بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum.
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| Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg |
Hello, Lieblings!
I promised to tell you my journey along with advice and takeaways that might help you along your journey too. But this is actually a really complex topic to tell and can go to several even detailed topics. For example, if I talk about my language-learning phase I might relate it with the applications that I used, etc. It would be indeed very long.
This post is like 'on the surface' timeline for my journey. I might link a particular topic with links to my related posts, so don't be worry about getting it out of hand.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that every person has a different cup of tea or preferences. What works for me may not work for you and the other way around. Please wisely choose what suits you best according to your current situation. Oh and this post is mainly based on my personal experience of studying for Bachelor (S1) in Germany.
The Epilogue.
Allow me to tell you a story of how this journey actually begins.
It was a hot day in a senior high in Pakuncen around August (if I'm not mistaken) when a group of strangers came into my class. I could remember it fondly because I and some of my homies were upset because and need to press down the urge of going outta class. Cool kids back then name this anomaly of 'teacher not able to teach at a certain period' as 'jam kosong' or jamkos for short.
Soo these people presented how studying abroad would be a leap of what they like to call 'success'. Bored with the monotonous life here in Yogyakarta, this presentation seems so intriguing and actually caught my attention. Luckily this jamkos anomaly occurred several times in a row and that means more persuasive presentations, yay.
The more I know about the world, my childhood dreams of studying abroad seem to fade away. My 'logical thinking' tried its best to win the fight. It saddened me that I grew up in a society that mostly thinks the best way to live life and to be called a successful person is to do a certain timeline and reach a certain target. Thus really shape my way of thinking.
I can't lie that these particular people kind of triggered me to do solo researches about studying abroad and awaken my childhood desires. Every website seems to catch my attention and I don't really know which one contains the most realistic situation regarding the studies. Even the uni website itself. Because you know, marketing. It's their job to make everything looks interesting.
I can't lie that these particular people kind of triggered me to do solo researches about studying abroad and awaken my childhood desires. Every website seems to catch my attention and I don't really know which one contains the most realistic situation regarding the studies. Even the uni website itself. Because you know, marketing. It's their job to make everything looks interesting.
My first target was in Australia.
I went to an IDP exhibition from Australian Uni back then to make myself sure that this is the right path for me to choose. Actually, in my opinion, Australia gives a very promising future for me to put in my CV. Knowing that English is my second language (well, third if you count Javanese) and my past experiences of being in an environment with varieties of cultures and languages being put together -- I thought Australia would be a perfect place to start exploring this whole wide world.
Not really far away from my homeland (and a huge variety of dishes to choose) is increasing my urge to fly away across the Indian Ocean.
But.
There were so many buts.
After I asked people here and there, doing more researches and even asking for advice, I came to realize that Australia may be good, but there is somewhere better. This post will be very long to read if I wrote all of my reasons in this post, so I decided to put it in one particular post.
And then the adventure begins when I steered away from the Indian Ocean and headed to North Atlantic.
Alert: Incoming Challenges!
This part of the story consists of 8 different phases. Phase 1 to 4 are included in this post and 4 others are in the other (The First Footsteps: Before The Flight). To make you easier to read, here is the table of contents.Phase One - The Blessing
Phase Two - Decide solo or duo
Phase Three - Learn the language
Phase Four - Prepare your needed skill
Phase Five - Visas (and all the annoying time-consuming bureaucracy work)
Phase Six - Packing and tickets
Phase Seven - Get yourself ready
Phase Eight - Last check
Let's start!
Phase One - The blessing
Realizing that going abroad is not an easy task for most people to overcome, it's time to get more rock-headed and decide your true intentions folks. Because among all those early footsteps experiences, one of the most sacred things to do is to first ask for your parents' blessing.
My father once said that life is just like playing a game.
To get into a new harder level, you need to show that you are worthy of that by completing your current level and collect the targetted XP. Try to see this as a challenge you have to overcome rather than a problem so that you'll find it more interesting to 'solve' it.
It was a no joke for me to try tackling this very first to-do list. Especially my parents weren't around at this particular time of the year. Thanks to this modern tech era, it was possible for me to do everything via e-mail. After I'm quite satisfied with my 'thesis', I decided to tell my parents what's actually hiding deep inside and my fingertips started to dance according to the voices from the bottom of my heard that wanted to be heard.
This time made my insecurities grew stronger to be honest. It was really hard for me to get a grip on my root of 'why' and my faith in myself. I look for advice not only from my kind and queen but also from my homies. But you see, there are quite various forms of love. It could be in a form of support and it could also be that 'protective' kind of love.
To be honest, this fiery ambitions had made me upset when I heard the second form of love, but I couldn't blame them anyway. They were just worried about me and I should've been grateful for that.
Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah. After a huge amount of attempts (and a tiny little bit of drama), my heart was relieved when they decided to let their oldest child embark on this life-changing journey.
