Student Survey Summary 2005

At the completion of their semester ACICIS students are invited to complete an anonymous survey to provide feedback on their ACICIS experience. All Semester 20 students (January 2005 to June 2005) were contacted twice, asking them to fill in the survey. Only 27 out of 40 (68%) responded. With these numbers the survey is still considered to be relevant and representative.

Pre- departure Information

Question 1
Pre-departure information provided by the ACICIS secretariat?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 96%

Comments

• Gave plenty information on what to expect, great for letting family, friends etc know what it's all about.
• A lot but easy to follow.

Question 2
Visa application package provided by the ACICIS secretariat?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 93%

Comments

• A really easy way to get a visa.
• We hardly had to do anything to get our visas, it was fantastic. Just had to fill out a few thoroughly explained forms.

Question 3
General level of service provided by the ACICIS secretariat?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 93%

Comments

• I was amazed by how thoroughly and quickly the ACICIS secretariat communicated with me. Thanks so much!
• Was really helpful in sorting out everything both before and during the trip.
• Secretariat provided a lot of assistance particularly with pre-departure problems.

Pre-semester Orientation

Question 4
Orientation session arranged in Yogyakarta?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 89%

Comments

• It was a good way to get to know people.
• Covered all the important topics.
• Meals for the first day or two didn't include vegetarian food.

Question 5
Option information prior to and at orientation?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 89%

Comments

• It was all very informative.
• It was comforting having all the information we needed.
• At the start of the semester, it was pretty confusing when we were all deciding about immersion etc.

Question 6
Accommodation information?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 85%

Comments

• Very thorough, gave an idea of good areas and proximity to supermarkets etc.
• Pretty good range of info to do with various accommodations.
• Although there was a lot of information, for me who hadn't been to Jogja before it was hard to put it into context where I was in relation to what was on paper etc.
• A good guide.

Question 6a
Pendamping (Volunteer Guides)?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 78%

Comments

• Mine was excellent with helping me.
• I think it's a good idea, but I don't know what the pendampings did to deserve it. Definitely something of a one-sided arrangement in the Aussies favour - which is okay I guess. Useful.
• My pendamping was awesome, great help at beginning of semester finding kos and just generally showing me around Yogya.
• My own pendamping was a gem - really friendly, really helpful, we are now really close friends and she stuck with me through the whole semester.

During Semester

Question 7
Dissemination of information during semester in Yogya (by email, checkpoint meetings etc)?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 85%

Comments

• Easy to know what was happening with frequent emails/sms.
• Stuff about visas and class registration quite useful, thanks!

Question 8
General support provided by the Resident Director?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 96%

Comments

• Pak Tom helped whenever help was needed. He was excellent.
• Tom has been great- always open house, always ready to help, and always very encouraging of my choices/decisions in Yogya re study etc.
• Pak Tom was amazingly helpful with all of the problems I presented him even if he was in another city. He put all his effort into sorting them and was a great resource for my assignment. It's a shame he left because he was one of the best and nicest RDs you could get!!
• Pak Tom was fantastic and provided a high level of personal and professional assistance.

Question 9
General support provided by the Indonesian ACICIS staff?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 96%

Comments

• Lestari and Wawan are excellent. Lestari knows how to help with everything.
• Lestari and Wawan do an awesome job and should be given pay-rises. I doubt there's anything in Yogya which they aren't either involved in or can connect you with. Fantastic.
• Lestari and Wawan were great helps. Invaluable.
• Lestari and Wawan were great! Always willing to help at the drop of a hat. They are indispensable.
• Reliable, enthusiastic, approachable.

Question 10
General support provided by the UMM Liaison or Contact Person?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 100%

Comments

• Everyone there was helpful.
• Malang ACICIS staff were generally helpful and nice but a bit absent minded sometimes.

Question 11
What accommodation did you choose?

Question 12
Satisfaction with accommodation?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 96%

Comments

• It was the ultimate Indonesian experience with noise and no privacy, but it was fabulous to get to know the girls and learn how Indonesians live.
• Recommend strongly to future ACICIS students to stay in a kos. Staying in a kos with all Indonesians is the best thing for your language and you'll meet heaps of people when they introduce you to their friends etc.
• Family I lived with was great. Spoke a bit of English. Mad experience, I recommend finding one with kids roughly the same age because its easier to make friends with their friends.
• Loved living with a family. Really showed me a different side of Indonesian culture and forced me to use my language skills.
• Handling the Indo pop music at 6am was a little tough but apart from that and the incredibly creaky bed (lucky no chicks were allowed in!) the kos experience was fantastic. Made some real Indo friends that I will try to keep in contact with for a long time.

