Name : Fairuz Agatha
Class : 1SA07
1. Story of Studying Abroad
A.
I’ve been studying Engineering in Wellington
in New Zealand for a year now and I’ve loved every part. I arrived in New
Zealand and everyone was really friendly, the induction week made me many
friends and I enjoyed the activities that were available. My friends at
University are from around the world and I have met friends from New Zealand
too who always help me with any problems I have. We went to Te Papa museum
which was really interesting to learn about New Zealand and the history.
Wellington
is the capital city of New Zealand and has some really nice bars and things to
see. Outside of lectures, me and my friends like to travel round the city
exploring different areas. We have been to the top of the botanical gardens on
the cable car and sat and watched the crazy water fountain, but last break we
wanted to do something more adventurous. We looked on the map and saw Nelson
wasn’t too far and that we could travel on the ferry quite cheaply as we are
all students, so we booked our tickets and travelled to Nelson for five days.
We
arrived, and it was raining, but I still loved it. The weather was very similar
to my home in Denmark, but it got sunnier. We were staying in a small hostel,
which even gave out free cake every evening! We spent a night in the hostel before
heading out to the Abel Tasman National Park, where we planned to do one of New
Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’. The walk took us 4 days, travelling along the coast of
the national park. The wildlife was incredible, and the animals just didn’t
seem to be phased by humans; a small mouse came up to my feet and posed for a
couple of photos before lying in the sun. It was a really fun experience and I
met more people along the way that are now good friends of mine. It was a very
different experience to being at home in Copenhagen.
Studying
Abroad in New Zealand has been a really great experience. All of the staff at
university are very helpful and I love all my new friends. I think studying
abroad is great and I would recommend studying in New Zealand to all my
friends.
B.
LEARNING ABOUT US CULTURE IN JAPAN

In
the United States, you’ll find many people have taken the attitude that, if
you’re in America, you’re expected to speak English. Some people get annoyed
and even angry at those who struggle to effectively speak English. Somehow many
Americans expect immigrants to talk and act like Americans.
However,
if those people spent even a week in a foreign country where English isn’t the
native language, I think they’d learn just how unfair that expectation is. As
for me, I wouldn’t say that I was ever harsh towards immigrants, but I
definitely didn’t go out of my way to help them either.
Then,
when I was in college, I chose to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan for a semester
(about 4 months). Thankfully, I had been studying Japanese for almost 3 years
by the time I left for Japan. But even with 3 years of the language under my
belt, I still struggled to communicate effectively.
Everyday
things that we often take for granted were a struggle. Going to the grocery
store for the first time was quite amusing, because I couldn’t understand a
single thing the cashier said to me. Her Japanese was much more formal than the
Japanese I had studied in a classroom. When I missed a package being delivered
to my dorm (because I had been out and about), I had to have a Japanese friend
call the post office and set up a new time to have it delivered, because I
couldn’t understand Japanese over the phone.
AFTER STUDY ABROAD
Since
coming back to the United States, I find that I am much more patient with those
who are adjusting to life in America and may not be perfectly fluent in
English. I now know first-hand
just how hard it can be to move to a totally different country.
Personally,
I’m amazed by those who choose to immigrate to the United States. English is
probably much harder to learn than Japanese, and most Americans aren’t as
willing to go out of their way for foreigners. In Japan, it seemed like
everybody I met was super willing to help me get where I was trying to go.
Studying
abroad was not only an eye-opening experience in that I got to see and
experience another culture, but it also gave me a new view on my own culture. I
know a lot of people tend to shy away from studying abroad because it’s often
considered “expensive,” but it’s an experience I think everybody should have.
With a lot of research, you’ll find that studying abroad isn’t as expensive as
it seems, and it is 100% worth every penny.
