By Honorary Reporter Alivia Namira Arundina from Indonesia
Photos = Alivia Namira Arundina

The cultures of Korea and Indonesia have marked differences especially in areas such as food and respect for elders. Such traits, however, posed no obstacles between Han Ji-won, a former exchange student from Korea, and me, a native of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. 

Our friendship started in 2014 after my family was chosen to host an exchange student. At the time, I was just 15 and didn't know about this homestay program. My cousin, however, was attending university and knew of various events of this kind being held. Knowing that my parents and I had always wanted to enhance my English skills, my cousin introduced our family to the program. This is how Ji-won came to live with us for a short period. I was surprised to see that she looked just like characters I saw on Korean dramas. 



Ji-won brought us lots of gifts from Korea like a Girls' Generation notepad (I told her a huge fan of the group in messages we exchanged before meeting in person), a traditional Korean purse for my mother and a pack of specialty Korean coffee. My mom cooked her traditional Indonesian food, and I found it odd that Ji-won liked sambal terasi (fried shrimp paste sambal). 

One day, my mom cooked garlic kale mixed with terasi (shrimp paste) and tempeh (mildly fermented soybean cake) as a side dish. Afraid that Ji-won might not like it, she cooked spaghetti Bolognese with grilled cheese. To our surprise, Ji-won mixed those two dishes and liked it a lot. 



When the Islamic festival Eid Mubarak (Blessed Feast) arrived, Ji-won extended her stay to join us as mudik, a term describing Muslims returning to their hometowns for the festival. She got to taste (and loved) signature Indonesian foods like rendang (coconut beef stew), ketupat (rice wrapped in coconut leaves) and opor ayam (chicken cooked in coconut milk and mixed with spices). Ji-won also learned to eat with her hands instead of chopsticks and spoons. She greatly respected our culture, and though it might've been hard to accept a culture entirely different from her own, she never gave us a weird look and always got along with my family.



Our friendship didn't end with her eventual return home. My family visited Korea in 2018, and Ji-won was glad to be our guide. She took us to many places including her home, where we met her family. Her luxurious home was at least three times larger than mine. Surprisingly, Ji-won thought that my house was cozy and comfortable.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented us from seeing each other since, but I hope to hang out with Ji-won again. My family considers it an honor to have hosted her during her homestay in Sumatra and views her as part of our family.

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.