Question 13
Usefulness of your semester studies (academic program) in Indonesia to language learning?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 89%

Comments

• My immersion units were a challenge at first in terms of comprehension but you'll find that after a couple of weeks that everything will click. Learn everyday Indonesian from mates you meet in class, that's a great thing about taking immersion.
• Going straight to Malang was a difficult experience but it improved my Indonesian much more quickly than any classes would be able to. Having to interview for the paper and write it in Indonesian was hard but successful in expanding my understanding of the Indonesian language.
• Best way to improve - living surrounded by the language.
• Awesome experience! I really didn't think I would improve that much. Highly recommended.

Question 14
Language and cultural learning achieved through extra-curricular activities (ie, your general life outside of formal university study)?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 93%

Comments

• You're going to find it hard not to pick up new language (including the highly confusing bahasa SMS).
• Met great people and learnt different vocabs because we talked about different topics. Didn't have anyone that was able to speak English around so really had to use my language skills.
• Not so easy for older students to mix with other students. Went to church but found people to be very reserved. Went to country town to practice English with schoolkids a few times, interesting and enjoyable. Wish I had joined Hash House Harriers for local and expat company.

Question 15
Achievement of the objectives you set yourself before arriving in Indonesia?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 85%

Comments

• Indonesia was a completely different kettle of fish, I had expectations, but it turned out that they changed when I got here and I've had a wonderful time.
• Achieving fluency in Indonesian, getting through a semester of study and seeing various cultural events not to mention making lots of friends here - I guess my objectives were achieved.
• Much more fluent than I ever dreamt I could be. Life changing experience.
• Could have studied harder... what's new?

Question 16
Usefulness of semester in Indonesia to future career prospects?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 77%

Comments

• Invaluable. This year actually gives me a much better degree than what I would achieve without it.
• Re labour rights, NGOs, contacts and volunteer work with Oxfam etc- this has been a great melting pot of contacts etc.
• Feel that the things that I have acquired through a semester of study here will definitely be useful for my future.
• Changed the direction of my future career. Definitely want a career in Indonesia and Indonesian studies.

Question 17
Overall worth of semester in Indonesia (in spite of any problems you may have had e.g. costs stress, workload)?

Excellent / Satisfactory - 96%

Comments

• I couldn't advocate this program enough not only for an academic endeavour but for personal growth and self understanding.
• It was totally amazing and I wouldn't change a moment of it good and bad.
• I definitely recommend it. But you must, and I mean really, really must, be willing to have the patience of a saint and the ability to laugh at yourself.
• Although it can be very hard at times, my time in Indonesia has given my a new perspective on the world.
• Any problems you may encounter are easily solved. You will have everyone in ACICIS and mates all around you.
• Incredibly worthwhile. Best overseas study I've experienced.

Background

Question 18
Prior to undertaking this ACICIS semester, how much time had you previously spent in Indonesia?

Comments

Question 19a
What advice would you give to future students considering an ACICIS semester on accommodation?

Comments

• There's a full range of accommodation available, from a house to a homestay. Take your time to look and decide.
• I think the ideal Kos for girls would have no jam malam, and a place where you can sit and have visitors.
• Don't stress about it. It's not a big deal. However you want to live, whether in a vermin-infested hellhole or a sparkling palace, you can do it here, and for cheaper than you can just about anywhere. So don't fret.
• Stay in a kos with Indonesian people, get a whole lot out of that including language and culture, don't live with westerners as your language will not improve.
• If you really want to improve your Indonesian greatly I would suggest living in a kos as you are constantly communicating with Indonesian people.
• Live in a kos, best thing for your language and you'll have 10 mates in the first week!
• ACICIS staff very knowledgeable about what is available. Take your time.
• Live in a kos. It's the best way to get to know other Indonesians. It's a great experience living just like the majority of other students do and it is also like a support network - you will never be lonely.
• Go in a kos, it is awesome, cheap and there is always people that are ready to go out or do something.

Question 19b
What advice would you give to future students considering an ACICIS semester on financial arrangements in Indonesia?

