Youngsters enjoy homestay programs

Youngsters enjoy homestay programs

JAKARTA (JP): "I hope I meet Brandon and Brenda when I go to
Los Angeles," 16-year-old Penny Juwita exclaimed while attending
a briefing with her chaperon at the LIA Foundation last weekend.

Brandon (played by actor Jason Priestly) and Brenda (Shanen
Doherty) are favorite characters from the famous TV series
Beverly Hills, which is very popular among teenagers worldwide.

Like many other youngsters, Penny believes all of America is
identical to Hollywood, a place where people may easily bump into
their favorite movie stars.

Penny Juwita is a year-two student at SMA 70 high school in
Jakarta. She is one of a group of participants from a four-week
Homestay program, organized by LIA, which will take place at the
California Riverside University, in the United States from June
19 to July 19.

"Taking part in the homestay will be very interesting. I can
study English and, at the same time, I can spend my holidays in
some beautiful places," Penny explained.

But, she admitted, she felt a little apprehensive about her
foster parents and teachers.

"I am afraid that we will not be able to communicate properly
because my English is not very good," Penny sighed.

Martopo, Penny's mother, considers the homestay program
important in giving students an opportunity to learn other
languages and cultures. "The most important thing is to train
students to be more independent and responsible," Martopo said.

She said that she had heard of the homestay program from her
relatives and friends, whose children have taken part in the
program. But lack of funds has prevented Martopo from including
her children in previous programs. "Now, we have enough money and
fortunately one of Penny's cousins is also joining this program,"
Martopo said.

Admitting that she was feeling a little anxious as her
daughter's departure draws nearer, Martopo said she has to
encourage her daughter.

Another parent, Yenny Mudianti Budiman, also expressed mixed
feelings. Safitri Milasari is her only daughter. "Sometimes, she
acts like a baby. I hope that the program will give her an
opportunity to be more independent," Yenny said. She added that
she investigated homestay programs organized by various travel
agencies, but that she finally chose to join the one organized by
LIA.

"The LIA homestay program is quite well organized. The
schedules are precise and the most important thing is that my
daughter will also have fun. After all, it's her school holiday,"
she said.

Damai Median, 16, and her sister, who is a year older, went to
Cambridge, England, last year. They are going to San Francisco
later this month for a similar program. Their younger brother is
going to Sydney. All are arranged by the Education First
International School.

"Our parents encourage us to join the programs, saying it is a
good way to spend our holidays," she said.

Education First charges each student US$3,950 for a three-week
homestay program in San Francisco. When Damai and her sister went
to England last year, they were charged about $3,500 each.

Damai said the greatest advantage of joining the program was
that she could improve her English and have the valuable
experience of living overseas. And she could learn to be
independent.

Damai plans to take part in a similar program in Australia
next year.

"God willing, I want to continue my studies in Australia after
graduating from senior high school," she said.

Damai, who is in her first year at Muhamadiyah senior high
school, said that there were 43 students in her group, who went
to Cambridge last year.

"We were divided into three classes and studied English in a
hotel. I forget the name of the hotel," she said.

The course was held three hours a day, four or five days a
week, for three weeks.

Damai was away for four weeks, which included a four-day
sightseeing trip to Paris. She called her parents every other day
"so they would not worry."

In Cambridge, Damai, together with three other students, one
from Indonesia, one from Sweden and one from Italy, stayed with
an English family.

"My host family thought Bali was in Singapore. I had to make
great efforts to convince them that it is in Indonesia," Damai,
who still corresponds with her host family, recalled.

The only bad experience during her stay in Europe was when she
lost her wallet while watching the famous Picadilli Circus in
London.

Bernadette, 22, a student at the Atmajaya Catholic University,
joined the homestay program when she was still in high school.
Five years later, the memory is still fresh in her mind.

"It was my mother's idea. It was recommended to her by a
friend, whose daughter had taken a summer course in Australia,"
she said.

Bernadette registered at the Dian Educasindo education agency
for the homestay program in Australia.

"But there were only three people who registered for the
program in Australia, while the minimum number of students in a
group is ten. They asked me if I would go to America and I
agreed," she said.

Along with about 20 other students, Bernadette went to
California, where they participated in a three-week course at the
International English Institute in Fresno, California. The
students were divided into two groups.

"I thought there would be students from other countries in my
class but it turned out that all the students were Indonesian,"
she said.

Her new classmates were students who had gone to the United
States under the arrangements of the Jakarta-based Hai youth
magazine.

She studied English for three hours in the mornings.

"The first weekend we went to the Yosemite National Park. We
spent the second weekend in San Francisco, and on the third
weekend, we went to Los Angeles, as well as Disneyland and
Universal Studios," she said.

Bernadette, and another Indonesian female student, stayed in
Clovis, a small town closed to Fresno, with a single parent and
her nine-year-old daughter. Even though she had not been informed
about the condition of her host family, Bernadette said she was
not surprised to know that she would live with a divorcee.

"I know there are many single parents in America," she said.

When she returned to Indonesia, Bernadette tried to keep in
touch with her host family, who had been very nice to her.

"But they did not answer my letter. My ex-roommate said they
did not answer her letter, either. From time to time they
received students who went there under the homestay program. I
guess it was routine for them, so they were not enthusiastic
about writing back," she said. (raw/sim)