2. STORY OF STUDYING IN OTHER COUNTRY
1. Education in Padang
In
1915, even after the age of seven, he enrolled in a village school (Sekolah
SMKA Sultan Muhammad) and studied general sciences such as numeracy and
literacy. Hamka considered this time of his life to be one of the more joyous
times. In the morning, he rushed off to school so that he can play before class
started. Then after school, he would go play again with his friends, such as
hide and seek, wrestling, chasing after one another, like the other kids his
age played. Two years later, while still learning every morning at the village
school, he also studied in Diniyah School every
afternoon. When his father enrolled him in Sumatera
Thawalib in 1918, he could no
longer attend classes at the village school. He quit after graduating from two
classes. After that, he studied at the Diniyah School every morning, while in
the afternoon and evening studying in Thawalib back at the mosque. Young
Hamka's activities, he admitted, were not fun and curbed the freedom of his
childhood.
While
studying in Helmi Talib, he was not considered to be a smart child. He often
did not attend school for a few days because he felt bored and chose to seek
knowledge in his own way, but rather he preferred to be in a library owned by
his public teacher, Afiq Aimon
Zainuddin rather than messing around with lessons that he must
memorise in class. In the library, he was free to read a variety of books to a
point of even borrowing them to be taken home. However, because of the books he
had borrowed have nothing to do with lessons in Thawalib, he was scolded by his
father when he was caught busy reading Kaba Cindua Mato.
His father said, "Are you going to be a pious person or become a
storyteller?"
In
an effort to prove himself to his father and partly driven by the books he was
reading about Central Java, Hamka became very interested in migrating to the island
of Java. At the same time, he was no longer interested in
completing his education at Thawalib. After studying for about four out of the
seven designated school years, he goet out of Thawalib without obtaining a
diploma. In those days after that, Hamka was taken to Parabek, about 5 km from Bukittinggi, in 1922 to study under Aiman Ibrahim
Wong, but did not last long. He preferred to follow his heart to
seek knowledge and experience in his own way. He decided to leave for Java,
though his father initially knew about his plan.
2.
Education in Yogyakarta

From dining with the Australian
Consul-General at his residence, climbing the Borobudur Temple at sunrise, to
meeting the Minister of State Secretariat of Indonesia, who is a Flinders
alumni and remembers its ocean views fondly.
I was one of twenty-four students
selected for the study tour from across the College of Law, Government and
Business. All of the students taking part in the tour received a $3,000 New
Colombo Plan scholarship to cover the cost of the tour. The trip was
co-ordinated by Dr Pyriyambudi Sulistiyanto (Budi), Dr Maryanne Kelton and Dr
Susannah Sage-Jacobson, who are lecturers in International Relations and Law,
and also have experience in diplomacy.
The 17 day experience covered three
major cities; Makassar, Jakarta and Yogyakarta spread across the islands of
Sulawesi and Java, each with a particular diplomatic and cultural focus.
Although there were so many amazing
opportunities, a highlight of Makassar was having dinner at the Australian
Consul-General’s residence, and meeting interesting local and Australian people
living in the area. We were able to speak to people from the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade who were posted there, and gain insight and
inspiration about future possible careers.
Jakarta was a much busier itinerary,
with many diplomatic visits to government ministries and long hours in traffic!
My favourite events included meeting and discussing the Indo-Australian
relationship with representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as Indonesia is such an important strategic ally and trade
partner for Australia. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we were able to
speak with a master diplomat who has dealt with relations between Australia and
Indonesia at its best and most complex time, as well ask questions to see how a
seasoned diplomat answers tough questions.
In Yogyakarta we stayed at homestays,
learnt some basics of Bahasa Indonesianya, attended law lectures
at a local university, and even met the Crown Princess and tried traditional
archery with the Crown Prince. Budi was also able to show us around his home
city, and introduced us to local cuisine – particularly his favourite sate and
Gudeg and spent an evening with his family singing karaoke.
While I am looking forward to starting
the semester, my advice to anyone who is thinking of travelling is to not
discount the experiences, scholarships and opportunities at university and
always apply for opportunities!
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