• Quick summary | 
• The host community: 
• The women (and the men) | 
• Map | 
• Who stays with who | 
• With the family: 
• The family | 
• At home | 
• Toothbrush | 
• Cultural exchange | 
• Homes & houses: 
• The kitchen | 
• Other facilities | 
• Decorations | 
• The Tanjung Parigi water problem. | 
• Food: 
• Pride | 
• Village cooking | 
• A typical meal | 
• For pork-lovers only | 
• A birthday Party | 
• Eating separately | 
• On the boat | 
• Appetite | 

The host community

With the key members of the community of Tanjung Parigi village, several months before the first program, when we made the initial discussions.

The women (and the men)

The women (above) are masters of the household when it comes the homestays.

The men seem to take a more peripheral role.

Map

...of the homestays, more or less to scale

Who stays with who

This is the name list on the previous map enlarged. It reads: No.1 Hironobu, Youmei (Japanese students); Roger (Indonesian student); staying at Ponto’s (homestay host).

One Japanese and one Indonesian student is the usual ratio.

With the family

Many of our homestay hosts have children that are no longer at home, but living on the mainland where they go to high school, or college.

They welcome a young Japanese as they would their own children and seem enjoy the experience as much as we do.

The family

Whatever the cultural differences, homestay families are pretty much like any other family.

At home

Homestays get better after a few days, when the guest and the host family establish get used to each other.

I can think of no safer place for students stay than a homestay.

Toothbrush

I just like this photo

Cultural exchange

I usually do not have to put much input into cultural exchanges.

Young people in southeast Asia are more and more interested in modern Japanese culture.

It still surprises me sometimes to see how well origami still works as an icebreaker.

Homes & houses

The kitchen

Kitchens in Tanjung Parigi are simple. Some use gas, others firewood.

Other facilities

The essential rooms of some of the houses we stayed in.

Decorations

Rooms are usually decorated with religious pictures, a television, or cabinets full of miscellaneous ornaments.

The Tanjung Parigi water problem.

All water has to be carried from the wells.

Food

... is one of the fundamentals of homestay.

Home-cooking, in spite of what many people think, is far safer, more nutritious and hygienic than most restaurants.

Pride

At the farewell party and other group events, the women get to show case their cooking, and are keen to hear feedback from the guests.

Village cooking

A sampling of the sort of food we get.

Manado is known for its murderously spicy sauces, but mercifully it is usually presented separately and those of us with less fortified stomachs can add lots, little or none to the main dish.

A typical meal

Would look like this.

The tomato salad thing in the front is a the delicious and spicy “dabu dabu”, a Manado speciality.

For pork-lovers only

Pigs are everywhere in Bunaken, and are the favorite food at festive events.

A birthday Party

... occurs on average once or twice every program.

Eating separately

Most, but not all families tend to feed the guests before they eat themselves.

On the boat

There are times when we need to eat out on the boat, rather than come all the way back to the homestays for lunch.

We arranged an excellent system of lunch delivery by the homestay hosts which worked magnificently.

Appetite

Water activities fuel a huge appetite.

Keeping the stomachs full is a good way to maintain the health of the group, and prevent fatigue-related accidents