Teatime #8 Sharing Experience Being International Student: Don’t Be Afraid To Try
In this episode of Teatime, Suwaibah Mataeha, a 2019 IP Communications (IPC) student, will share her experiences while being an international student. She is student of Communication Science Department of Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII). Suwaibah or Suwai (her nickname), is an international student from Yala, Thailand. Annisa Putri Jiany as the host joined Teatime’s discussion on this episode with the theme “Chit Chatting with International Students.”
Suwai has long wanted to study abroad to gain more experience. Suwai said that she got information about UII scholarships from friends via Facebook. Suwai took the opportunity and together with her friends tried to apply for a scholarship at UII. The reason she chose the Communication Science major was not only because she liked it, but also because she wanted to be more proficient and confident in practicing communication activities in public.
Being an international student certainly requires the ability to adapt to new environments. Likewise, Suwai admitted when the first time in UII she had a little difficulty with her language skills. However, the motivation to learn and a strong desire to master the language keeps her excited. Her desire to add new skills and knowledge was his initial goal as a student. This is what she always remembers when going through difficult times.
Lecturers and staff who are very close to students make Suwai feel happy and safe while studying at the International Program of Communication Science Department (IPC) at UII. She also said that she did not encounter any problems during class. According to her, the learning system at UII is not much different from the system in her country. The thing that distinguishes is about how to dress. Students in Thailand have a rule to wear black and white uniforms. Meanwhile in Indonesia, especially at UII, students are not required to wear uniforms.
Regarding the language barrier that is often experienced by international students at UII, the campus provides facilities to help this problem. The facilities provided by the campus for international students are that students receive language learning assistance through the BIPA program. BIPA (Indonesian Language for Foreigners) is a prerequisite program implemented at CILACS (Center for International Language and Culture Studies) UII.
Suwai said that in this program students will be taught Indonesian from basic to advanced. Besides, the campus also provides facilities in the form of basic food assistance during the pandemic. So that students, especially international students, have no difficulty living in Jogja during the pandemic.
When she was asked about the new things she had learned while studying in Jogja, Suwai replied that she had tried some typical Jogja foods such as Gudeg. According to her, Indonesian food which has similarities with food in Thailand is seblak, because of its spicy and salty taste. She has also tried watching several horror films made in Indonesia. Suwai argues that Indonesian horror films are scarier than horror films made in Thailand.
Even though she has just entered the 3rd semester, Suwai admits that she has benefited from the knowledge she got while studying at IPC. Like the Photography and Public Speaking courses that she practiced when in Thailand. In closing, Suwai conveyed the impression she got in IPC, that IPC had a friendly lecturers and kind environment. She advised, “Don’t be afraid to try, because all things can be learned. It is okay to make mistakes. So, be confident even though you can’t speak the language yet. Because everything in the IPC is exciting.”
Writer: Fitriana Ramadhany (Student of Communication Major of UII, Internship at International Program of Communication Science Department UII)
Editor: A. Pambudi W