Phase Two - Decide to solo or duo
In a nutshell, there are actually two well-known ways to go abroad. Whether you embark on your journey on your own or getting help through 'study agencies' -- companies that are willing to help you get ready for your journey.
Most study agencies provide their students with free consultations, workshops, visa documents (+ assist you while applying in KBRI), along with language courses. It really depends on you and your family preferences. I suggest you to really, really choose your path wisely and might consider the extra expenses you might have to pay by using agencies.
In my case after a long discussion with both of my parents, apparently, I decided to give it up striving for going on my own. Because you know, parents. It explains all.
I joined an agency not far from my house in Yogyakarta and met amazing friends I comfortably call family now. Having said that, I'd actually recommend going solo if you know you are capable. Every path has consequences, decide wisely which one suits you best.
I joined an agency not far from my house in Yogyakarta and met amazing friends I comfortably call family now. Having said that, I'd actually recommend going solo if you know you are capable. Every path has consequences, decide wisely which one suits you best.
I'd try my best to talk about the solo or duo topic in detail because it's that long guys believe me.
Phase Three - Learn the language
German is actually one of the subjects that I got to choose for my 'peminatan' course in high school. But little do I know, I already have chosen Economics and couldn't change it. Therefore I have to learn German somewhere else.
In my case, I studied German with the programs my study agency has provided since September 2017 (I was in my third year of high school) for around a year and 2 months. Before the National Examinations or Ujian Nasional (UN) -- I went to the German language class twice a week I guess? After UN, I started to learn intensively every day mostly from around 8 AM to 4 PM.
Most agencies provide German lessons that include grammar, listening, reading, and writing skills but not conversations. I found it schade because to be fluent, we need to actually use the language. However, my friends and I tried our best to speak German daily, but... ta-da! You guessed it, epic fail :))
Remember that "Bahasa adalah nyawa." -- Language is your soul! Without learning the language you might not be able to survive in a long period of time. Most countries require their foreign bachelor applicants to learn their native languages (even just the basics) to actually 'push' them so they could survive. For example German, France, Japan, China, and Korea. Imagine being lost in a remote area and couldn't speak the language. Defo a nightmare.
There are actually large variations of options in terms of learning a language. I've met several Indo students here in Germany that went to language lessons, took online courses via Skype with a native, or even solo-learning. But according to my experience learning a language actually depends on how much time you use to study the language.
The more amount of effort you put in a day, the faster you can master the language.
If you are tired, that's alright. It is indeed VERY tiring. I'm glad that throughout my journey I got to watch Jerome Polin's, Leonardo Edwin's, and Adinda Negara's Youtube videos and Instagram posts. Tbh they play a huge role in my perseverance in this journey and influence me to keep on going, keep on trying until this very day. Damn. Starting is hard, but having Sabr in doing the work is also no joke.
GOLDEN TIP: Allow yourself to take breaks but never stop. There may be hard times but please, don't stop. Even if you are tired, never stay still -- keep on moving! Even if it's just 0,0001 cm every day. Even if it's just one single paragraph or word.
Phase Four - Prepare your needed skills
I wasn't paying attention to this very step until I experience it myself heu. After you get to know your targetted country better, you might also want to note down the basic manners, the daily habit of the natives, and the foooood!
1. Sweat it out!
In my case, I found out that most Germans loved to walk. They tend to see walking 1,5 km as a short distance. Pardon my 'ojek-online' leg muscle it took me quite a while to adapt to this habit. And you guessed it, I was too lazy to just sweat it out. God! I know I'm not the best example, nevertheless, I hope you guys can learn something from me. Lol. Try to jog around your area for at least twice a week, do Zumba, or even workout in your room! That might help build your muscle, stamina, and increase your immune system.
2. Get ready to be your own chef
Moreover one of my most beautiful mistakes was that I'm not the best cook. I feel sorry for myself because the most complicated food I can cook before I flew to Germany is basically opor ayam (put instant spices, coconut milk, and chicken together. Voila!). I thought bringing as many instant spices as possible would be a great way to live, but we can't eat micin every day aren't we?
I'm glad that my friends are kind enough to teach me the basic skill. Can you believe before I couldn't even use a knife correctly?! Such a shame, tsk tsk.
It's good to learn at least Indo specialties that are rare in your targetted country. Soto, mie ayam, bakso, bakwan, or even your city's unique foods. I promise you, my friend, this skill would be your savior if homesickness decided to bother.
3. Know your body
There are a few illnesses that only a few know how to overcome. Make sure you know which medicine to take when the symptoms started to show. It's best to tell the people around you what kind of illness you had and what to do in case of an emergency. Remember that health is VERY expensive wherever you are. Even if health insurances are ready to pay for your medicine and doctor-visits, please please just stay healthy.
My story is not yet meeting an end, but I think it's too long already isn't it? See you guys shortly in the next post!
Love and light,
Sintya.
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