23/09/2021
💜SHARING FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OF BIOMEDICINE💜
Hello ! I am Anissa Vidka Anjani from Indonesia. Currently enrolling myself in Biomedicine academic session 2019/2023. Here is a bit interesting sharing of my journey along the way from Indonesia to Malaysia 😘
To begin with, I started my study journey back in 2019. During that period, I was in huge dilemma since I need to leave my life behind. I was born in Indonesia, Jakarta and for the past 28 years I have always been there. Living with 1 sister and surrounded by friends and family, Jakarta has always been a home for me and to leave people that inspire and energize me ever since, it takes a lot of courage. Long story short, I decided to move to Malaysia and persuade my studies. Leaving my friends and family, I remembered my mind was full of thoughts, where should I start, how should I start and how can I survive. 🥺
Up upon my embarking my dad suggested few universities since he’s been living and working in Malaysia for the past few years. I was not completely aware with situations ahead me since my mind still in Indonesia. Ever since day one, I have already missed my friend, my sister, my life, and I continuously doubting my decision. My parents tried so hard to enlighten my day by bring me to explore Kuala Lumpur, visited few places as well as few universities and at that moment I realised this is not the place that I want to live in. Kuala Lumpur portrayed Jakarta way too much and those makes me missed my Jakarta’s life even more. 😢😢
To overcome my severe home sickness, my dad suggested me to visit Kelantan and USM. And the next following day I went to Kelantan with my mom, we stayed at the hotel nearby the campus for about 3 days. The first sentence that came out from my mom’s was “kak, nggak ada apa apa ya” which refers to “there is nothing here.” Hahaha. 🤭
As a person that never visited Kelantan before, we are facing a lot of difficulties and one of them was language barrier. Honestly, I couldn’t even understand a single word, which is weird because I am Indonesian, and Bahasa Malaysia is not much different than Bahasa Indonesia. So, we are relying on Bahasa salah paham which means salah salah tapi paham, HAHAHA.🤣🤣 The next day I decided to look through USM campus and we are swamped with the amount of the trees that available in USM, because trees are something that extremely scarce in Jakarta. My journey continued as I travelled back to Kuala Lumpur with the thought that I may further my study in Kelantan. My first thought of Kelantan was disparate, as I used to live in the city with luminous light, surrounded with skyscraper, and of course unharmonized amount of honk hahah. Kelantan can be considered as a desolate place but uniquely I found it gripping. I swiftly made up my mind and tell my parents that I choose USM. 💜
The procedure begins with registering and uploading few documents including, copy of passport, mark transcript, toefl certificate, high school certificate (A level, depending on the respective country) and financial support letter. I decided to choose Biomedicine, because I was a medical student before, and this course was something that related into what I have learned. Once they verified your data then, they scheduled you for an interview and if you are eligible for the course, they will send you an offer letter. The interview was meticulous even so, the interviewer is gracious (don’t worry they don’t ask about your physics, biology, or math question instead they tested your communication skills together with your personalities). Once all settled then you may proceed with the student visa and finally, you can consider yourself as an official Malaysia student. From my point of view, people in Kelantan are extremely genuine, starting from the Grab driver, the university staff, the local students and not forget to mention the food there was splendid. 🤤
My first week of USM students started with an orientation week. I could say it was the though week for me, as I need to wake up so early (not my things, because you interfere my sleep, I interfere your life) HAHAHHA🤣🤣, but then fake it till you make it :P. I was a bit grumpy throughout the day but gradually gets better as I get used to it. Anyway, you may experience a little bit of confusion since they speak different languages but don’t worry you are going to have an on-the-spot translator or side to side translator HAHA or again you can continue to live with Bahasa salah paham, salah salah tapi paham 😊.
During the orientation week you also have the chance to embrace the diversity, but oftentimes they don’t assume me as an international student as I look so much like Malaysian haha (major identity crisis😆). Once the orientation weeks over, and then you started to meet your batch mates. We are very shy and awkward in the beginning but as the time flew by and as we get comfortable to each other, shyness was turned into craziness and thanks to them my days was filled with so much laughter. Marked that all of USM students are obedient and clever but surprisingly they are very generous with knowledge so do not hesitate to ask for help if you encounter any problem during the studies.
In biomedicine you will expose yourself with lab’s work and lab’s diagnosis with basic anatomy, immunology, pharmacology etc. I could say it’s similar to medicine but without the patients and anamnesis, very fascinating isn’t. 😊. I also experience joining myself in the music club committee and learned how to play violin for the first time.
However, June last year my USM experience changed overnight due to covid pandemics. Webex classes and mask filtered the way I learned and interacted. But in a way, my sense of being was enhanced. I washed pushed to relinquished control, reflect, and prioritize. I had to decide swiftly about what really mattered to me in such a unique and unexpected ways. Words can’t describe how much I’ve learned from this experience. But above all I am grateful for every bit of it. It was a tremendous privilege to have met each and every one of you. Here’s hoping that we can see each other in anytime soon. 😊 😊
CREDIT: ANISSA VIDKA ANJANI
BSc. (Biomedical Sciences)
Biomedicine Programme,
School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
