Category: Tips

AdventureNotes #8: Lost in Rome

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

This article is way long overdue. So sorry! but since I’m an active traveler again now, it seems that I have to continue this AdventureNotes series.

Anyway, for this session, I’ll write about Rome! Who doesn’t know and doesn’t want to visit this city? It has its own unique charm and to be honest, you’d want to visit this city again and again, strolling at its small alleys. So, I’ve been in Rome twice now. The first one was when I did my solo Euro trip and the second was when I did a Euro tour with my family. This article will be based on the recollection of my memory from both trips.

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People coming to Rome by plane will most probably arrive in Leonardo Da Vinci Airport. I took a train from the airport to get to the city center, Roma Termini Station. The journey was short and pleasant. However, when I stepped my foot on Roma Termini, it was very crowded; lots of travelers, lots of beggars, lots of officers, and lots of sellers. I was shocked and therefore tried to find a quiet place to think. I needed to adapt before finding my way around.

I had a quite interesting experience in Rome because I was lost for a while! It was kind of funny actually because I tried to find my hotel at that time. The hotel was supposedly not too far from the station. I walked around and around, asked people but still couldn’t manage to find it. It was difficult to find it because there was not too many people who can speak English in that area. After a long 2-hours search, finally I could enter my room! The owner responded to my email and came get me. It turns out that there was no sign of the hotel and actually I walked pass that hotel several times without noticing.

The first time around, I tried to use the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus to get around Rome. I purchased the ticket online for a 24 hour pass. During my time there, I found out that the HOHO bus was not that available. One time I had to wait for 30 minutes until the bus arrive. Additionally, the traffic in Rome was just not good. I thought that it might be faster to walk! Seriously.

I think the better option to get around Rome is by public transportation. Almost all of the attractions in Rome are reachable by many different means of public transportation, such as bus and metro. It was much quicker and cheaper. On my second visit to Rome, I bought a one-day travel card that I can use to get on all public transportation in Rome. It costed like a quarter of what I paid for the HOHO bus and I managed to see more Rome tourist attractions!

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From both visits to Rome, I managed to enter some places, such as Colloseum, Roman Forum, and St. Peter’s Basilica. I had to buy tickets for the Colloseum and Roman Forum, but the entrance was free for the St. Peter’s Basilica. Rome is such a popular tourist destination so that to enter the attractions, we would be most likely have to queue, sometimes for a long time. Therefore, actually during the online ticket purchase, there is an exact time allocation for us to visit. However, it seems that the system did not work because I could enter Colloseum and the Roman Forum one day later than the appointed schedule on my ticket. All attractions mentioned above were worth to visit, besides they are legendary!

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Besides those attractions, Rome is also famous for its outdoor attractions, such as Piazza and the Trevi Fountain. I went to Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, and Piazza Venezia on both of my trips. I love the environment in those neighborhoods. Some of those places are quite close to each other so that I could just walk. It was really nice actually comparing to taking a bus or metro because I could explore the small and charming alleys near those places. I even passed the Pantheon on my way from the Trevi Fountain to Piazza Navona.

There are still many attractions in Rome that I haven’t visited. I wished I could visit the city again, longer the next time around. Surely one or two days are not enough to explore this city.

Now, for the tips of visiting Rome!

1. Be ready with your Google Maps to find your way around because not too many people can speak English.

2. Buy the daily or weekly travel tickets. The attractions are easily reachable by public transportation. It is safe, even if you travel alone.

3. Beware of the weather. Rome can get very hot during the summer. The weather gap between this city and other cities in Europe during spring is also noticeable. Get hydrated!

4. Stay alert, especially in crowded place because there are quite a lot of beggars and strangers who may try to steal. Moreover, the city is packed during the summer months, it can get super crowded.

5. Try the gelatto and icy drinks! They are good. Regarding the foods, for Muslims who have to eat halal food, there is this restaurant really near to the Roma Termini station that sells halal and very yummy and delicious foods.

6. Purchase your tickets online. Sometimes they offer discounted price tickets or Rome pass that could get you into many different attractions in cheaper cost.

Let’s go and travel to Rome!

