Berita

Hello everyone!

I am Sandi Prayogi and currently studying in International Program of International Relations (IPIREL) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. I am a student of batch 2018 (semester 6) and in this semester I had the opportunity to participate in Student Exchange activities for 6 months or one semester at Universitat Jaume I, Spain. I did not expect to be one of the Indonesian students who could Exchange to Spain because I always considered the people who studied abroad were great people and I am proud to be a part of it.

My experience when participating in the selection of Student Exchange is not easy, we are required to have good foreign language skills at least English. On the first occasion, I was initially declared not qualified at the University of my choice, Dong-A University in Korea but I did not give up. I tried again to register for the exchange and Alhamdulillah I was declared qualified on this occasion at Universitat Jaume I, Spain. I understand that the opportunity will not come twice and maybe this is already my sustenance to study there.

The process to go to Spain is not easy especially in the current pandemic. There are many things and files to prepare to start from LoA, Visa, and so on. In my opinion, in addition to good foreign language skills, we must also have superior and Islamic character following the vision and mission of UMY. Not only that, but we must also dare to state our commitment during the interview to convey what goals we want to exchange. I think these three things are the most important.

The main reason I want to Exchange is that I want to feel the atmosphere and life in a country that has a different culture to Indonesia. Besides, my reason is also based on my dreams since childhood who want to study abroad. However, this great desire requires a great sacrifice is not as easy as turning the palm. As an International Relations student, I do not want to graduate later do not have international experience, namely being in a foreign country and feel like living in a different environment to Indonesia. During this exchange activity, I will focus on learning Spanish, culture, and also lecture materials that are following the field I studied at UMY.

The first experience I felt after arriving in Castellon Spain was the difference in cold weather. At first, I found it difficult to adapt to the cold. The weather in Castellon cold is not so extreme especially at this time of spring, but I think for a temperature of 8 degrees Celsius it is very cold because the average temperature in Indonesia is about 30 degrees Celsius. And another experience I felt was the difference in language. Because Spanish is the second largest language for Americans and Europeans, Spanish people speak more of their language and few understand English. However, it is an interesting challenge and experience that I can learn here because I think Spanish is very beautiful and sounds “sexy” when spoken. Surely I will not waste this opportunity that I have to learn and seek as much knowledge as possible about culture, learn to socialize with the surrounding environment and train my independence and ability to get out of my comfort zone.

I would like to say thanks a lot to Mr. Yordan Gunawan as the Head of the International Relations Office (IRO) for giving me this precious opportunity and also to brother Essa Rahmadhani who has helped me a lot during my preparations to go to Exchange in Spain. “Exchange isn’t a year in your life, it’s a life in a year”.

– Sandi Prayogi, Castellon de la Plana, March 14th, 2021.