Hello! Hai! Sawatdee kaa! Ni Hao! Annyeonghaseyo!
I’m Gabriela Rosari Rindra Kartini, one of the Universitas International Batam (UIB) students who luckily got some chances to go abroad. I went to Thailand, China, South Korea, and mostly funded by the Government. Would you like to know how? Please stay with me.
My biggest reason to choose UIB was to go study abroad, as that was my dream since I was in the High School. I read articles about UIB sending their students to America, so then I thought, “Yes! I’m sure that I will go abroad like them!” Actually, my target country was Korea. I was a big fan of Hallyu back then and I did learn Korean through the internet and the K Wave. But that time, UIB had not have any Korean University partner yet.
As a freshmen, I actively joined some student clubs, one of them was the Journalistic Club. Journalistic Club brought me chance to interviewed Ms. Bea Nuri, a senior of mine who was in Canada that time. She represented Indonesia in the Indonesia-Canada Youth Exchange Program (ICYEP) program. That wowed me. The stories she gave us made me believe that I could do the same. My Journalistic teacher, Mr. Chandra P. Pusponegoro soon gave us another chance to interview Ms. Helen Febriliny, a Law Student who was in Thailand as an exchange student. From that I know that UIB had some university partners in Thailand as well.
Soon after that, my friends and I got an information about student exchange program to King Mongkut University of Thonbury (KMUTT) Bangkok, Thailand. The tuition fee was funded by the KMUTT and we didn’t need to pay any money to UIB to join the program. We even didn’t need to fully pay our tuition fee in UIB. Plus, it was a credit transfer program so we could just transfer the scores from classes we took. It means, we were going to be graduated together with our classmates! What a golden chance. I asked my parents about this chance and they let me go. WOOOW! That was the first time for me living outside home, alone. I was so ready to see the world outside.
My friends and I, nine of us, enjoyed our stay in Thailand. We been there for about 6 months. Thailand is a friendly and unique country. The living cost is quite similar to Batam’s. There, I learnt how to face cultural differences, how to adapt in the foreign country, and how to be more independent. I really proud to be called ‘foreigner’. HAHAHAHA. My friends and I also learnt survival Thai Language so we could ask for some discount when we shopped. That’s important.
During my stay in Thailand, 2013, I did a lot things that were new for me. Like using the Google Map to go here and there, to have lectures in English, to befriend with the locals and the foreigner, to have our own adventure in another cities, and so much more. Have you ever joined the Indonesia Independence Day ceremony in the Indonesian Embassy? I had when I was 19 years old! Can you imagine how you feel stepping in the Indonesian Embassy in other country? I felt suuuuper proud and I felt home because I met a lot of Indonesian! After the ceremony, we ate Nasi Rendang and other Indonesian cuisine. That suddenly made me remember Indonesia, my home. Another memorable thing was when I got a chance to represent Indonesia in the first ASEAN-Canadian-European (ACE) Festival 2013. That was the first culture festival that KMUTT made. My job was to introduce Indonesian culture to the Thai. The most fun part was when we danced Poco-Poco together. It was great to see how foreigner interested in Indonesia.
My knowledge broaden and I think my personal value is getting up. In Thailand, we were not only learnt about Computer Science but also about life. As it was my first time having classes in English, I admit it was quite hard for me to catch up. I got one C in the Algorithm subject, but I think I got A+ in the experiences I got.
Actually in 2014, I got a chance to go to Vietnam for an internship program. A friend and I had been accepted by one university in Vietnam and we were ready to go. BUT, news about Ebola diseases was getting hot and our parents were a little bit worried about that. So we got to cancel the plan. In the same time I heard that UIB had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with a Korea University. I felt like WHAT? Korea? Seriously?
Yes, it was right. UIB had a MoU signed with a university in Busan and asked every student to apply. I stayed up all night to prepare my application documents. But you know what? It turned out that only students majoring in Management program able to hand out the application document. Geez.
Some UIB lecturers found out that I’m able to speak Korean. They asked me to help some students who were preparing to go study in Korea. I taught them Korean Basic. Then, some reasons, I was also asked to teach Korean Language in the short term classes. Well, I was thankful because the classes need me to refresh my Korean skill. UIB gave me another chances to apply for another universities in Korea. But the chances needed me to pay a lot of money. I didn’t want to spend my parents’ money too much. My gut said no. So, I left the chances. Felt a little bit sad that I couldn’t go to Korea, I applied for a Summer Camp program to Henan Province, China.
Some weeks before my departure to China, I received a message about the Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP). I knew that KGSP is huge and it is massive. People all around the world are competing to get this. That was a scholarship I aimed for when I was in the high school but I had no idea how to apply. Without thinking and expecting too much, I handed out my application documents in the last minute. Glory be to God, it turned out that I was chosen as one of the 8 students who were super lucky to get this chance! What a miracle is it? For me it was a gift from God. But, before I tell you my adventure in Korea, let’s go back to my Summer Camp program in China.
