Oleh : Khamidah
Sulistiya Rini Nurman (AIYEP 2019)
I
used to live in a strongly communal society which pretty much affected the way
I am treated. In that kind of community, togetherness becomes the most
fundamental principle, other than valuing hierarchical aspect. Then, being far
away from home left me being insecure, would I be able to adapt to the new
environment which culture is totally different from mine? Canberra became the
first place for me to find out the result of the battle between me versus my
insecurity, where I became part of a new family.
Speaking
further about the concept of family, in Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange
Program, the delegates are given the privilege to stay with a family for one
month, which is aimed at letting them experience intercultural exchange through
exposure to a host family. Systematically, the delegates will be placed in the
family with similar visions and interests, meaning that each of them will have
at least two host families for Australia phase, one for the rural phase, and
the other for the city phase. I believe that the stories each delegate creates
when they are living with host families will become the most unforgettable
memories. Mine is quite unique, because I lived with two families at a time.
The
story began after the orientation phase given by AFS done, everybody was picked
up by their host families, having a great afternoon tea while briefly
introducing themselves to each other, but Chiko and I. Of course, the Program
Coordinator had told me about this earlier, but still seeing all of those warm
interactions left me sitting on the table alone uncomfortably. After that
session, Ibu Nenen—the assistant coordinator for Canberra phase— and her family
were to be my host family for the first four days. Surprisingly, Bu Nenen’s
husband and daughter also came to pick us up, what a very heartwarming moment.
I believed that I did not need to worry about my insecurity no more, because Bu
Nenen is Indonesian, but turned out that her husband, Pak John, is an
Australian, and their daughter, Nuala, does not speak Indonesian at all. These
were challenges for me.
Bu
Nenen’s family really prioritize children’s well-being, Nuala never went to bed
later than 8 p.m. Following that, their activities also usually stopped around
9 or 10 p.m. Living this way makes me aware that it is really important giving
proper amount of time for our body to rest, for in the next day the activities
can be done optimally. But, it does not mean that their time of interaction is
less, because based on my observation, they can fully managed their limited
time best, for example while preparing the dinner, not only Bu Nenen cook, but
Pak John and Nuala come to help. They shared how their day was. After dinner, they
managed to play some game with Nuala, sometimes board game, musical instrument,
or simply watching television or Youtube together. This activity is very
wholesome, I believe that this is what also makes the member of the family
getting close to each other, even for me who only spent four days of living
with them, they treat me no different. They cook roast lamb for me, Nuala
taught me some Australian children hype game. I might stay with them for only a
short time, but the moment and memories would last a lifetime.
Afterwards,
I moved to live with my actual host family, The Mitchells. It was just another
surprise I kept getting, because Emily and Tim were quite young mother and
father for Baby Annika, at first I think that this would just be another challenge
for me. Living with the Mitchells taught me how to respect each other culture
as Emily is originally a Singaporean-Chinese and Tim is an Australian. They
showed me how to be equally responsible to take care of Annika. I could also
get a chance to see how a kid is taught at home on the daily basis in
Australia. They taught me how to play various board games in this vast world,
meeting up with their friends, having warm afternoon tea conversation, walked
me to the mini China town in Dickson despite of their busy work time, and letting
me experience the Halloween vibe in our neighborhood; what an experience! At
the end of the day, I cannot thank God enough for this blessing.
Finally
to answer the question in the beginning of this essay about who won the battle,
I would definitely say it was me, not my insecurity. I can conclude that
despite of what culture embodied within you, love and humanity are equally
similar everywhere. Be open to new ways of people embracing their values;
living in two families for Canberra phase had me more aware of this issue.
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