News from Global Experience

April 2009

In This Issue

FROM THE DESK

Welcome to our April Newsletter, this is a busy month for all of us, whether it's Easter, school holidays or life in general, there is a lot happening.

From GE's perspective we are settling well into our new offices. To those families that have had the time to pop in and visit us, we say thank you! It's lovely to welcome you to our new home. It has been very encouraging to have so many visitors dropping by to say Hello within such a short time since our move.

I personally want to mention how grateful I am that my team has supported the move to the city with such grace and positive attitude. Everyone worked beyond their call of duty to make sure the move went smoothly, and they also made sure our work did not suffer in the midst of the chaos, I am deeply grateful for the unconditional support of the team!!!

A special and official welcome to Lynn Copithorne, whom started consulting with GE in 2008 and earlier this year, has assumed the role of GE General Manager. Lynn brings with her a great sense of commitment and strength that can only make us grow and stand taller within our industry.

On a more personal note I want to share with you all a very special experience my husband and I had at the end of March for our birthdays this year.

Many years ago we used to host students in our home and one of these very special students was a young 16 years old, Japanese girl named Saiko, who lived with us for almost 5 years. Now Saiko is 24, and part of our family. In January this year, she came to spend 3 weeks with us. We had a great time and while she was here, Luis and I promised her this is the year we will really make it to Japan.

To our surprise, soon after Saiko returned to her home country, she called to let us know her mother had arranged a very special week for Luis and I to spend our birthdays in Japan enjoying "Sakura" (Cherry Blossom) in that beautiful part of the world. To make a long story short, Luis and I travelled to Tokyo on the 29th of March and for 9 days we had the most amazing time visiting precious places and getting to know Saiko's family and hometown.

It all feels like a dream and now I want to share a couple of special photos with you all. I believe it's very opportune to share the above experience with you all, as this is what the real homestay experience is all about, creating long lasting relationships full of rewarding memories.

Now back to work... There are a number of special projects happening which are good to share with you. The Working with Children Checks' (WWCC) updating project still being done and it does look like this will become a more regular event. Currently WWCC are done at the time of registering with Global Experience. More and more schools need them to be done, every two years. We are still working through our list of families and many of you will be contacted, as part of this project.

For someone to send their precious child to a foreign family in a strange land and trust they will be looked after - it is a big leap of faith. Doing the paperwork is one small thing and helps them know that you are the right family to look after their child.

For the first time in a long time, we had an enquiry from a student that is wheelchair bound. He required shower in the bathroom, either a house or unit with no stairs and loving hearts to live with. Many of you responded very quickly to the email we sent out earlier this month asking for help. We now have a list of people who can help. Thank you for the great and fast response!

Also, I'd like to say a special thank you to those families who looked after the Japanese Study Tour from UWS Westmead. You did a great job of looking after the students and we've received nothing but compliments about you all from the organizers and students.

I know there are a number of new families that have joined us and I want to welcome everyone to our Homestay family. It is an exciting step to open your home to a foreign student. Over the years, we have had many many families say what a rewarding experience it has been. We hope as time passes, you feel the same way.

This month has an Indonesian flavour in the cooking; "Gado-gado" is a well-known Indonesian recipe influenced by Dutch heritage.

Also congratulations to one of our lovely young families, Muljono family, for being nominated as our host of the month. They have hosted many students from different parts of the world and the feedback about them is always positive.

Last but not least I would like to invite every one of you that takes the time to read our newsletter, to join our team in FACEBOOK. We now have a page where we can all participate and share experiences and photos. We always hear so many wonderful stories about host families and their students, and now we want to make use of this great social media to share the fun within us all.

To enter and join our social FACEBOOK page, you can do a search for: GE Australia (then you enter your details and we accept from our side) or you can enter: enquiry@globalexperience.com.au and we will also respond.

Enjoy the reading until next issue.

Warm regards
Sonia Ortega
Managing Director

Host Family of the Month - Muljono's Family

by Irwan and Mayri MULJONO

We are a young couple, living in Doonside area and have been doing homestay for around ten years. We both originally come from Indonesia and we both studied in Perth in the same university and moved to Sydney five years ago.

When we first arrived in Perth, we also lived in a homestay for a year. We enjoyed the cultural experience and the kindness of our host families. They treated us like part of the family.

After we moved out from our homestay, we shared house with an international student from Malaysia. His father came from overseas to visit him and the father ended up staying with us for about a week. He really enjoyed our hospitality and was very happy that his son was living with us. He suggested that we should do homestay. We thought about it and came to the conclusion that it wasn't a bad idea. We are very open and easy going; also enjoy learning about other cultures and love to have company in our home.

