AFS

• To support and promote intercultural

exchange between Young West

Australians and youth from across the

globe.

• To inform and communicate as best as

we can all the information that you

need as an applicant, exchange

student, student volunteer, host

family or returnee.

2011

AFS

WA

Our

objective:

Send offs,

Returnees, and new

arrivals - the AFS

exchange cycle is

ongoing in 2012!

On February 26, we had

a pleasing turnout at the

AFS Returnees Picnic,

where year, semester and

short program returnees,

including Claire, Bonnie,

Tessa, Alex, Kieran and

Grace were all keen to

talk about their overseas

experience as well as

their pending start to

their University Studies

in Perth.

Also returning to WA

were the 38 JENESYS

scholarship winners, who

spent a 17-day short

program to ‘Experience

Japan’ thanks to the

generosity of the Japanese

Government.

Just days before our

returnees picnic, however,

AFS WA welcomed 12 new

arrivals who landed in

Perth on the 23 of

February for their Year

and Semester programs.

And, thanks to the

generosity of the AFS host

families in both Perth and

the country, these new

arrivals have found homes

in Perth, Bunbury,

Busselton, Albany,

Pinjarra, Bridgetown,

Katanning and Geraldton.

Our new arrivals herald

from Germany, Japan,

Switzerland, Denmark,

Guatemala, Belgium and

Canada, and we are looking

forward to sharing their

experiences and stories!

But lets not forget

those excited WA students

who also just left for

their AFS adventures

abroad. A large

contingent left WA in

January and February for

their exchange programs in

Italy, France, Germany,

Latvia, Argentina and

China.

We are looking forward

to a fantastic 2012 in AFS

WA, with returnees sharing

their experiences and

volunteering to help at

camps. We also look

forward to hearing from

both the foreign students

presently in WA as well as

the WA students who are

Inside this

issue:

Volunteering with AFS 2

CALENDAR of EVENTS 3

Information nights 3

Returnees Write... 4

Hosting News 5

Who’s Who in AFSWA 6

AFS 2011 returnees at the South Beach Returnees

Reunion, February 26, 2012. JENESYS departures

and homestay.

2012 Autumn Issue -

April

West Australia’s AFS info

guide

For enquiries and questions,

contact:

afs.wa@afs.org

WA

AFS WA - In WA and Around the

World

How you can

volunteer with AFS

1. Write an article for

this newsletter! Include

some photos and words, and

it may be published! If you

would like to tell us about

your AFS expereince , send

your details to

Newsletter coordinator at

afs.wa@afs.org

2. Share your photos and

experience at a local AFS

support Group meeting. To

do this, contact your local

AFS support group or :

afs.wa@afs.org

3. Support a student or host

family during their exchange

period - this involves a

phone call or meeting for a

cuppa once per month and is

one of the most important

things we need to do to help

make AFS exchange programs a

success. Contact Shannon or

Joyce at afs.wa@afs.org

4. Help out at one of the

Discovery, Orientation, or

other campsand get togethers

. As a returnee or AFS

parent, you have already

experienced AFS and have

lots to share with new

students and their families.

You can gain experience and

skills as a group leader -

What a great addition to

your CV for your future

career. If this interests

you, contact: Marion or

Bianca at afs.wa@afs.org

5. Help with interviews for

prospective AFS exchange

students or host families.

Parents who have hosted or

sent students on exchange

and older returnees are

encouraged in this area. A

great way to meet new

families and reap the

rewards of helping the next

young person on their AFS

journey. Contact: Marion

or Joyce at:

afs.wa@afs.org

May is Recruitment

Month - Can you

volunteer a couple of

hours? As you can see on the calendar on

Page 3, May is focused on the Careers

Expo and Information Nights.

As returnees, or parents of hosted

students or returnees, you are in the

perfect position to share your

experience, provide information, and

help new AFS applicants on their

journey.

Volunteering at an AFS event is not

only a wonderful way to ‘give back’, it

is also an ongoing way to add to the

skills and experience that the AFS

program has given you and your

family.

More and more, educational

institutions and future employers are

looking at the contributions that

applicants make towards their

community. Consider building your

resume and sharing your AFS

experience at one of the information

nights, helping to staff the AFS booth

at the Careers Expo. - We need you

to be there to chat with young people

and their parents about exchange, all

the information will be provided for

you.

