Studying abroad is the dream of many students, including Maria Yohanna Widianti Satriyo. This Social Development and Welfare department university student in Fisipol UGM batch 2017 had a chance to exchange to Australia for one semester.
She decided to take a leave from her department for a semester to fly to the kangaroo island in February 2020. In Australia, Maria studied offline for three weeks and online for two months due to the pandemic. The Fisipol Media had a chance to interview Maria through the phone. When this article is released, Maria would have already been in Indonesia, awaiting her study result.
Where did Maria heard about this program?
So, I got into Gadjah Mada University’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) exchange program in cooperation with La Throbe University, Melbourne, Australia. I knew about these programs from Deadra, who also exchanged to Australia, but in another university.
What did you study in La Throbe University?
My line of study was linear to what I studied in UGM. I consulted with my department beforehand. There are four studies that I took; two studies about development, one anthropology studies, and one urban development studies.
How was the university system there?
The number of studies that a student has to take there isn’t as much as how much students have to take in Indonesia. For me, one semester only includes four studies. Studying isn’t done once a week, there is usually also a study session in a big class and a workshop with the lecturer in small groups or directly with the lecturer. So, we usually meet twice a week, depending on whether there is a workshop or not.
What do you think of your university experience?
The university was fun. It feels like I have a new experience when it comes to the studying system, curriculum system, and extras. I found the joy of learning. My essays are always given some feedback and I greatly improved because of the system. Here I know the good and bad side of the university system abroad and in my own country. Other than that, I also had a wonderful life experience abroad.
Other than studying in your university, what else did you do while in Melbourne?
I applied to a part time job as a waitress in a restaurant. The part time job wage was enough to pay my living cost. But I didn’t get to do it because before I work, the government already implemented lockdown and asked us to do physical distancing.
How does it feel to be quarantined abroad?
It was an odd experience. During lockdown, I feel so alone. But for me personally, I was more worried about my family in Indonesia because Australia’s government management of the pandemic is better than Indonesia’s. At that moment, Indonesia was also lacking the facilities for Covid-19 management. I was also quite confused on whether I should go home right away or not because the lectures are done online.
I decided to go home to Indonesia on May 9th 2020. This decision was made because of a few reasons. Some of them being that I will be more stressed if I stay too long in Australia and the flights will be more limited. The decision to go home is also because there is already a clear guideline in place. Other than that, I also consider how much money I will spend. If I stay in Australia, I will spend more.
What is your message and motivation to friends who want to do the same thing as you?
Ever since I was a junior in university, I wanted to do the exchange program. At first, I thought that it was impossible because I rarely ever heard students from my department participate in an exchange for one semester. My motivation when doing something is to pray for it and hope that the universe clears the path for me. Don’t worry, there are a lot of ways to reach a destination.
People might say “Mar, isn’t it sad to go abroad and was restricted because of Corona”, but I didn’t feel so sad. As sad as I was, I believe that everything happens for a reason. Dealing with the pandemic when I was abroad was shocking. So all I can do is to be patient and get on with it.