<p>We’re hosting a foreign exchange student for a few days. He’s from Indonesia. My main worries center around what types of food to cook. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>If your student is a Muslim, he probably would abide by most kosher (halal) rules. No pork, in particular. Devout Muslims would insist on buying halal meat which is the same as kosher. We sold our London house to a Muslim couple from Sri Lanka and they bought all their meats from a kosher butcher in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish area in North London.</p>
<p>Food is a cultural experience, and an easy one to share. Taking into consideration the above mentioned restrictions ( although Muslims do mix meat and milk products which differs from Kosher dietary rules) make food that represents the way your family usually eats.</p>
<p>Thanks for reminding me this is a Muslim country. We have several Muslim families in our school and I was told that the Muslim foreign exchange students would be staying with Muslim families, but maybe they forgot, too. My husband actually suggested we take him to Toledo’s famous hot dog restaurant, Tony Packo’s. Guess that’s not such a good idea!</p>
<p>He could be Sino-Indonesian, in which case he might be Christian! I know several.</p>
<p>We hosted a young Muslim woman a few years ago - she wasn’t terribly devout (she drank, for example) and her only eating no-no was pork, which was easy to avoid. It all went swimmingly until I asked if she didn’t like pizza – she always looked disappointed when we had it delivered – but she explained that she liked pizza, just couldn’t eat the pepperoni! I felt really stupid… somehow didn’t connect pepperoni to pork. D’oh! The next pizza that arrived at our house had fresh basil, tomato, bell pepper. She looked at it with real pleasure and said “now THAT’s a pizza!”</p>
<p>Let him cook for you!</p>
<p>We’ve hosted Japanese HS kids several times. The best thing to do is to not worry about it - just wait till he gets there and then ask him about it. If he’s reluctant to say much about it give him a few choices to start with. Asking him will help open him up. Also, he’ll likely be much more comfortable with you after the first few days and be more willing to offer his input.</p>
<p>Check out the religious background, and then don’t worry. Very typical American foods are usually welcomed by foreign students. Pizza, spaghetti, anything Italian works well. Tacos, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, tuma melts. I used to think cooking for foreign students meant full meals in a burdensome, last generation way. Over time, I’ve come to realize that grilled cheese and Campbells soup, or mac and cheese from a box can be a cultural experience-though as I avoid eating that way myself, sometimes I’m cooking other things to make a healthier meal.</p>
<p>If more than a few days, rice at some point might be good. My Asian family goes into rice withdrawal if going too long without.</p>
<p>To echo a few posters: Have some options in mind (family favorites, maybe something meatless/porkless, etc), but ask, if not for specific meal ideas, at least for basic preferences. Realize that you might not get a direct or honest reply, so you may want to have a few “extras” on the table (i.e. salad and bread…simple stuff) just in case. We had a wonderful year-long exchange student, but she was very shy; it took a long time to get a handle on real preferences! If something doesn’t seem to go over well, feel free to point out the cereal cabinet, the instant rice, the PB&J, etc. Teenagers are teenagers wherever they’re from ;)</p>
<p>great lakes mom – The only time my cooking has ever been sincerely complimented was the weekend that I made Kraft mac & cheese (mixed with canned chili…) for dinner, and my sister followed it up with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls the next morning. Our Japanese exchange student was absolutely thrilled :)</p>
<p>Toledo, I’m an American who lives in Jakarta. Your student could be a Malay Muslim or a Chinese Christian and while there’s a good deal overlap you’ll find a few preferences specific to each. A universal unifier is white, steamed rice – plenty of it. Rice is the potatoes, bread and comfort food of Indonesia– goes with everything. Fried chicken is also a basic favorite as are instant noodles. Sweets are appreciated as is fresh fruit.</p>
<p>A little chili sauce on the side makes everything more palatable.</p>
<p>Food is often served room temperature. Salads are exotic and suspicious. Clear soups are a common part of a meal, eaten simultaneously, not as a first course.</p>
<p>The tablespoon is the implement of choice assisted by a fork in the left hand. If Islamic, food is never touched by the left hand, so be careful how you serve.</p>
<p>Fast food is considered modern and fashionable – MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks – are status destinations though the preferred menu items are sometimes surprising. Shrimp, pineapple and corn pizza!? Muslims avoid pork, of course, (though many are moderates, and the don’t ask, don’t tell philosophy is not uncommon) and Chinese in general don’t care much for cheese.</p>
<p>If your student is from an urban, middle class family he probably has a servant who cooks and cleans for the family and he won’t be used to lending a hand in clearing the table and filling the dish washer. He won’t object, but may need clear instructions. Seriously, most Indonesian middle class kids have never made a bed.</p>
<p>Selamat makan! (Bon Appetit)</p>
<p>Update- First, I want to thank all of you for your responses. The AFS coordinator called one hour prior to picking her up to mention that he could be Muslim. Good thing I have you guys! We had a couple of surprises; Ibraham turned out to be a girl, not a boy. We had the coordinator apologizing left and right for this mix-up. My son, her escort, is o.k. with this, but my sophomore d is delighted. It also turns out that a couple of you were right about the fact that she could be Christian, even though that’s only 5-10% of the population. She didn’t eat anything last night, but I made her white rice and coffee this morning, which she ate.</p>
<p>“Iba” says she goes to school 12 hours each day, six days each week. She has no outside activities, other than her church. American schools are “very easy”. Wow! Are there a lot of kids like this out there? If so, our kids better watch out! We corrupted her with Guitar Hero, the biggest pastime in our household.</p>
<p>white rice and coffee! What a combo! Of course, Indonesia produces wonderful coffee.
Glad I thought the student could be Christian. Now, maybe she likes to eat Chinese food.</p>
<p>Toledo – I hope you all have a great time, and of course, are able to learn a lot from one another!</p>
<p>Three years ago, my family hosted a Japanese student for a couple of weeks; things went so well that she came back and stayed with us for the entirety of the next year. Even as the one who got shoved out of her bedroom in all of this, I’m quick to say that it was–overall–a fantastic experience for everyone :)</p>
<p>I think we still have bottles of green tea buried somewhere in the freezer…</p>