. This mindset feels deeply connected to the IB Learner Profile and the kind of lifelong learning we hope to cultivate in our students.
Bringing it Home
While these destinations were remarkable, many of the lessons came from ordinary moments.
- Young children riding the train independently.
- Waiting patiently at a crosswalk, even when no cars were coming.
- Quiet public spaces.
- Lining up properly to board a train.
- Workers taking pride in doing tasks well and with intention.
None of these moments seemed remarkable on their own. Together, however, they revealed something deeper: a culture built on trust, shared responsibility, respect, and the understanding that individual actions contribute to the wellbeing of the community.
As the weeks passed, I became more comfortable walking into unfamiliar restaurants, trying foods I couldn't name, navigating stations in a foreign language, and simply being comfortable not knowing.
Travel asks us to embrace uncertainty with humility. In doing so, it quietly builds respect and a soft confidence.
As we begin another school year, I find myself thinking less about the places I visited and more about the way I experienced them. This journey highlights that learning is not confined to classrooms. Learning happens when we slow down enough to pay attention. When we approach unfamiliar places, and unfamiliar ideas, with curiosity rather than certainty. When we allow ourselves to observe before judging and to listen before speaking.
Those lessons feel just as important in a classroom as they do while traveling abroad.
I'm immensely grateful to everyone that made this experience deeply meaningful. It has been one that continues to shape how I think about creativity, learning, community, and what it means to remain a lifelong learner.
You can learn more about Global Programming at Carrollwood Day School HERE.
