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| Indah Febriana As'ari Putri, an International Relations Department student of UMM, who took a photo in front of the building of the University of Szeged. (Foto: Istimewa) |
Being forced to live independently abroad, a University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) student participated in a student exchange program at the University of Szeged, Hungary. This international relations student, Indah Febriana As'ari Putri, is the awardee of the Indonesia International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA). It is the program held by the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology. This student exchange program lasted from September 2022 until January 2023.
Indah said that her trip to Europe was her first experience going abroad. Being far away from her parents makes her have to adapt to a new culture and environment. For the first two weeks, she felt insecure. Indah even only consumed instant noodles, rice, and omelets on the initial days of her student exchange journey in Hungary.
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“Islamic people in Hungary are minor. Some restaurants only sell halal food like chicken, fish, and so on. However, their ingredients still use pork oil. Therefore, the only alternative is to cook. The problem was I never cooked, so I only ate instant noodles for the first two weeks. After passing the situation, I gradually started to cook with recipes from the internet,” said the Student in the Batch 2020.
In addition to feeling challenged to find halal food there, Indah also admitted that the accessibility to mosques there is limited. Actually, the university has provided a praying room for students. However, it is open only during praying times.
“I had to simultaneously adapt with the course and praying schedules. Sometimes, when the praying time has already passed and the praying room has closed, I have to pray in emergency stairs. I even have to pray in a mall fitting room," said the Student from Malang.
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Although her adaptation in Hungary was complex, Indah said her student exchange experience there was valuable. Besides forcing her to be independent by following this program, this student exchange journey teaches her to learn about the customs and culture of another country.
“One thing that amazed me when in Hungary was the Candlemas Church. The building of this church was a mosque in the era of the Ottoman Empire. Then, it was converted into a church in 1702. Its outer ornament still looks like a mosque because of the dome, while the inner part has a strong catholic church nuance. The experience of participating in the IISMA program will be an unforgettable moment for me,” ended Indah. (imh/syi/wil)
