The local legends helping isolated students feel at home

Until a year ago, Arie Judanto had never set foot in Melbourne.

Now he is talking like a local, delighted when he finds a coffee shop open after 3pm and comparing his home town, 50 kilometres outside Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, to “pretty much like Geelong”.

But the student’s time in Melbourne got off to a shaky start. Once the initial excitement of moving abroad wore off, the realities of shifting from tropical Indonesia to Melbourne, then in the grip of its coldest winter in years, without family or friends led to a creeping sense of loneliness.

The key to cracking the Melbourne code was a group of local retirees who have taken Judanto to see kangaroos and watch AFLW, and initiated him into Australian slang such as brolly, sunnies, arvo and brekky.

“I gained a lot of friends, and – I can say – family,” Judanto said with a grin. “My sense of belonging to where I live right now [is] growing, and I love that feeling.”

Retiree Wayne Pash and his family are a big part of the reason why Judanto and other students have come to feel so welcome.

Pash and Judanto met through the Being a Melburnian program connecting international students with seniors, and, along with a handful of other participants, regularly stay in touch and meet up.

Pash invited the students to join his family for Christmas dinner, followed by a round of trugo, a little-known homegrown croquet-like sport Pash is keen to revive.

“We can be their first port of call, and that is so important,” Pash said.

“I was a bit nervous about ‘what are they going to think about us old codgers?’ but I think we had something to offer, and they had something to offer us.”

The pair had just completed a yoga class together when interviewed by this masthead. At the other end of the studio, laughter grew louder as a dozen people involved in the program chatted over cups of tea, often excitedly finishing each other’s sentences.

Retiree Lorraine Siska did not know what to expect when she signed up for the program, but she was sure she wanted the students to love their time in Melbourne.

“Sometimes you can be isolated as an older person, as well as being a student you can be isolated,” Siska said.

“It’s brought those two things together, and it’s been lovely to widen all our worlds.”

Alba Gatto enjoys helping, listening and making the students’ lives a little less stressful. “We may not sort everything up, but we may know where to go,” she said.

Being a Melburnian was founded by social work student Peiqi Shi, who wanted to help fellow international students who were eager to learn about their new home and connect with locals, but were struggling to take that first step.

“Sometimes they feel they have this kind of language barrier, cultural barrier, that prevents them connecting with local students,” Shi said.

Now he has the inside scoop on where to get the best meat pies in town. But for the student from Shanghai, the program has always been about more than just cultural exchange or encouraging confidence. It’s also about acceptance and a mutual feeling of support.

Shi said he believed international students could sometimes be stigmatised or criticised despite contributing to Australian society.

“We can make an impact to the local community, not just on the economy, but also through social impact,” he said.

The University of Melbourne program, hosted by the North and West Melbourne Neighbourhood Centre, attracted about 70 participants in its first year.

This winter it will be open to all international students studying within the City of Melbourne after securing two years’ worth of council funding.

Veterinary science student Sarai Silaban, from Sumatra in Indonesia, describes the friends she has made as more like aunts and grandparents who support, guide and care for her. She is thrilled by every dinner invitation, even attending a 90th birthday celebration.

Silaban says that even when she heads back home in a few months, she can still return for a warm welcome in Melbourne.

“This will remain in my heart,” she said. “Whenever I can go back to them, I will visit them.”

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