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| GLOBAL EXPERIENCE NEWSLETTER | MAY/JUNE 2011 |
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| STUDENT FEEDBACK CORNER | |
"I've been very happy with the family that you placed me with and would recommend other students to use Global Experience services." Fatma Tokmak for Melanie Clementson, Hillsdale |
| HOMESTAY HOST INSURANCE-PLUS | |
The homestay Host Insurance-Plus cover is AUD $100 or $110 per year depending on the cover option selected, including all statutory charges, premium and brokerage.
You are not limited in the number of students you can host during the insurance year - only one confirmation of cover each year.
For further info please visit:
www.homestayhostinsuranceplus.com |
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F R O M T H E D E S K |
Hello everyone, I wish you are all keeping as healthy as possible in this highly unusual cold weather, at least for Sydney!
In this issue, we are pleased to salute Wendy and Steven Callaghan as "Hosts of the Month". They are an open, friendly couple with 3 young children that play the important role as "welcoming ambassadors" to our students. Congratulations to the Callaghans'.
During the past few weeks we have been doing some research about Social Media and the way we now communicate mostly with. It was great having so many responses back to our survey and we are now in the process of reviewing our Social Media policy and procedures in accordance to those results. As soon as we are ready, we will make sure to share more information with you. We immensely appreciate your cooperation and participation in the subject.
One of our host families have just become parents for the first time, they are the Muljono family, our best wishes and my this baby bring lots of joy and love into their homes.
Enjoy the reading of this newsletter!
Until next issue,
Sonia Ortega
Managing Director |
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HOST FAMILY OF THE MONTH - Wendy and Steven Callaghan | |
by Wendy Callaghan
Wow! It feels great to be nominated as the host of the month. We try to be as hospitable and build a welcoming home away from home environment for our students, it is really, really appreciated to be appreciated! We've always tried to think how we would like our kids to be treated and looked after.
In our family we are all Australian born. We have three children, Mikaela 9, Cooper 8 and Oliver 2. They are the welcoming committee for any new students. Steve works as a Senior Account Manager for a large financial institution and I am a stay at home Mom and expert at turning the house into a home.
We have been a homestay family for 7 years and have enjoyed and learnt so much about different cultures. We have a reasonably large house and we enjoy having it filled with laughter and activitiy.
I hope that we come across as making the students feel accepted, welcome and at home while they are with us. I think they also like a student common room that we have in the house with a fridge and places for them to keep and prepare some of their own food for when their taste buds get home sick.
When dealing with students from different background and cultures, we need to show a lot of patience and smiles especially when a student is adjusting to a first time English only environment. A smile never needs an interpretation and always puts the recipient at ease.
It is also important that we always make ourselves available to answer questions and assist with the small things especially in the first week when things are new and strange for the student. Bus passes, mobile phones and how to get around can be very daunting.
The most memorable experience that I've ever had with students was when taking two girls from China for a walk on Manly beach on the day of their arrival. It was the first time they had ever walked along a beach in their lives. Their reaction and excitment is something that will stay with us forever.
"Most of us are like the rest of us", deep down we are all the same. We want to be accepted, appreciated and have a little fun and adventure along the way. It is important to value and appreciate the diversity of cultures and personalities that you come in contact with everyday. When we take the time to understand people and look at their view of the world it can really open our minds and educate us at the same time. Giving into the experience of others, both of time and energy can be very rewarding and fun. |
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KAZAKHSTAN WORLD |
 The Kazakh people are rich in traditions. From birth through old age and death, every step of their lives has historically been marked with celebration. Even their funeral ceremonies have their own special symbolism.
Traditionally every guest is offered Kazakh cuisine at the dastarkhan (the low table) in a yurt. The yurt is one of the most sensible types of movable house. It is a comfortable and practical home, ideally suited to local conditions and ways of life - one of the greatest inventions of the Euasian nomads.
The word "Kazakh" means "a free and independent nomad" in ancient Turkish. Kazakhs have travelled along the steppes of Kazakhstan from Western China to the southern border of Russia for centuries. For centuries Kazakhstan was a country of nomads and herders. Tribes were the basis of society, the tribe was constituted of family members and the family elders. Intertribal marriages were important in establishing security and peace. To this day, Kazakhs say, "the matchmaking lasts a thousand years, while the son in law lasts only a hundred". Arranged marriages are still the norm in many parts of the country.
 Nauryz (Islamic New Year) is one of the biggest holidays in Central Asia. In Kazakhstan it is celebrated on the day of the spring equinox. March 22. On that day, the streets of villages and towns are transformed. Guests are hosted in beautiful yurts with the traditional Nauryz kozhe dish made of seven traditional ingredients. People respecting this nearly month-long holiday forgive each others' debts and offences.
Zharys Kasan is a celebration on behalf of long-expected and desired baby. Children have always been highly prized by the Kazakhs. They have always been known as a very generous people. For example, when an unexpected guest came to the house, the host would often butcher the only horse he owned in honour of the visitor. The same practice might be followed if the household was blessed with a child.
 In Kazakh tradition, women were not allowed to perform initial slaughtering but they could join later cutting of the meat. Before slaughtering, Kazakhs used to pray. So the first step (after praying) was killing the animal and then cutting the spinal cord. Not performing in such a fashion might restrict the blood from flowing freely out of the carcass and the meat would be black and Kazakhs never eat black meat.