Comments

• You live like a king in Indonesia off Austudy. It's more than enough, sometimes it's a strange feeling having so much free cash... I'd recommend being extra kind to a few beggars every now and then.
• ATM with cirrus is totally reliable, except when the power goes off. Keep a bit of cash for emergencies
• Got centrelink? Yes? Welcome to the exclusive ranks of the wealthy. You will earn more than just about anyone you meet and can do just about anything.
• Use the ATM's inside the huge banks, like the Lippo bank on Jalan Solo. I think those are maintained better. Some students, including myself, have had trouble with the ATM's on the side of the street.
• I was getting Youth Allowance which made it really easy to live in Indonesia.
• Make a budget, stick to it more or less. Living here isn't expensive, you can get by on what, less than $5 a day.
• I was able to get centerlink. Absolutely fabulous as it paid for all my travel and daily costs. So I really recommend it.

Question 19c
What advice would you give to future students considering an ACICIS semester on cultural adjustment in Indonesia?

Comments

• You'll be surprised how much Yogya is like home. Only with more poverty and a foreign language. It is extremely relaxed, so that is comforting and familiar to Australians.
• Give it a week or two, then you fit right in.
• Get use to squat toilets, cold water and rats living in your roof. Also everything is dirty. Also get used to people yelling at you everywhere you go. If you're blonde I suggest you dye your hair brown.
• No problems here, unless you are expecting everything to be like home which of course it isn't.
• Adjusting yourself seems hard at first because everything's so different, but it all becomes interesting and fun, all the stuff you learn about their culture.
• I learnt that you don't have to change everything about yourself to fit in but you just have to be aware of, and sensitive to, the cultural aspects that surround you.
• Hated the first month and was desperate to come home but by the end didn't want to leave. Already have plans to go back.

Question 19d
What advice would you give to future students considering an ACICIS semester on preparation (both psychologically and physically) in Indonesia?

Comments

• Just be open minded, don't expect anything.
• Things are different, but other people are doing it, so you can too.
• Don't get a picture in your mind and then get disappointed when Indonesia is different. Much better to just get there and see what its like for yourself.
• Bring a calm attitude and an open mind.
• Give up, there's no way you can fully prepare.
• Check your state of health before you leave, have the vaccinations and go to the dentist. Do some weight lifting to prepare yourself in case you have to buy your own drinking water...it comes in a very large, heavy plastic container called a gallon.
• Get ready to sweat!! It is bloody hot sometimes.
• It's a busy place, with lots of pollution and funny smells. Don't expect it to be clean. Get used to eating rice a lot.
• Stress and homesickness are normal parts of the semester. Expect everything to be totally different...

Question 20
On balance how do you feel the positive aspects of the ACICIS semester compare to the negative aspects?

Comments

• The magic of Jogja and your life here turns the negatives into a growing experience.
• Positive aspects override negative, without acicis students can not experience this experience of a life time.
• Positives far outweigh the negatives. There will be times when you're lonely or frustrated, but they pass quickly.
• I definitely had more positive experiences than negative and looking back now what I thought of as negative is actually quite funny.
• Positives win. ACICIS makes life heaps easier because they act like your parents if you have problems you don't know how to fix. The whole process of going to Indonesia is made much easier by going through ACICIS.
• As a first-timer in Indonesia I felt very secure having the support and safety net of ACICIS.
• It is awesome you will get so much out of the program.
• Negative aspects like stress, homesickness, infuriating nature of Indonesian bureaucracy are all part of being in this kind of environment for 6 months and dealing with these things is what makes it such a huge growing up and learning experience. and the country is just so amazing.

Question 21
Would you recommend ACICIS to other students at your university?

Yes - 96%

Comments

• For academic growth with Indonesian this program is paramount.
• ACICIS is the easiest way to spend an extended period of study in Indonesia. You will learn more in one semester here than 2 yrs of Indonesian at home.
• Its a fantastic opportunity.
• Definitely. It was an incredible experience!!
• If you want to go to Indonesia this is the best and easiest way.
• Of course, it was the best 6 months of my life.

Question 22
Please sum up your semester in a single, quotable sentence?

Comments

• The best semester of my schooling life.
• Time of my life, was an experience I will never forget.
• Had a fantastic time, met amazing people + new friends, great experience, would love to come back through acicis.
• It was fun, hard, frustrating, interesting, hot, and invaluable.
• This semester has made me feel very alive.
• Nothing compares to a semester studying overseas, the rewards aren't just academic through the people you'll meet here it will probably lead to a lifetime of you just wanting to come back to see more!
• The most valuable, exciting, challenging and life-changing spontaneous decision I have ever made.
• Best time of my life, everyday something new to learn, a new place to visit or warung to eat at. Lovely people.
• I can honestly say I've never done anything as demanding, fascinating, stressful or incredibly exciting as my semester with ACICIS - the most amazing 6 months I've ever had!

Optional

Question 23
Gender?

Question 24
Age Group?