Spending your school holiday the homestay way

By Christiani S.A. Tumelap

JAKARTA (JP): Imagine yourself studying English three hours a day, five days a week and spending most of the remaining hours of each day barbecuing on the beach, shopping, playing sport, or visiting some stunning tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney's Opera House, or New York's Empire State Building.

And imagine yourself coming home from an almost one month trip, worth at least US$2,000 (Rp 4.8 million): speaking better English, having a lot of new friends, and greater independence.

This is what you'll probably experience if you go on a homestay program during a long school holiday.

A second year student at the private Islamic Al Izhar junior high school in South Jakarta, Anom Trisnayara, has been on two homestay programs.

Anom first went to Sydney when she was still in primary school. Last year she went to Bognor Regis, England, and took a discovery tour to Paris and Amsterdam.

The 14-year-old girl said she enjoyed the program. "It was really fun and exciting. I met a lot of people and saw many things," Anom said.

Her last trip to England with English First (EF) cost her father US$3,800.

Cathy Paat, a program coordinator for the English course and the homestay program service company EF, said most parents whose children go on the program were very impressed with the positive changes in their childrens' behavior.

"Many parents told us that their children have become more responsible for themselves ever since they went on the homestay programs. And of course, their progress in English was the most easily recognized change," Cathy said.

EF offers three-week language travel and homestay programs in various countries, including Australia, Canada, England and the United States, for students aged between 11 and 19.

Students' favorite choices are Oxford and Cambridge in England as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles in America.

Participants of this year's holiday homestay program are scheduled to depart on June 22. Soon after they arrive at their destinations, they will take the placement test to determine their level at the EF school.

The three-week English course homestay ranges from $2,590 to Perth and $3,390 to Boston. It includes 20 hours of English classes per week, a certificate and academic report, accommodation and three meals a day with native-speaker families, and return tickets. A total cover health insurance is available for $65.

An additional discovery tour costs between $490 for five days in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and $980 for a nine day trip through Paris, Nice, Monaco and Geneva.

While America and England are the favorite destinations for EF participants, Australia, particularly Sydney, is the most popular choice for holidaymakers who join the Dian Educasindo's homestay programs.

A company official, Cendra, said the students like Sydney for its fine weather as well as its lively and modern surroundings.

A three-week homestay program to Sydney costs US$2,295. It includes two meals a day, accommodation with an Australian family, tour guide, 15 hours of English classes at the Australian Academy plus a certificate of completion, and a return ticket.

It doesn't include airport tax, fiscal, tips, visa, entrance fees into tourist spots, or other personal expenditures. A total cover health insurance is available at $41.

Commenting on the high cost of the program, Mellisa Siswanto, 17, said the large amount of money one should pay for the program had made many people see it as an exclusive program for the "haves".

"I can understand if some people think that way. It should be made more affordable to all students by, for instance, setting up an academic competition for students and giving free homestay trips to the winners," Mellisa said.

Mellisa went on an EF homestay program last year to Cambridge, about one hour by train from London, and chose Florence, Italy, for her discovery tour. She paid at least $3,500 for the whole program.

The second year student of the Santa Theresia high school said going on a homestay program had taught her a lot besides mastering the language.

"The most valuable thing I got from joining the program was self-improvement," Mellisa said.

She said at first she was shocked because the house and its dwellings fell short of her expectations. "The house was a mess. It was very small and musty. And I couldn't stand my host parents smoking around me," Mellisa said.

She had planned to ask EF to move her to another host family, but then decided to stay and settle the problem.

"I told them I couldn't stand the smoke and asked if they could smoke outside the house. And to my surprise, their responses were excellent. We've got along very well ever since," Mellisa said.

Cathy said problems between students and their host families usually only occurred in the first few days of their arrival.

"Most of the problems were just about the differences in their habits and perceptions of things. We tried to anticipate such conflict by screening the students' interests prior to their departure," Cathy said.

So, if you are interested in spending the coming holiday the homestay way -- and have enough money in your pocket -- just rush to any office which provides the programs.

But if for some reason, you could not go on this holiday, don't despair. You can always imagine yourself enjoying the best moments of your school holiday at the end of the year. (cst)