WHY VISITING INDONESIA IN TODAY'S WORLD?
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Pictures of Borobudur temple and mount Bromo |
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As the largest archipelago with around 17,000 islands and the fourth most populous nation in the world, Indonesia has 931 ethnic groups, from the Acehnese in the northern most part of Sumatra Island to the Asmat tribes in the Irian Island. Each ethnic group has a culture of its own, with different customs and traditions, arts and 731 languages are spoken, but “Bahasa Indonesia” is being used as the national language. Indonesia truly a country of uniqueness, its diversity makes Indonesia offers a wide range of challenging experiences for you!
Indonesia is not an Islamic state but 88% of Indonesians are Muslims; the followers of this religion can be found everywhere in the country, you can see that the practice of Islamic belief and values colors the daily life, while the Protestants, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists and Konghuchus also has the freedom to worship as guaranteed by the state. In some part of Indonesia religion became the basic norms of society.
Despite the various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, Indonesians have learned to live together harmoniously. They are knows to be friendly and easy to get to know, interpersonal relationships mean a lot. Respect for each other and tolerance are important characteristics of the people.
In today's world Indonesian with its values is expected to make a contribution in international understanding more than ever.
AFS PROGRAM IN INDONESIA
The AFS program started in Indonesia in 1956. Today, more than 1,300 students from various countries have been hosted by Indonesian families. Since 1985 AFS in Indonesia has operated in association with Bina Antarbudaya. The Indonesian Foundation for Intercultural Learning.
The recent happenings in today's world made us believe that a better understanding within people from different countries became the most important to be bridged. We further believe that today's youth are tomorrow's leaders and are among the best “bridge builders” between nations.
Bina Antarbudaya has a network of 15 chapters throughout the country. The volunteers are people of various ages and backgrounds, all familiar with the importance of cross culture matters. Bina Antarbudaya works closely with the Indonesian government and foreign embassies, as well as organizations, schools, and communities, to promote the goals of AFS.
HOST FAMILY IN INDONESIA
We want to host more and more students. There is a strong AFS spirit among host families to welcome the AFS students with much enthusiasm as well as anticipation. Host families host for various reasons; for intercultural learning, a new friend for their children, or just for international friendship. Host families found hosting as a unique opportunity.
Being as AFS student and a true member to a new family requires a great deal of maturity, insight, patience and sensitivity. It will be a big challenge to overcome the cultural barriers and differences of opinions. But as in other countries, or even at home, the way to successfully get along happily will be through “give and take”.
This is an ideal opportunity to begin exploring the many fascinations of integrated communities, religions and way of living in Indonesia.
SCHOOL IN INDONESIA
Attending school is an important part of being as AFS student in Indonesia. It is a good opportunity to experience a different educational system, making new friends and at the same time, among other things, learn and practice your “Bahasa Indonesia”.
Indonesia school year starts in July and finished in mid-June. There are two semesters, with an in-between break in December.
Most AFS students are placed in the 2 nd or 3 rd grade of Senior High School.
“When AFS gave me the opportunity to live one year abroad, I decided I wanted to go to a place as much as possible different from my home country Germany. And ended up spending one year as an exchange student in Indonesia! It was one of the most important and most fascinating years of my life and has influenced almost everything I do ever since.
Living in a completely different culture for a whole year was a fantastic experience. Of course I learned lots about Indonesia (and South East Asia in general), studied the language, the culture, the religion, learned traditional dancing and picked up some Karate, made lots of friends inside and outside school and had a fantastic time. But at least as fascinating to me was learning so much about myself and my own culture by looking at Europe from the outside!
My AFS-year really has had profound and long term effects on my life. The AFS-year in high school definitely was one of the major triggers for this: a fantastic experience that I very much recommend to everyone”. (by Irja Berg, Hosting Student-Makassar'86-87)