After we graduated, we moved to Sydney and bought our own house. Our journey as a host family then began and we started to have around 2-3 students on a regular basis. We have had students from many different nationalities and backgrounds.

The best thing about having students in our home is the cultural and cooking experience. Having been homestay students we can totally understand their needs. We try to include them in our family activities such as going out for dinner, playing Wii games at home, going fishing and visiting recreational places. It is really fun to have the students around, for us is like having new friends in our home.

To us, it is important to care and be aware of the students' well being. Some of them are travelling for the first time and away from their parents for the first time also; so it is our duty to assist them settling down. We don't have to act 100% as their parents, but we can at least behave as somebody they can trust so that they can feel safe and comfortable here. It is also important that as a host, we explain to the students that although Australia is relatively a safe place to live in, they need to take good care of themselves.

Our country, Indonesia, has a strong influence of Eastern culture. We are famous for our hospitality, kindness and friendliness. One of the major attractions of our country is our famous paradise island, "Bali". It has been a major tourist destination for decades especially for Australian. Apart from that, Jakarta, our capital city, is also well-known as a metropolitan city, which is very busy with traffic jams. Our famous dishes include gado-gado and beef rendang.

We found out about Global Experience from the internet five years ago; we heard a lot of good testimonials either from students and schools before we decided to join them. This host of the month's nomination really surprised us; thank you Global Experience for thinking of us.

Indonesian World

Indonesian culture has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is central along ancient trading routes between the Far East and the Middle East; resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Islam, Christian/Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous culture.

Western culture has influenced Indonesia most in modern entertainment such as television shows, movies and songs. India has notably influenced Indonesian songs and movies. A popular type of song is the Indian-rhythmical dangdut, which is often mixed with Arab and Malay folk music.

Despite the influences of foreign culture, some remote Indonesian regions still preserve uniquely indigenous culture. Indigenous ethnic groups of Mentawai, Asmat, Dani, Dayak, Toraja and many others are still practising their ethnic rituals, customs and wearing traditional clothes.

Calligraphy mostly based on the Qur'an, is often used as decoration as Islam forbids naturalistic depictions. Some foreign painters have also settled in Indonesia. Modern Indonesian painters use a wide variety of styles and themes.

Most notable are the hundreds of metres of relief sculpture at the temple of Borobudur in Central Java. This is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Approximately, two miles of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha, highly influenced by Indian culture which dominated Indonesian culture for over decades. As the visitor ascends through the eight levels of the temple, the story unfolds, the final three levels simply containing stupas and statues of the Buddha.

The nearby ninth-century temple complex at Prambanan contains some of the best preserved examples of Hindu temple architecture in Java; featuring Ramayana as a famous classic story among Hinduism. The temple complex comprises eight main shrines, surrounded by 250 smaller shrines.

Several Indonesian islands are famous for their batik, ikat and songket cloth. Batik is normally worn on special functions/occassions. Nowadays, it has been greatly promoted among young Indonesian designers for bags, clothes and other fashion accessories.

Indonesian cuisine has also contributed to the cuisines of neighbouring countries, notably Malaysia and Singapore; where Padang or Minangkabau cuisine from West Sumatra is very popular. Satay is another popular dish from Java, Madura and Sumatra, it has gained popularity as a street vendor food from Singapore to Thailand. In the fifteenth century, both the Portuguese and Arab traders arrived in Indonesia with the intention of trading for pepper and other spices.

Most native Indonesians eat rice as the main dish, with a wide range of vegetables and meat as side dishes. However, in some regions such as Irian Jaya and Ambon, sago and sweet potato will be the main dish; whilst in Madura (Central Java), corn will be the main dish.

The main aspect of Indonesian cuisine is halal food since the majority of population is Muslim. Although pork and alcohol are prohibited according to muslim religion, they are still available to consumers.

Bali, which is famously known as paradise island, is the Indonesia's wealthiest region as a consequence of its tourism industry. However since the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, tourism has suffered quite significantly.

Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce batik, ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings and silverware.

Student Feedback Corner

"Jan is a friendly and kind host mother. It's a good experience for me to live with her. Although there are differences in terms of culture and lifestyle between us, but I really enjoy my homestay; very convenient and comfortable. Thank you"

DONG Yu for BORHAM, Jan, Paramatta

"Ask GE"

Q: Most of my students need internet access. I was happy to provide this facility to them previously, not until I got a problem and ended up with a huge bill to pay. However, I feel that internet is vital for most students, any suggestion to avoid this problem in the future?

GE: Sign-up for unlimited internet access for your students so that when it reaches the maximum limit, the connection will only slow down but doesn't charge you for extra money. Alternatively, you can get the pre-paid internet connection, which is more recommended nowadays.