Kiki went to the University of Warwick and took four modules from the Psychology Faculty: Language and Cognition, Non-Verbal, Psychology and Law, and Negotiation and Influence. She was really enthusiastic but a bit scared at the same time because many of her classes have a lot of reading lists. She felt amazed at how engaging the lessons are despite being a big class. At first, catching up with the study pace was also hard. The learning activities consist of seminars that discuss the readings for the week, video workshops where we watch videos and analyze the gesture and non-verbal from it. Negotiation roleplay, weekly assignments, quizzes, and watching documentaries in the psychology and law class. There are big differences between learning in Warwick and UGM, last semester, UGM classes were still mixed between online and offline classes. Meanwhile, the University of Warwick is entirely offline. Therefore, the classes feel more lively and engaging. Other than that, UGM classes are more generic and usually give the students book references to read so the students are capable of understanding the material better. University of Warwick classes teach more specific topics and give many journal articles as references. But this might be because most of the lessons she has taken in UGM are mandatory. As for Warwick’s, it was elective. In Warwick, they rarely give homework or assignments. Even when they did, it did not take much time, and she could finish it in one sitting.
To balance the time for studying and playing time, she didn’t want to be too immersed in studying because she doesn’t want to miss the time with her new friends and new environment. But she still needed good grades because it will get converted back to UGM. Finding a “study friend” was also challenging since all her exchange friends only transferred credit, so they did not pay much attention to their marks as long as they passed the module. Luckily, she did find one later on. Throughout the journey, it turns out she didn’t enjoy solo trips. She would rather go on trips with friends. Through these exchange program opportunities, she thinks she learned a lot about herself, such as her limits, likes and dislikes, and values. Most people are nice, so don’t be scared to ask them things if you need to and how to spend money more wisely.
One of the things that she enjoyed the most during the program is taking a walk. Back at home, she always uses Gojek to go to places, and she was more of a homebody. But in the UK, she would rather walk even though it’s 40 minutes by walking. The road and weather are super lovely and accommodating. She also joined the craft society where they crafted something like plushies and phone charm every week, which was fun and relaxing. She also enjoyed playing badminton between classes and studying in the library while snacking. Sometimes studying can also be stressful, so she usually cooks together and does movie nights with her flatmates to destress.
She likes to travel around with her classmates. It was memorable that after class, they immediately planned our trip together. But the thing she will miss the most is eating dinner and having parties with her flatmates. From this study exchange program, she obtained more confidence in herself and was capable of catching up with the study pace with good time management. She highly recommends this program especially if you have plans to continue your study abroad. Therefore, you already have a “taste” of what it is like. Going on exchange there is such a precious memory for her, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything.