A taste of Asia

By Emma Sun
THREE families of Charles Conder Place in Berwick opened their hearts and homes to share the Aussie way of life with Thailand and Japanese exchange students who studied at Beaconhills College.
One of the host mums, Aggie Horvath, said she found out about hosting an exchange student through word of mouth.
“One lady whose son attends the school told us the school is always after host families,” Ms Horvath said.
“So we took on a girl and another lady took on two girls.”
It was a learning curve for both parties, with the Smith/Horvath, Papadopoulos and Quinn families learning about the cultures of their exchange students and the students attempting to learn as much English as possible.
The students stayed between 9 and 12 weeks and did a variety of activities including playing football and cricket with the local children as well as checkng out all the tourist attractions.
Ms Horvath’s family took their Japanese exchange student, 15-year-old Eriko, to many places.
“We did Puffing Billy, went down to Inverloch, went to Lysterfield National Park to see kangaroos, went to the Melbourne Zoo and drove around the Grand prix circuit,” Ms Horvath said.
“We also did girly things and went shopping at Chadstone. She enjoyed everything and was just amazed by the open space in Australia and the extent of greenery.
“She was willing to try everything. She had a meat pie and loved it and she gave vegemite a go.”
Ms Horvath said it was a fantastic experience for everybody involved.
“It was a really pleasurable experience and we were really happy to learn about their culture. It’s a lifetime friendship that forms from it.”