A story from Perth!

Hi everyone
Do you remember Fajri Usman? He is Bangka Belitung delegation for Australia-Indonesia YEP. Couple days ago, he sent us a link to his writing on AIYEP website. So, we'll be really glad to share you his story in Perth. Here you go...........

The Unexpectedly Amazing Weekend

"Is everyone ready? We need to leave in 10 minutes as we gotta

pick Ryan at Hillarys first before we go to South Perth Park", said Agnes, my host Mom, to me and my host sister, Emily, who were being lazy that whole day”. “Yeaaaah,” Emily and I moved reluctantly from our comfortable couches and started to get ready. "Oh come on guys, be excited, there would be a lot of 'giant' games they said", told Mom to cheer us up.

"I'm too tired to play any game, Mommy", replied Emily and I added, "Yeah, I seriously don't feel like socializing with many new people today, Mom." Mom ignored us, kept preparing the salad we were requested to bring to the picnic and made us left the house afterwards.
Last Sunday, November 2, 2014, was the big picnic day organized by our local coordinator, in which all participants, host families, program alumni, and people from the Indonesian Consulate General of the City of Perth were all cordially invited to come.
When we were done picking up Ryan, we went straight to the park and along the way I still tried to convince our Mom that we don’t have to come if we don’t feel like coming, that we actually could just drive back home instead. Mom told us that she’s also not feeling quite well at the moment but she has already RSVP us all and it is impolite to cancel it at the very last minute. So, we kept going.


Once we have arrived at the park, it took quite some time for us to find the venue because it was actually such a very large park. When we have found the venue, everyone welcomed us with their brightest and most friendly smiles. I started to feel even more comfortable when some of the other host families warmly approached us to get to know each other better. Moreover, when Mom and I went to get some refreshment we were surprised that there were so many Indonesian food we’ve been craving such as Bakso, Mie Ayam, Risoles, Onde-Onde, and all. They were so heavenly that Mom said she was so happy that we decided to come and I totally agreed with her.

Emily, Ryan, and I suddenly forgot that we were tired and felt lazy as we played many games together with all the other host families. My AIYEP team also got to show to all the attendees a medley of Indonesian traditional songs and Saman dance which we have always been so proud to show off. I was so happy that all the people loved our performances and had such a good time. At that moment, I could clearly see how everyone is trying to embrace such a cross-cultural understanding which is also the main goal this program aims to build.


We laughed and had so much fun together regardless of our different cultural, educational, and social backgrounds. It was so beautiful. I was so grateful at that moment and silently thanked AIYEP for giving me such a golden opportunity to be a part of this amazing program. Moral of the story is that sometimes decision you half-heartedly took in life can always surprise you and turn your perception on many things at such a different level ;)

See ya in my other story, mate!