Just a couple of hours over the first

weekend in May at the convention

centre and at one of the four

information nights would be

fantastic!

Contact Felix our exchange volunteer

who is coordinating these events at

felix.wunderlich@afs.org or leave

your details at afs.wa@afs.org .

If you can help later when we have

applicants to interview and camps to

prepare applicants for their exchange

or host families and students to

interview and support we would also

love to hear from you.

Our WA sending coordinator, Marion

and Joyce who coordinates hosting in

WA always need people for their

teams.

Keep this date for AFS

Volunteer Training weekend

16th and 17th June

Volunteer at Camp: You could

have fun with AFS students

such as these at the next mid

stay camp-

From Helen Mein, AFS WA State Chair

AFS

WA

calenda

r

Look for

AFS Western

Australia

on facebook

APRIL

13 trimester, semester

and, community service

arrivals

10 Greens & Co Cafe Get

ToGether for students, returnees and anyone interested in AFS see facebook for details

16 State Committee

Meeting

18 North Perth Hills

and Central Group

Meetings

MAY 3-6 Careers,

Education and Employment Expo - Perth Convention Centre AFS Booth where you can help us promote AFS 8 Greens & Co Cafe GTG

15 Joondalup Info

Night

16 North Perth Hills

Info Night

JUNE 11AFSWA state committee

meeting

12Greens & Co Cafe GTG

16 workshop on

intercultural learning

with special guest

from AFS international

17 volunteer workshop

9 am to 12noon

followed by the mid

winter soup and

casserole get together

at Kings Park for

everyone

27-29 National

Volunteer Conference,

Sydney

23 Central Info Night

28 South Perth Metro

Info Night Details of information nights below

28 South Perth Metro

group meeting

30th Lansdale Farm School Discovery Camp for all students and young people interested in exchange programs. Returnee volunteers required

4 Special Events in May!

AFS Information Evenings Around Perth:

7:30 to 9:00pm.

• Tuesday 15th May - Beaumaris Community

Centre, Joondalup. contact Bianca Chantry at afs.wa@afs.org

• Wednesday 16th May Noranda Family centre -

in conjunction with North Perth and Hills Support

Group. Contact Mark Bogoars at afs.wa@afs.org

• Wednesday 23rd May SUBIACO, at the Tom

Dadour Community Centre, East Hall 363 Bagot

Rd - in conjunction with Central Support group.

Contact Nic Trimboli at afs.wa@afs.org

• Monday 28th May at East Vic Park Family and

Community Centre in conjunction with South

Perth Metro Support Group. Contact Nicci

Johnson at afs.wa@afs.org

Busselton Camp 23 -25 March8s

& Co Cafe TG

16 Hosted students and a wonderful team of

volunteers had a successful camp weekend at Camp

Geographe near Busselton.

Special thanks to Liz, Georgia, Tracey, Eli and Felix for

ensuring the camp was a great success and also

Darren for communication and transport duties.

If you know of southwest students interested in

exchange who were unable to take up the

opportunity to visit the camp for information sessions

direct them to www.afs.org.au or

afs.wa@afs.org

JENESYS 2011 :

On the 7th of October I received the email of the century. The subject title:

I had been selected out of 900 applications to participate in the JENESYS

Program. WOW! What an amazing feeling.

JENESYS Experience Japan: The Departure - December 5, 2011.

Perth Airport, temperature: 37 degrees Celsius.

Around 20 high school students filed into Perth International Airport with their

large yellow tags on their suitcases, wearing, thick jeans, jumpers and sweaters -

the perfect outfit for a 37-degree day. Final goodbyes were said and we left

hot, sunny Perth. We arrived in the morning to cold and gloomy Japan, where

we received our ginormous (sic) bright blue JENESYS jackets. I was in the group,

Explore Nippon and Nihongo 6 where students who studied Japanese for at least

a year from all over Australia were included. In the other group were other AFS

Jenesys scholarship winners from Perth who were in the Country Mix.

While in Japan, we visited Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima and our allocated

home stay city. I stayed in the city of Oita on the southern island of Kyushu.

While there, we visited the local high school and university, engaged in a

conversation with the mayor and viewed various parks such as the aquarium

and the monkey exhibition.

