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| GLOBAL EXPERIENCE NEWSLETTER |
OCTOBER 2009
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| STUDENT FEEDBACK CORNER |
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"Robyn is a very kind woman. She acts like my Mother and do many things for me. Her food is very tasty, especially the dessert. I learnt many things from her. Thank you Robyn."
He, Yin for WILKERSON,
Robyn, Rosebery |
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GE ADVICE |
Q: Christmas holiday is coming soon and I have a long-term student from Taylors and Charles Sturt. How the payment process is going to be?
A: In order to smoothen the payment process, we advise you to start asking your student about their holiday plan. Some students may not know yet whether they will be leaving the country or not as it all depends on their exam result, but this way, you can plan ahead for your nice Christmas break.
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 FROM THE DESK
As the Managing Director of Global Experience, it is indeed with great pleasure that I share with you all the latest news from our office.
Last Friday night, some members of our team attended a gala night hosted by the Hong Kong Australia Business Association. It was held at the Hilton Hotel's Ball Room, with over 500 guests.
The function was a great success and there were presentations for the finalists and winners of small business awards in 5 different categories, Global Experience was one of the finalists.
 At the time where the winners of each categories were announced, we were listening to the MC's presentations when the 2nd category was announced, - the "Winner of the 2009 Award for Export Services" is "Global Experience". It was then that a rush of excitement, astonishment and gratitude, all at the same time, rushed through me while walking towards the stage to receive the award.
 I have said to my team and now I want to make it public, I know I created Global Experience and it is with a group of committed people such as the one we have in our office, we can earn such a recognition in our industry and within the small business world in NSW. It is our team that lives and breathes our vision, mission and points of culture.
THANK YOU TEAM, this prestigious award belongs to you all! Also we could have not won if it wasn't for the strong network of host families we have currently working with us, providing a safe and welcoming home to our students. I would like to say a big "Thank You" to every one of you and we proudly share this award with you all!
Since moving to our city office this year, there have been many positive changes within our organisation and we keep strongly moving forward with the same vision of "how may we serve".
 And due to our moving forward there are many more projects in the pipeline and we'll keep you all informed in the near future. One of them is our new website ready to go online within the next few days, keep revisiting the site and you will see a new site with more information to share.
It's that time of the year again! Christmas is just around the corner and because of that there are 2 points I want to touch on.
First of all we have many students due to arrive in January 2010 to the Manly/Northern Beaches area, many with short term Study Tours and a large number of long term students so if you are resident in the are and registered with GE, give us a call. We will be more than happy to place students with you.
Secondly, end of the year also means "time to celebrate" and we at GE are no exception at it, we love celebrating so we are organising once again a "Christmas event by the Sea" at Collaroy Beach. You asked for it and we are complying. Our first Champagne Breakfast was such a huge success that we are looking forward to sharing a similar theme on December 6th. Please reserve this day in your calendar, an invitation will follow soon.
 Last but not least, if you would like to check the photos of the Award/Gala night, please 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.
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HOST FAMILY OF THE MONTH - BRAD AND COLBY ROBERTS |
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By Colby Roberts
 This is such an honour as we have enjoyed every moment we have been hosting; as we look at it as a great opportunity to meet new people and to learn about other cultures.
We both were born in Australia with Brad's parents migrating from England and I have four generations of Australian born family originating from Scotland. Brad works as the Australian Service Manager for the Tanning Industry and I work from home as a Massage and Beauty Therapist.
We purchased our home 3 years ago and took over the hosting duties of the previous owners. We love to share our home with others and always make sure our guests make themselves feel at home at all times. We have been working with Global Experience for over 10 years now. Our house is located in a strategic location and ideal for those students who are going to colleges around Paramatta area.
 We try to accommodate all students' needs and wants start from what they like to eat, to what facilities they may require and finally showing them around Sydney. We have a games area, a large swimming pool and ask the students' friends and our friends over to join in for BBQ's on weekends. It could also be our friendly puppy dog Foxy Lady, who just loves the attention from our new students.
We try to speak really slowly to allow the students to learn English as we have a funny Aussie accent and lots of slang words. We also like to draw little easy to read maps with directs, names of places, bus and train numbers for when the students are trying to get around on their own. We show the students where the nearest shopping centres are, in case of emergency.
We like the students to welcome their friends at our home too. This way they can also interact with us as a family and enable them to feel like home.
We make sure our students also keep our phone numbers to contact us at any given time. Basically we want them to feel like they are able to fit into the Australian way by having a good laugh and to enjoy every moment they have here in this wonderful country.
We currently have a 17 year old Chinese student who arrived in February this year. He will complete his HSC in 2011. His name is Jai and we now called him our new "IT man". He's fantastic with computers and he has a good laugh at us everytime we bump something or just can't find an icon in the computer. He has a friend who lives in the city that requires his help as well. So the "Aussie nickname" suits him well.
We have had many more experience and still continue to be in contact with most of the student we have met over the past 3 years as they still love dropping in to have a BBQ with us as they continue their studies.
Homestay has taught us to be more patient with people especially for those who don't speak English as their main language. We realize that English can be a quite complicated language to learn.
Finally we want to thank you Global Experience for their support over the past 10 years. We have been blessed to have the opportunity to work together with them. We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about new people and cultures and we believe that this is what Global Experience do best. |
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UZBEKISTAN WORLD
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 Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.
The official language of Uzbekistan is the Uzbek language and Russian is the language for international communication. Ninety percent of the total population are Muslim and only around eight percent are Christian Orthodox.
According to the history of Uzbekistan many versions of Islamic belief were practiced in the country. Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity were present in Uzbekistan at that period, but Islam religion became very popular and it spread widely to the other regions.