UIB have 2 choices of short term program to China, Summer Camp and Winter Camp. This programs are waived by the China Government. We only need to pay for our visa application and also the airplane ticket. I only spent around 7.5million Rupiah to join this 2 weeks program. I believe the camp worth more than the money I paid.
It feels amazing to visit China. It is beautiful, rich in culture, and amazing. The food tastes superb! I LOVE IT! Although it was REALLY hot, we had a lot of fun. We visited a lot of museums, each have its own thing to be learned by us. Not only museums, we also watched Water Acrobatics, Shaolin Musical Performance, we visited the Long Men grottoes, the Shaolin Temple, the Theme Park, we learned Taichi, Qikong and Shaolin, we learned how to make paper art, and many more. The participants of this Camp were not only UIB students, some of them were coming from different cities in Java. Some are Indonesian students who are studying in Nanjing University. Of course it was a little bit awkward at first to be in a camp with so many new friends. BUT, we have our own way to be close to each other. That was…. We played cards in one of our rooms every nights! We ate together in that room, played together, and talked a lot of things. Soon, we were getting close to each other. Oh, I’m missing them as well as the night games!
The coolest part of the camp for me was when I watch the Shaolin Musical Performance called Shaolin Zen Music Ritual.
The venue is outdoor, it’s located in a mountain near the Shaolin Temple. While watching the performance, you could feel the night breeze, listen to the sound of water, the wood, the wind, the song, and amazed by the choreography. Oh my, oh my, I fell in love instantly. Do you want to watch that as well? Join the Summer Camp to Henan Province! You can ask for some information from Nicky Zhang laoshi at UIB Mandarin Centre. I recommend you to join the winter camp as well!“Shaolin Zen Music Ritual is performed by about 600 musicians, dancers, local villagers and Kung Fu monks. This performance reflects the profound Chinese Zen culture and the world first-class audio and visual effect that you might have never experienced ever before. You can sit on prayer mats around the brook in the wind, watch the water, hear the music of Zen and appreciate the performance, with mind eased and relax.” (source : topchinatravel.com)
After I came back to Batam, I felt like I left my heart in China. But I was excited for the new adventure that was coming for me! The lecturers had not sure about who will receive the scholarship yet but they were optimist that I would be chosen as one of the KGSP awardee. I was only able to pray and just go with the flow, expected less. Go to Korea to study abroad with the Korean government scholarship was my dream when I was in the High School. I used to pray a lot, talked to God that I really wanted to go to Korea, not only for travel but for study so I could live in Korea for quite a long time. I would like to explore Korea, I would like to know more about the culture, I would like to befriend with the locals, and I would like to be able to speak Korean fluently. But when I was in the High School, it seemed impossible. Korea was too far and too expensive. The dream seemed to be too big. I never thought that I will be able to reach my dream when finally I entered UIB. But with Thy plan is amazing. God heard my prayers and replied me. I was chosen as the luckiest 8 people! The KGSP fully waived our tuition, our plane tickets, and also they gave us monthly allowance. I thought, “Is it only a dream?” The steps I did to complete my documents and bought my ticket felt so unreal. Until finally I stepped my foot in Korea. This gift I received from God always able to have my happy tears come out. Glory be to God.
My major is Information System and I chose Multimedia as my concentration. Since I was in the High School I’m in love with Cinematography. It is fun! I love to make story, imagine how is it going to be like, to record the footages, to edit them so it become one short film. It have one special feeling to watch the film we made. There’s a lot of time I imagined myself majored in Film and working in the film industry. Some people Doubted if I could make a living with film. Well, I believe that everything we do with all our heart will attract money come to us itself.
My university in Korea is Woo Soong University (WSU), which located in the third metropolitan city, Daejeon. Do you know what was my major in WSU? It was Media and Communication Arts. When I heard about the name of the major I thought it would be like the communication classes, like we learn about the art of Public Speaking in media or something like that. BUT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A FILM CLASS! WOOOW! The major that I could only dream about and the country that I’d been dreaming of for a long time! Can you feel my mixed feelings? That fall semester was beautiful. I wish I could stay longer.
My professors are professional in the Film Industry. They are producers, directors, actors, professional teachers who came a way long from Los Angeles. Hollywood! The heaven of Films! I learned a lot that time. I learned about Storytelling, Acting, Camera Moving, Audio, and Editing. Jackpot. In WSU, not only about film, I also learned about Cross Cultural Communication, Journalism, 7 Habbits, Leisure Dances like Chachahca, Waltz, and Salsa. So much fun. One semester passed in a flick. I am asked this question frequently, “How is Korean?” For me, they are friendly. For students in my class, I am their first ever foreign friend. I admit it was a little bit hard to blend in at first because they were a little bit shy to talk to me in English. I tried to talk to them in Korean and asked them to teach me Korean by keep talking to me in their language. That’s amazing.