The language barrier between my host family and me was a struggle. A constant

looking at the dictionary and weird looks was the norm. From this experience I

improved my language skills tremendously. Throughout the whole trip the sights

were breathtaking and the food we ate everyday was beyond amazing.

My outlook on the international world has certainly changed for the better. I

am inspired to work toward mutual understanding between Asia and the

Western world. I would like to thank

the Japanese government, AFS

and the JENESYS Co-ordinator

Rebecca Whitcomb very much for

making the JENESYS program possible

and making my dreams come true.

JENESYS 2011

On 5th December 2011, around

600 students, from all over Asia

and the Pacific, travelled to

Japan as part of the ‘JENESYS’

programme, managed in

Australia by AFS. Mixed into

diverse groups, we experienced

two jam-packed weeks of

Japan’s unique culture, cuisine,

language, landscape and people.

There were many activities and

educational expeditions, a

highlight being a visit to the

Peace Memorial Park and

Museum in Hiroshima.

We visited Kyoto, Nara,

Hiroshima, Tokyo and another district where a family hosted us

for five days (for me, this was West-Mikawa).

Each student stayed with a family and attended a Japanese

school. This was a full immersion in Japan’s modern

culture and its people. My host family was incredibly

welcoming and accepting of me,

I truly felt like part of the family

in the very short time, even with

some difficulties in the language

department!

I think the most amazing aspect

of the JENESYS trip was that

despite it only being two weeks,

we came away with strong

friendships and connections

with each other and with the

country. My travelling group and

I loved it so much that we have decided to reunite in Hiroshima,

year 2020.

Zoë Akindele-Obe

My outlook on the international world has

certainly changed for the better. I am

inspired to work toward mutual understanding

between Asia and the Western world.

Arlene Mendoza, age 15, Perth

Returnees Write.......

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Special Offers

Host Families Needed! AFS WA has 15 students arriving in July for an 8-week program

- would you like to share your home and your family with one

of these students? Ask Joyce to show you a some profiles of

students coming to WA so you can choose the best student to

fit your family contact Joyce Vandenberg at afs.wa@afs.org.

2011 student group on safari

www.afs.org.au

call 1300 131

736

Experience your World with AFS!

AFS Intercultural Programs – one of the world’s largest not-for-profit

Intercultural Students Exchange Organizations is on the lookout for

Australian students willing to embark on the experience of a lifetime. Are

you ready to step out of your comfort zone and…

• Become a part of a whole new family, making friends

from all over the world

• Learn about a new culture and be immersed in the

language

• Represent Australia with pride

AFS has over 50 destinations on our high school exchange program, and

over 30 destinations for the 18+

program, ranging in duration from 2 to 11 months. All you need to tell us

now is where you would like to

go!

It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity you’ll never forget!

Feel up to the challenge? Checkout www.afs.org.au, call 1300 131 736 or

email ausafs@afs.org for

everything you need to know to make your dream a reality. We can’t wait

to hear from you!

Public Scholarships:

Explore Thailand Scholarships -

Get your online application in by

April 2012 for a July Departure -

open to students aged 15-18 at

the time of departure.

Private Scholarships:

Go online to check out the

Private Scholarships that are now

open for departures in 2012 and

2013.

Who’s Who in AFSWA

AFS WA volunteers work as

a part of a State

Committee, Local Groups

or " Chapters" or as part

of sending, hosting

support or camp volunteer

teams . Local groups

meet regularly and

maintain contact with

AFSers in their areas.

AFS Board Member

Henry Moser represents WA on

the national AFS Board of

Directors

AFS WA State

Committee

State Chair

Helen Mein

Secretary Carola

Akindele-Obe

Treasurer

Cliff Wooldridge

Sending Team

Leader

Marion Robertson

Hosting Team

Leader and Host Family Support

Joyce Vandenberg

Hosted Student Support

Shannon Brisco

Orientation Bianca

Chantry and Imogen Mason

Chapter Convenors:

Central - Nic Trimboli

South Perth Metro - Nicci

Johnson and Jennifer

Potier

North Perth, Hills and

Joondalup Mark Boagers

Other locations

contact afs.wa@afs.org to

find you local AFS contact person