Learning this was the way Americans express familial love is an example of the culture shock Waskito experienced while living with an American family.

Waskito was one of four Indonesian students selected to spend one academic year in a US city as part of the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, sponsored by the Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau under the US State Department.

The three others were Anisa Devi Praba Jati, Miftah Sugesti and Nindy Silvie. All came from humble families. Devi is from Jepara, a small city in Central Java; Waskito is a student at an Islamic boarding school in Krapyak, Yogyakarta. Both Miftah and Nindy are from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Miftah spent the year in New York State, Devi in New Mexico, Nindy in Ohio and Waskito in North Carolina.

The four students tell of their experiences in a television documentary series called Amerikaku (My America) with the tagline "four students, four stories, one America", currently being screened on the O Channel. The series is divided into six episodes, each of which has its own focus.

Episode one introduces the four students and shows their experiences during the visa interviews, and with their parents, friends and host families in the US.

During an interview before her departure to the US, Devi said that "I want to learn Spanish. I hope my host family will be Spanish."

Fortunately for her she was flown to Albuquerque in New Mexico and lived with a Spanish American family.

The second episode looks at the students' experiences with their American host families, showing conversations with family members at the dining table. The four have to adapt to the weather and to commuting to school.

How the students learn critical thinking skills and take on interesting subjects such as broadcasting is covered in the third episode. In one scene, Waskito says he finds it difficult to understand a novel during a discussion in class, the likes of which were rarely held at Indonesian schools.

The fourth episode features extracurricular activities during which students learn about sports and the environment. Nindy, for example, joins the forestry club at her school and removes weeds growing around trees.

Students share their religious and political viewpoints in the fifth episode. They say the Americans they met were tolerant and open to discussing anything. In return, the Indonesian students learned many things from them. The sixth episode highlights the thoughts and feelings of the students and their expectations at home.

Emphasizing the importance of student exchange programs, US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume said in a pre-recorded comment that the program is "potentially a life-changing experience".

Generally, the four students expressed appreciation of the American way of life. Waskito, a pesantren student, said he did not encounter difficulties with his American family while doing the Muslim prayers five times a day, or in the fasting month of Ramadan. Nindy, also Muslim, said her American family, who were of the Bahai faith, were very tolerant.

The documentary aims to show Indonesian people that we can live in harmony with Americans and other nations, despite our differences. What we have to do first is to understand the culture and traditions of others and respect them.

Amerikaku is on every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. the O Channel until Feb. 20, and is repeated on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. The public broadcaster, TVRI, is also planning to screen the series.

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