Shoot the best, Richard! We are all with you...

Di bawah ini adalah korespondensi kami dengan seorang siswa yang kami sponsori untuk YEP (Youth Exchange Program), Richard Timothy yang saat ini berada di Wisconsin. Suka dan duka ada dalam sharingnya. Well...life is about balance anyway. Move on Richard!

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Hallo Richard,
How are you?

I am fine here. The word "fine" doesn't necessesarily mean everything is okay, but it means "nothing to worry about". I've been in Eau Claire, Wisconsin since 25 August 2007 and it means it's almost a month. My school started at Sept.4, so I will tell my first impression of America and its people's life.

I noticed that there is a similarity between American teenagers (high-school students) and "Americanized" Indonesian student which I found a lot in Jakarta). The thing that I want to mention is not a positive thing. When I was in grade 10 in my old school in Sentul, Bogor, of all the students in my grade one student appeared to be different because she's an American-the only American student in our school to the best as my knowledge. She's fat, ugly, stinky, and basically she is a "misfit" in our society. She was excluded from the social life amongst my friends and although all of my friends know that she cried a lot and stressed out too, my friends seem didn't care about her at all, by any means, by any ways.
I found out later that this society-I called it-an Americanized Indonesian society.

While this is not my case, some parts of it are true. I have to admit that the tendency such exclusion are huge in my high school. I guess because there are a lot of foreign exchange student in our school (not through the Rotary), so in their mind they think that foreign exchange student is common. So, they are not interested in meeting foreign exchange student from other country. In my high school, I know a student from Thailand (if I'm right), three students from China, two students from Germany, and one student from Indonesia (Raditya Hermawan), he's living with his brother in his rented house but he doesn't seem happy to meet me as an Indonesian (perhaps this case is rare, because he should be happy to meet another Indonesian in a foreign country) He's been living in US for 2 years and this is the third year.

This is the fact about life in America. American colleges are most probably good, but it doesn't have to be the case in high school life. They are pure individualists who care of their ownselves and not for others - and this is true for the teacher too. I am not welcomed by some of the teachers, although I have to admit that some of them are a little bit friendly.
That is the end of the school's story.

My host family is probably not the greatest host family of all, but they are pretty decent. They are responsible in term of giving food and shelter only. Perhaps this is because someone from Rotary offered them to be a host family, instead of they wanted to host a student. I don't know iwhether every American behave like Therese McCall (Teri McCall) or not. They seemed to be angry when I don't understand what they said. (Actually they should talk slower and not louder so that I can understand them). In simple words, they are treating me just like a guest.
My host mother also pretend me as a person who comes from a village and cannot use a microwave(!) this is such a rude thing that offended me.

"You put too much milk in your cereal. Don't you have cereals in Indonesia?!" (she wasn't yelling, but using the yelling tone) - Of course we have cereal in Indonesia. It's up to me how much milk I wanted.

"Never mind" - are two words that I hate because I want to learn what they're saying to me. Don't say "never mind" when I don't understand you for only 2 times you've said it.. You should be proud when someone wants to learn your language, don't they?

"You're wasting our electricity! (she is YELLING at me) We don't turn the light on in summer unless someone's in room" - for an Indonesian, this sentence is extremely rude. How can a host mother like Teri McCall say that sentence when I forgot to turn off the light??

"Hey, where have you been? People (my friends) were coming out 5 minutes ago!" (She is YELLING at me) - what an unpatient woman! she's not a real mother. How can she is troubled just to wait for me for 5 minutes? It's ridiculous.

They don't allow me to just take a look at their bedroom (!)

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

But, there are many good things to say too:

1. Until this second, there has not been any warning about the use of computer - although I almost use it everyday for at least 1 hour.
2. I have my own room and my own bathroom.
3. They give me enough food, although I eat twice as much as my host family did, my weight is not increasing at all.
4. The air is very clear (compared to Jakarta)
5. The water is very clean, you can drink water directly from the sink. The word "Eau Claire" are derived from French which means "Clean Water".
6. The city is small and lightly populated. With an area that is much larger than Jakarta, Eau Claire County is only populated by around 62,000 people. There are a lot of green open-spaces which are beautiful to see as a refreshment.
7. The time needed to go to school is only 11 minutes by car, so I can have more sleep in the morning.
8. The classes are easy and I don't have serious and significant trouble in understanding my teacher's speeches.
9. I don't need a sweatshirt or jacket to deal with 20 degree Celcius or below, my body has developed a "resistance"
10. The major road that exist our neighborhood surround a golf course (Princeton Valley Golf Course), so I can walk for 2 miles while breathing clean air. It's also take us a minute to go to the golf course by car.
11. I give thanks because I will find out a lot more positive things to add this small list.