Studying Abroad

After having graduated from ITC (Institute of Technology of Cambodia), students have their own duty to be accomplished. Some of them have been to the environment of work such as site engineer, surveyor, designer, etc, else have pursued their study for master degree in different field and various countries depend on their scholarship sponsor and their background.

Being one of them, I graduated in 2008 in field of Rural Engineering related to rural infrastructure and irrigation system. I had succeeded in applying for scholarship to University Gadjah Mada (Indonesia) in field of Hydrogeology under AUN/SEED-Net program. As a freshman in Rural Engineer, I have continued my study directly, I left Cambodia for Yogyakarta, Indonesia on August 13, 2008 with 5 other Cambodian Students who had studied the same field as me in ITC. It was the firt time for me leaving Cambodia for abroad by plane, but we had traveled almost one night including transit time. The morning August 14, our plane landed in Adisut Jipto Airport, Yogyakarta, I had felt with new environment of Indonesia.

After checking out, we took the step out of the terminal, we could hear khmer language which made me feel comfortable, those were our senior, Bong Kagna, Bong Thearith and Bong Bunchoeun. They came with other two program officers to pick us up to our new boarding houses. Traveling along from the airport to our kost, I noticed that this city was not as big as I thought since I was in Cambodia. It was even smaller than Phnom Penh City. Moreover, when we arrived at our boarding house, I was surprise again it seemed become countryside. I could see many kind of trees, farm, pets, and chickens, duck, etc which make me suddenly think of my hometown, Battambang. Again, the first day arriving in this city, our senors had told us a lot about this city, Indonesian, people school.... but the important thing, we should do immediately when we arrived in other countries was that giving the information to our family in Cambodia. I had called to my father and my lady only with short words due to the limit of simcard.

The first time, we had lunch together at one resto called suka suka (mean like), which allowed us to taste Indonesian food with new style of eating without spoon or fork. In the late afternoon, we went shopping center, Plaza, the biggest in this city to buy some tools for our bed and living here. The first day had finished, we got new idea to live in new country.