My wife Michelle and I were motivated to be involved in hosting an overseas student after the great experience our daughter Elizabeth had in Indonesia as a part of a student exchange run by the Australia Indonesian Association of Victoria (AIAV). We wanted to give someone a similar experience. Indonesia is the most populous Islamic nation on earth and we were aware that if a student was coming here from there, they most likely would have culture embracing the Islamic faith.
Lina was such a student. We needed to provide Lina with freedom to practise her religion and within that, allow her to experience Australian culture. Lina was a very humble girl and committed to prayer 5 times a day, 10 minutes at a time, at 6am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm and before bed. Lina was always very respectful to both me and Michelle.
The first time we were aware of some cultural differences was when Lizzy asked Lina to put her seatbelt on after we had been driving back from the airport. We had driven all the way to Elizabeth Shopping Centre before realising she was not buckled in. Indonesians don’t wear seatbelts if they are sitting in the back seats.
Lina wanted to experience Aussie food so at dinner we cooked up the usual; meat and three veges, stir fries, pasta etc. Lina would add really hot chilli sauce named Sambal to all her meals. She carried around a stash of sachets of this sauce in her bag, just in case. When it was Macca’s time, Lina would open her burger and add the sauce. We were careful to check the ingredients of food so that Lina would not consume pork. Thankfully beef and chicken were ok.
Lina was not accustomed to doing any homework. The students in Indonesia attend school six days per week with only four weeks of holidays per year. This means they can cover all their work in class. Lina is the best English student in her grade but the slang and accent we use when we talk made it difficult for her to understand us. To help overcome these problems Lizzy would translate some of our conversation. Indonesian dictionaries were always on hand around our home.
Trying to find places to pray whilst on holiday was a challenge. Lina prayed in church offices, libraries, change rooms at shopping centres and in the Whale Centre office. Can’t say she didn’t have variety! We also learned that sixteen year old girls from Indonesia like the same things as sixteen year old girls in Australia, such as boys, facebook, koalas, watching television, taking photos and shopping. They use mobile phones as often, maybe even more, than the girls do here.
Creating a warm home environment is important to the student’s experience, however we didn’t shield Lina from our normal way of life. Lina called Michelle mum during her stay. During our holiday to Mt Gambier as we drove along we sang old popular songs in English. She had to put up with the family dog trying to nudge her and get her attention. She does not like dogs. We invited her to church and understood if she said no. She attended church three times in her stay and people that met her were interested in why she was here. Lina understood her own faith and was able to communicate the reasons she did what she did clearly. She felt no pressure to go to places she didn’t want to.
Our family greatly benefited from hosting an exchange student because we had the opportunity to see the world from a new perspective. We also have insight into the Islamic culture which is talked about so much on television. We learned that the head covering is worn at all times in the home when a male is present, that no pork is allowed to be consumed and that Prayer times must be adhered to.
From the Riverland to Keith, Victor Harbor, Naracoorte and Mt Gambier we met so many fantastic people that wanted to help us find somewhere for Lina to pray. She diligently did the chores we set her around the house and enjoyed her time with the Boaden family at Semaphore.
When she left us at the airport we serenaded with Leaving on a Jetplane (Peter, Paul and Mary). This drew tears from all of us.
Simon Abbot Host Parent
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