 Uzbek Festivals are unique and celebrated with great pomp and shown by the people. Boysun bahori is one of the most important and colourful festivals of Uzbekistan. The festival is celebrated to reveal the great talent of the Uzbek people such as singers, dancers, musicians and conventional bards. Participants from Central Asian countries also take part in traditional sports, games and fashion contest.
Bread is also celebrated with great enthusiasm as bread is one of the most important food items in the country. Uzbekistan is famous for producing best quality and variety of breads.
Hunting in Uzbekistan is one of the most enjoyed sports. The dense forests and Alpine meadows provide ample opporunity for the sports enthusiasts in Uzbekistan, it attracts people from different part of Asia.
 Wedding is an affair to remember as it involves a lot of preparation right from when children are very young. It is said that Uzbek people never spend so much on traveling as they spend all the money for their children's wedding. As it is regarded as a great social event, they also do not forget to invite the foreigners who stay in Uzbekistan. Refusing to attend the wedding is not taken positively by the families of the couples.
Men will always shake hands with other men. Even if you are not introduced to everyone, a simple handshake substitutes for a formal introduction. A woman visitor may not receive a handshake unless she
herself extends her hand. For the women traveler, do not feel offended that you do not receive the same attention as the males in your group. Women will often greet you with a big hug and definitely with a handshake. For the winter traveler, gloves should be removed when shaking hands.
Close friends or family members of the same sex will often greet each other with a more vibrant display of affection than a simple handshake. Kissing is the most common greeting seen among people of the region and depending on where you are traveling, this is most often done two or three times on alternative cheeks.
One of the most beautiful features of Central Asian culture is found with one simple little gesture, this "silent bow". Often accompanying the handshake, men will place their left hand over their hearts and offer a slight, almost indiscernible, bow to their counterpart in a gesture of deep respect.
 Uzbek Tea Ceremony is also a loved custom in Uzbekistan. Special tea is served from ceramic pots into small pjala bowls. It is served with homemade jam or honey, which replaces the sweetener. It is a custom for them to conduct a small party of toast. The guest holds a glass of vodka and delivers a speech, the side menu includes bread and cheese with colourful garnishing.
Uzbek food is a distinctive and well known feature of Uzbekistan culture. They are particularly mouth watering even if it is prepared in such a plain and spiceless procedure. The winter diet are dried fruits and veggies with noodle or pasta type dishes. Mutton is loved by the Uzbeks. Beef and horse meat are also consumed in fairly large quantities. Camel and goat meat are avoided. Their food is not spicy, hot or fiery but truly delectable.
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7 HEALTHY REASONS TO GROW AND EAT FRESH JUICY TOMATOES
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by Pat Carpenter
 Tomatoes are enjoyed all over the world, blending a wonderful fresh flavour with outstanding nutritional value, for the heart, among other things.
Tomatoes are an excellent source of potassium and vitamin C. They also pack plenty of the phytochemicals that provide disease prevention benefits.
Lycopene is the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red. It appears that lycopene can reduce the risk of certain cancers, the eye disorder age-related macular degeneration, atherosclerosis and sun damage to the skin.
Men who eat two or more servings of tomato products have been shown in tests to average a 35 percent reduction in prostate cancer risk.
Lycopene helps women guard against cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia, CIN, tumorous tissue growth in the cervix according to research from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Lycopene is a powerful inhibitor of the growth of breast, endometrium and lung cancer cells.
Lycopene is better absorbed by body when it is cooked with some oil. The cooking helps to break down the cell walls of the tomato releasing the lycopene and the oil helps increase its absorption. Japanese scientists found that mixing tomato juice into the drinking water of mice completely prevented them from suffering emphysema trigerred by tobacco smoke.
Cooking usually diminishes a food's nutritional value such as the Vitamin C potency. The processing of tomatoes, however, actually increases the concentration of lycopene. There is four times more bioavailable lycopene in tomato paste then what you will get from fresh tomatoes. Tomato sauce, therefore, is preferred over fresh tomatoes for this benefit. Processed tomatoes in tomato juice, sauce, ketchup and soup countain the highest concentration of lycopene of all tomato products.
To get the most nutritional benefit from your fresh tomatoes, you will want to crush and cook them, then serve them in dishes with a high oil content, such as spaghetti or even pizza. The oils will greatly increase the digestive tract's ability to assimilate the available nutrition into the bloodstream because lycopene is fat-soluable.
Tomatoes also contain Lutein. Lutein in found in the retina of our eyes so it needed for healthy vision. Lutein also appears to lower the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Lutein may also help to prevent or slow down the thickening of arteries that is called atherosclerosis which is a major risk for cardiovascular disease.
Tomato products are beneficial in aggressive cancers that have also spread to other parts of body. Overall, a wonderful food that is easy to grow in your own garden and packs a significant amount of nutritional value into your diet. |
RECIPE OF THE MONTH - UZBEK PLOV
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(serves 6)
 Ingredients:450 g boneless lamb, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup raisins
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbs salt
1 tsp black pepper'
3 cups uncooked rice
6 cups cold water
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 carrots
1/4 cup chick peas
Methods:
1. Heat the oil in a large fry pan on high heat and put the lamb cubes in and fry for about 6-7 minutes
2. Drain them and put in a large casserole dish
3. In the same oil which was used to fry the lamb, add onions, garlic, carrot, raisins, chick peas, salt and pepper
4. Stir fry them until they are browned/ready then add the rice
5. Turn the fire to low and stir for 3 minutes
6. Pour this mixture into the casserole dish and toss lightly
7. Add water
8. Bring to boil over a high heat
9. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes
10. Remove from the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes
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"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"
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