Only wealthy people among the Kazakhs could afford to slaughter a horse in its pasture. If the horse was fattened by eating grass in the lowlands and by mixed fodder its kazy would be white and lean. Were the horse grazed in the mountains, its kazy would be yellow and nourishing.
Kazakhs were supertitious about the sheep's head. Children were never allowed to tough it for fear that this might bring about the death of their father if he was living. To avoid his son from being mumbler or stutterer, the brain was never presented by the father to his son.
 By tradition, Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi School. The Kazakhs adopted Islam gradually with complete conversion only in the early 19th century. The Slavic people of Kazakhstan are traditionally Orthodox Christian and Russian Orthodox Church is the largest Christian denomination in the republic. Less than 25% of the population of Kazahstan is Russian Orthodox including ethnic Russians, Ukranians and Belarusians. Other religious groups include Judaism, the Baha'i Faith, Hare Krishnas, Buddhists and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When invited to someone's house for dinner, it is polite to bring something for the hostess such as pastries. Practising Muslims do not touch alcohol, so don't give alcoholic beverages unless you know your host drinks. Kazakhs are very hospitable people and enjoy hosting dinners at their homes. You will be served tea and bread even if you are not invited to a meal. Since Kazakhs consider bread to be sacred, serving bread is a sign of respect. When served tea, your cup will often only be filled halfway. To fill the cup would mean that your host wanted you to leave. It's not imperative that you arrive on time, although you should not arrive more than 30 minutes late without telephoning first. |
I WANT A BETTER LIFE... NOW!
ARE YOU LOST OR ARE YOU FOUND?
by Debbie Friedman | |
 It was one of those nights where the clock wasn't in sync with my schedule. As I was finishing getting ready to go out for the evening, the clock was telling me I should already be there. Maybe you've experienced them - those time warps where great chunks dissapear and no one lets you in on the secret until it's too late.
So, I started out late and traffic was heavy. I was confident heading to downtown Los Angeles. After all, this is my city and I'm at home here.
As I took my exit and tried to get to The Standard to celebrate my magnificent friend Elsa, I ran into one obstacle after another. All kinds of roads were barricaded and blocked. I didn't realize the city was set up for the Marathon the next day and, frankly, at that point I didn't care. After several failed attempts, I felt lost even though I could see the neon lights of the restaurant shining bright. Friendly traffic people were out waving me on to go in directions I didn't want to go. I have to be honest here and admit that I waved back at a few of them with a gesture that I haven't used in years.
 I was confused and lost, feeling blocked from my destination. It was right there and I knew it but the traffic gods weren't on my side this night and I was about to give up and go home.
So close and, yet, so far away.
Now, the truth is that I persisted and was guided to the party that night. But as I looked back on this experience, I was amused to see that it was a great metaphor for life.
Sometimes we get lost and confused. We know we're really close to our destination or goal. We can feel it, see it, taste it. We're excited about it and yet, for whatever reasons, our way seems to be blocked and we feel we are being forced to take endless detours.
The simple truth is that sometimes we need to ask for and be willing to receive help. Sometimes we need to be willing to be guided and shown the way. Sometimes we need to be open to the idea that there is a different, better way for us to receive our great good. Sometimes we need to remember to stay teachable.
 Our goal, our destination, our success is right there waiting for us. Though we may be confused, we are never really lost. We just may need to take a deep breath and be willing to go a different way than we had originally planned.
Delay is not denial. Barricades are not impenetrable barriers. We just need to open our eyes to see things from a different perspective, to seek the solution instead of focusing on the problem. We need to have people around us who have been where we're going and are willing to show us the way.
Sometimes on the road of life we become frustrated, angry and confused. We may be ready to give up on our dreams and just turn back to the familiar. In those moments we are almost blinded by the haze of illusion that blocks us from seeing the truth.
We can always make a different choice. When we're on the road of life and are about to give up, that's the precise moment when we may need to take a deep breath, relax and ask for help or guidance. We can acknowledge that we feel confused, admit when we feel lost and yet stand firm in the certainty that our perfect path, our ideal solution, will be found. Holding our vision strong, we can then stand in the faith that we are fully supported and that everything we need will be provided. Absolutely everything.
Because while we know what lies behind us, without the courage to move forward we will never know the miracles and the magic that lies ahead.
Don't leave before the miracles happen. You deserve them! |
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RECIPE OF THE MONTH - Kazakh Lemon Chicken | |
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper, ground
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup green olives, chopped
4 tbsp, lemon rinds minced
Methods:
1. Heat olive oil in a roasting pan and place chicken breast down in the pan
2. Combine ginger, paprika, garlic, onion, nutmeg, saffron, salt and pepper in a bowl
3. Rub this mixture onto the chicken
4. Add water to cover chicken halfway and cook on high temperature until cooked
5. Remove the chicken from pan and bake it under 200°C
6. Bake, uncovered for approximately 30 minutes
7. Turn chicken and continue baking until tender and golden brown approximately for another 25 minutes
8. Move chicken to serving platter
9. Place pan on stove top bring the chicken juices to boil
10. Reduce heat to low simmer for 5 minutes
11. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve |
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"Life is like a game of cards. The hand you were dealt represents determinism; the way you play it is free will"
-Jawaharal Nehru- |
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