To the far ends of the earth

02 April 2008

There’s nothing quite like jetting off to a distant country, living with a host family and going to school with the local children to give you a true sense of understanding and respect for other cultures.

And that’s exactly what Rio Tinto and AFS Intercultural Programs have been doing for WA students over the past few years through international scholarships to more than 50 countries worldwide.

In 2007, during Rio Tinto’s 40th anniversary, one high school student studying Japanese and one university student studying Chinese were awarded scholarships to extend their language skills and experience first-hand the culture of their chosen countries.

Now, as three new Rio Tinto scholarship winners for 2008 embark on their respective journeys, we look back on the life-changing experiences of those who went before them.

Joel Arvidson, from Tom Price, during his year in Japan in 2007:

“I’ve been here for eight months now and I’m enjoying every minute of it. My family and I get along really well - we’ve been having plenty of fun together including visiting a few different sea animal parks during the summer and also camping near a beach. It was great to be able to swim in the ocean when it was so hot outside. We’ve also been to other places in Japan, such as Osaka for some sight-seeing, and in winter we’ll go skiing or ice skating.

School is great - I study hard and I’m having a great time with the other students trying to make some new friends. My time out of school is spent very well so that I am always learning in one way or another. After school I’m usually studying, otherwise I go with another AFS student to the shops and cinemas to learn Japanese through movies.

When I don’t do either of these I spend time with a Japanese friend who studies English at a high level. She’s very friendly, so we help each other by having conversations for speaking practice which we enjoy very much.

I was recently in Tokyo for a week which was awesome and I did lots of sight-seeing and a bit of shopping. School in Tokyo was great fun - it’s amazing in size and it’s where the imperial family attends school. My Tokyo host family is great - all members of the family speak English. The mother was an exchange student in the east of Australia, the daughter was in Wisconsin for a year, the son is in America and the father is the sports manager of NHK television.

I’m doing well here; I’m healthy and happy, although I’m a little cold now it’s becoming winter! I would like to come back some time in the future either for business or holidays. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity and until next time Merry Christmas.”

Roslyn Stephens, from Perth, during her 10 month stay in China in 2007:

“This is Roslyn Stephens saying 'ni hao' (hello) from Beijing. I'm here to continue my mandarin Chinese studies at a university and have the added bonus of practicing my new-found skills with the locals. I have just finished my first semester and I’m having the time of my life. So much has happened since I touched down in Beijing almost six months ago that it's hard to keep up with it myself!

Having already visited China in 2005 to teach English as part of my Arts degree, and in 2006 as part of my International Business degree, the first thought I had when I got off the plane was ‘It's China air. I'm back! I'm back!’

Since I arrived at night the second thing I noticed were the piles of rubbish along the gutters. Miraculously, they're clean and empty in the morning. At night there are crews who clean the streets with brooms that look like they've been plucked from the nearest tree!

Being 22 and older than the average AFS scholarship participant, I was allowed to explore the country between my first and final semesters. So, in total I have explored at least 20 provinces in China. Everywhere I went I was greeted by breathtaking scenery of rain-forested foggy mountains, winding crystal clear rivers and orange sunrises.

For the second month of my holidays I’m staying with a host family in Beijing (I'll later be moving back to the university campus). They are lovely and very accommodating. They're originally from Hunan province, which is well known for its spicy food. Back home I'm not the biggest fan of spicy food but now I eat it every day and I’m enjoying it more and more.

But the most memorable dishes I've eaten would have to be fish eyeballs, pan fried scarab / lawn beetles, starfish on a stick, horse milk wine, whole ducklings, snake wine and fermented tofu (a bit like blue vein cheese but smellier and squishier). I’ve probably inadvertently eaten a few other gastronomic delights but I think I'd rather live in the bliss of my ignorance!

There are so many things I'm learning about Chinese culture. For example, in the beginning every time I got onto a bus the driver would scream at me in incomprehensible Chinese before I learnt you're supposed to get on at the back and get off at the front.

Also the word 'queue' obviously doesn't have a direct translation. It usually feels like a scrum as people are climbing over each other to get to the front. Of course once I learnt this is completely socially acceptable I joined in with my extra height and weight coming in handy! It's actually heaps of fun and a bit of a stress reliever to legally jostle around and shove people out of the way.

Taking part in this great adventure was made possible thanks to Rio Tinto after one of my Murdoch University lecturers told me about their fantastic scholarship program and further suggested I make contact to see if an internship could be arranged during my holidays.

The highlight of my internship has been visiting one of Rio Tinto's biggest clients. I went with my boss, my boss's boss and my boss's boss's boss! So I felt very lucky to be in the company of such influential people. Hopefully, after I finish university next year I'll be working for Rio Tinto or even return to China to work for the company!

Though I'm missing home the thought of going back to my normal life brings quite a sinking feeling. China is an amazing country and I feel very 'special' here. I now know how movie stars feel because everywhere I go I get unashamedly stared at. Even when you glare back people just keep staring!”

Hayley Wilson, from Karratha, after her intensive program in Spain in 2008:

“Travelling to Spain for two months was the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life and will definitely not be forgotten. Here’s how it began...

On 9 December I said my goodbyes to family and friends at Perth International Airport and boarded my first of many flights on my way to Barcelona. Altogether I spent about 30 hours flying from Perth to Barcelona (major jetlag!!!).

When I arrived in Bangkok on my way to Barcelona I met up with four other Australian exchange students from the east coast: Valentina, Dani, Sam and Leigh. In Barcelona we were greeted by an AFS volunteer, Daniel, who was our supervisor for a 10 day camp at the beginning of our exchange.

I met people from all over the world including South Africa, Malaysia, Finland, Sweden, America and Thailand and got to see things many people can only imagine, including Barcelona Cathedral, La Ramblas, The Olympic Stadium, Parc Guell, Tibidabo amusement park, Barca Stadium (Camp Nou) and Pablo Picasso’s museum.

The end of the camp was full of both sadness and excitement - we were leaving each other but we were going to our host families. Going into my host family was a bit scary! I was worried whether they would like me and whether I’d be understood as I didn’t speak a lot of Spanish. This soon faded when my host dad, Gabi, and I arrived at the house and I instantly bonded with my host mum, Roser, my host dad and my two host sisters Monica (20) and Alba (15). They were the nicest people I could have imagined and for two months they were my family.

The next day, Alba took me to my Spanish school for the first time. She was so excited to show me to her friends. They all wanted to try to speak English and the questions didn’t stop coming. They asked things like ‘have you ever seen a kangaroo or koala?’ or ‘is your toilet in your house or is it in a room outside?’ To be honest I was fascinated about how much they wanted to learn about me and Australia.

My host family and extended family took me to Madrid before Christmas. It was so beautiful but so cold! We went to see the government buildings and other touristy things like the Prado art museum. Also in Madrid I got to see snow for the first time. It wasn’t what I expected - not as soft and much colder.

There are not many words to describe how amazing Christmas and New Year in Spain was. Their customs are very different to ours - they celebrate two Christmases and for New Year they have a funny custom of putting grapes in your mouth every time the clock strikes. You end up with 12 grapes in your mouth and your cheeks looking like a squirrel collecting acorns.

My host family are the most wonderful people I’ve met, besides my own family! They did everything possible to make my short time in Spain absolutely amazing. They opened their home to me and accepted all the culture I brought with me. They wanted to learn all about me and Australia, while at the same time they taught me about themselves and Spain. In the time I spent with them, I have established a life-long friendship.”