KENAPA KITA HARUS IKUT EXCHANGE PROGRAM?

Hello readers, what's up? 

AND WELCOME TO ...  NOVEMBER! YEEEEEE 

Sebenarnya aku mau posting ini sejak dahuluuuu kala, tapi kan yaa karena waktu yang belum cukup untuk bisa menulis bacaan yang singkat tapi ber-faedah bagi kalian semua, jadi barulah sekarang aku bisa memposting dan membagikan ini. Finally yaaaa. Eittss, tapi aku udah pernah kok bagiin cerita di kampus, sama teman-teman, di seminar bersama teman-teman seperjuangan, sama di postingan IG aku (di ig khusus pengalaman lucunya aja sih), tapi bagi kalian teman-teman pembaca blog ini mungkin belum pada tau yaaaaa. 

Nah, karena aku sangat menyayangi kalian semua, maka dari itu aku akan membagikan bagaimana pengalaman sesungguhnya yang aku rasakan saat mengikuti exchange dan kenapa kalian juga HARUS WAJIB COBA ikut exchange program. Lets read it!!!

Okay, jadi setahun + 1 bulan yang lalu, aku berhasil lulus untuk STUDENT EXCHANGE ke THAILAND. Alhamdulillah. Selama disana, kami mengikuti banyak kegiatan yang sudah ter-jadwal-kan (bukan berarti belajar terus yaa, tapi maksudnya sampe untuk jalan-jalan itu udah ada jadwalnya dan dibawa oleh staff dan dosen fakultasnya sendiri).  WOW-WOW-WOW.

The common question arises is "how does it feel?"

Yap, of course it makes me feel happy - really happy.  The next question is "why?"

Okay, jadi kalian tahu nggak sih? When you join a student exchange program (whatever it is and whenever it is), you’ll get experiences that you would never ever get if you just stayed on campus doing assignments, labs, or exams, like students in general.

You might have heard many people say, “You have to be an active student on campus by joining this organisation, that organisation, and so on...” BUT I think you also have to take part in an exchange program.

WHY? Because the experience is totally different when you meet new people from different regions and countries, with different circumstances and cultural backgrounds. You’ll get experiences you will never forget and never regret, honestly.

Here are some positive things that we can get from student exchanges (in my version):

1. DAPAT TEMAN-TEMAN BARU DARI BERBAGAI NEGARA BERBEDA

Ketika kita ikut exchange, maka akan ada banyak teman-teman baru dari negara yang berbeda. Hal ini akan menambah daftar pertemanan kita dan memberikan efek yang baik untuk kehidupan kita kedepannya, karena kita punya banyak koneksi dari berbagai daerah dan negara. 

So, imagine that if one day, you have an idea to create something, you can make it happen, because you've got friends all around the world to do it. Yap, that's the point!

2. MULAI BELAJAR BANYAK HAL 

Ketika kita ikut exchange, secara tidak langsung kita mulai belajar. Belajar bagaimana memahami orang lain, belajar bertoleransi, belajar menjaga diri, belajar untuk menjadi orang yang ramah dan belajar untuk menjalani kehidupan yang berbeda. 

Sometimes, when you are participating in a student exchange, you will need to interact with people you have never met before (strangers). Why? Because in another country, you can't live completely on your own, you can't do everything by yourself. Why? Simply because it's not your country, not your region, not your hometown, where you know everything. There are things that only locals know.

By interacting with other people, you learn how to open the conversation, how to make others feel comfortable, and how to get them to want to talk with you. 

Indirectly, this also helps you build confidence. Talking to people you have never met before and figuring out who they are. What an experience. 

3. NGERASAIN GIMANA SISTEM PENDIDIKAN DI NEGARA LAIN

Ketika kita ikut exchange, kita dapat merasakan bagaimana sistem pendidikan di negara yang berbeda. Mengetahui apa kelebihan dan kekurangannya, kemudian membandingkan dengan sistem pendidikan di Indonesia. 

What exactly is happening in our educational system? Why are we not like those in more developed countries? Why? Why? And why? 

I believe the answers can be found through every student exchange you join. From there, you can learn, compare, and bring back valuable insights. And one day, you can be the successor who helps transform Indonesia for the better. Who knows, right? 

4. PIKIRAN AKAN LEBIH TERBUKA 

Ketika kita ikut exchange, pikiran akan cenderung lebih terbuka. Kita akan berpikiran lebih luas dan melihat suatu masalah bukan hanya dari satu sisi (kita sendiri) melainkan coba melihatnya dari sisi yang berbeda (orang lain). 

We tend to become people who seek peace and care more deeply about the issues and conditions happening around the world. We begin NOT to be racist (someone who believes one race is superior to another), and START to be anti-racist—meaning we respect others, consider their circumstances, and think about how we can contribute to help them.

Why? Because when we live with people from different backgrounds, we learn to understand their perspectives and respect opinions that may be very different from our own.

And from here, we grow into more open-minded students who truly appreciate what others have to say.

We tend to become people who seek peace and care more deeply about the issues and conditions happening around the world. We begin NOT to be racist (someone who believes that a particular race is superior to another), and START to be anti-racist (respect others, consider their circumstances, and think about how we can contribute to help them). 

Why? Because we live with people from different backgrounds, we learn to understand their perspectives and respect opinions that may be very different from our own. 

And from here, we learn to become more open-minded students and start appreciating what other people say. 



5. MELATIH KEMAMPUAN BAHASA INGGRIS 

Ketika kita ikut exchange, kita dapat sekaligus melatih kemampuan bahasa inggris kita. Kenapa? Karena tidak akan ada yang mengerti "bahasa" disana, mereka hanya mengerti "their language" atau "english". Jika kamu perlu sesuatu dan mau melakukan sesuatu, kamu harus dapat menggunakan bahasa inggris. Hal ini akan sangat membantu kamu untuk melatih kemampuan bahasa inggris dengan mencoba untuk menjadikannya sebagai bahasa sehari-hari kamu.

Initially, it might be hard for some people, but this situation will improve your English skills and make you proud - when you realise it.

***

OKHAY, menurutku ada 5 hal positif TERBESAR yang akan kalian dapatkan jika ikut student exchange program dimanapun dan kapanpun itu. So, BERUSAHALAH, kalian pasti bisa! Aku tahu kalian bisa! Semangat!

Kegagalan sekali, bukan berarti kalian tidak akan berhasil. Terus mencoba dan semangat meraih mimpi kalian. Jika bukan kalian yang mengambil langkah awal untuk bisa mewujudkan mimpi kalian sendiri, siapa lagi?

Tidak akan ada usaha yang sia-sia, semua pasti akan ada hikmahnya, jika bukan sekarang mungkin suatu hari nanti, because everything happens for a reason.