Now if you ask me my favorite memory about Korea, I think it’s really hard for me to choose one. I love everything I’d been through. I love how my friends asked me to go out and drank soju and makgeolli together, I love how my dormitory was, I love the lessons, the projects I had, I love how easy and cheap is it to travel to another cities by bus and the KTX. I just love Korea. I had my first fall and winter there. I saw the pretty fall leaves and I saw winter snow for the first time. I also got a chance to go to the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) for the first time! It was amazing. I hope I could go to BIFF again in the future.
We had a final project to make a short film. And this film was shown at our Sol International School of Media and Communication Arts (SIMA) Festival! It was a film competition made by our department. An idea to introduce Indonesia to my Korean friends and my American professors popped up. I told this idea to some of my classmates and they would like to team up. We have Indonesian friends from Surabaya, Bandung, and Jogjakarta helping us with this project. They became our actress and actors! These friends were actually studying in a different campus but we stay in the same dorm, we stay in different sites so we didn’t know each other before. Oh! There was a cute story about how I met them.
I thought that I and the other 3 students from UIB were the only Indonesian in my university. I was looking for the Indonesian Student Community in Korea. But I found out there’s no such community in Daejeon. One night, a Korean of mine, Boyoung, wanted to try to eat Indomie that was given by a friend. So I told Boyoung that it will be more delicious if we cook it rather than we only pour hot water to serve it. So, we went down to the dormitory kitchen. The kitchen is used by everyone from every sites. That time, a group of Indonesian students had a meet up! They cooked fried rice together. I amazed to meet them! We befriend and did a lot of things together. That’s why I dared to ask them helping our final project.
Our film is called ‘Harmoni’. The film is about a group of Indonesian students who got a chance to join the student exchange program in Korea. One day their university held a culture festival so they need to perform something. But one student, who is a hardcore fan of Korean Pop would rather perform KPOP dance than joining the Indonesian Performance! We brought up the love story, the culture, message to love our own country, and the student life in one short Film. My classmate and I were all newbies so our technique was limited. But this movie was special. We all love how we worked together in this project. My Indonesian friends happy to have more Korean friends and my Korean friends happy to befriend with them as well. It was fun. This movie won the first prize in the festival because our professors, who were the juries, saw that we poured a lot of thought in the storyline. If you would like to watch this short film and also some video we made on class, go to Youtube, search for Sima Woosong chanel. There you can watch Harmoni and also videos we made on the Camera technique class.
During my stay in Korea, I’d been to Incheon, Seoul, Yongin, Daegu, Busan, and Jeju Island. Still, there are loooooots of places I would like to go. I believe that I should go to Korea again anytime soon. Cool part about my Korean university, they have excursion program once a semester, after we finished our final exam. They brought us to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin for free! I really wish I could stay longer in Korea. Korean Folk Village is so amazing. It have a lot of hanoks (Korean traditional house), ancient shops, and they even have some actor and actresses played their role as people in the old times, from this theme park, we could see how Korea was back then. We also learn to make our own glass using the clay. Oh! I heard that some of famous Korean folk dramas was shot in this theme park! One of them is ‘The Moon Embrace The Sun’. Kim Soo Hyun was there!
Trip to Jeju was actually out of my plan because it was too far and I heard that we should take Airplane to go there. But, one day I heard my friends talked about Jeju Air crazy promotions. They said the event lasts for a couple days only! So I check on the Jeju Air website and asked my friends to join me to go to Jeju. We got the round way ticket for around 600.000 Rupiah. It was SUPER CHEAP! Some friends from Surabaya and some Korean friends joining up. It was really fun! We rent a house with three rooms, the house have a kitchen and laundry room as well. And, we can use the kitchen as well! So one of my Korean friend cook a German Food for all of us. It was delicious and heart warming!
I am happy to be able to befriend with a lot of new friends, to understand that the world out there is really big, to explore a new place, and did a lot of new things that I’d only imagined in the past. This experiences brought me colors to my university life. Thank you so much, UIB!
Now I am graduated and I decided to start to build my own business. My partner and I having the Bungoprak Korean Street Food stall at the UIB cafeteria. This start up business is a mix of our passion, my memories about Korea, my gratefulness about the chances that UIB gave to me, and our dreams. If you are a UIB student and would like to know more about living overseas and exchange program, see me there and we could talk. Or by any chance, if you would like to go backpacker to Korea, you can hire me as your guide plus translator. The price is negotiable. Hahaha
There’s a lot more stories I would like to tell you, but this article would be endless. If there’s any question you would like to ask, you can email me at [email protected].
Warm regards,
Gabriela Rosari Rindra Kartini, S.Kom.