Jan 01, 2016

Adventure Notes #6: Kaiserslautern – Heidelberg – Milan

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

This AdventureNotes is the second part of my first Eurotrip journey, which is the story of my third day of the whole trip. One day, three cities to visit. When I think about that now, well that’s quite impressive. I travelled across three countries in a day.

Kaiserslautern. Well, the reason why I went to the city was because there was my friend there and I needed a place to sleep. Haha. I was a backpacker back then and budgeting was very important! I needed to save my money (I need to save my money as well now!). The city is very small. I remember that fish is the icon of that city so you can see fish sculpture everywhere. I get to see the student’s life in Kaiserslautern. It was quite different with student’s life in the UK, I guess. As education is totally free in Germany, yes for foreigner too, what international students and students in general need to be concerned about is their living cost. There were Indonesian students who do not have any financial support and have to work to fulfil their needs. How can they manage that? I have no idea. But they work here and there to get enough money to survive.

A night in Kaiserslautern and I had to go early in the morning to Heidelberg. Why Heidelberg, because I wanted to visit another friend of mine. It is funny that when you live far from your hometown you seem to have more friends than ever. Moreover, the relationship between you and the people you leave back home gets better. I don’t know why but that’s what I feel based on my experience. Anyway, I went to Heidelberg from Kaiserslautern by train again. I really love the transportation system in Germany. The train is punctual, the information is provided well, and the physical appearance of the train is very nice. All seem to be modern. The journey from Kaiserslautern to Heidelberg was about 1.5 hours. Not too far and I arrived quite early in Heidelberg.

I met my friend and took the tram to old town area of Heidelberg. Well, I think it is the most beautiful old town area. Seriously – I mean with all the buildings and the paints plus the scenery around. I love it! The old town area in Heidelberg is not too big. I walked across the old town and walked up through the Philosophenweg to see Heidelberg from above. I could see a kind of castle across the Philosophenweg. I didn’t go up there but my friend told me that it is beautiful. Well, hope there’ll be next time! I visited the Heidelberg University library which is gorgeous. Haha. Oh! And the university is the oldest university in Germany. I think it is worth to visit.

I only spent a few hours in Heidelberg and then I had to catch another train to bring me back to Milan. It was a very long journey; 6-7 hours if I am not mistaken. On my way to Milan, I had to transit in Basel. Basel is a city in Swiss. I went out from the station as I had around 45 minutes before my next train. I walked around the station area. What I forgot was that the currency they use in Switzerland is not euro! Most shops will accept euro but you’ll get CHF as the change.

After a very long journey I finally arrived in Milan at around 9 pm and had to go to my hotel for the night. It wasn’t a big, nice hotel but it was okay for me to rest as I had to go very early the next morning for my flight to Rome.

Lessons from the first part of my first Eurotrip:

– Traveling around Europe by train is very nice! Solo travelers – well, small group traveler as well – need to try this! As all of the transportation systems between countries are connected and the information is provided well, it is very safe. You get to see beautiful scenery and cities along your train ride. You also get to see local people’s daily life. Priceless experience!

– Beware when you travel during the Easter – or the seasons in between like during spring or fall – as the weather can be tricky. It’s kind of difficult to decide what clothes to bring and to wear. But bear in mind that you have to prepare for the worst! If you bring too many warm jackets, you can just take it off when it’s too hot; as simple as that.

– Currency, currency. Not all countries in Europe are members of EU. And those who are not have different currency. Yeah, UK has different currency although it is a part of EU. It is not too difficult if you end up in Swiss and only have euros in your pocket. But it will be probably more difficult if you are in some Eastern Europe countries. Check again the facts about the countries that you are going to visit.

– Backpacking is very tiring. You have to be on top of your stamina and use all opportunities to rest. You need your focus and your brain to be always on. You need your body to be fit because you have to carry that heavy backpack and to walk long distance. However it is a very great experience! I’d love to go backpacking again!

– It’s great to have friends everywhere so you can go and visit them. You can have free accommodation and meal. Haha! They’ll be glad to see you and you’ll be happy to see them too.

Jan 01, 2014

AdventureNotes #3: London

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

Baiklaaah.. Setelah cuti nulis (ciee) beberapa lama, saya maleees nulis dg bahasa Inggris. Hehe. Jadi, maaf2keun kalo notes kali ini berantakan yaa.. 🙂

London is a city that I like. Kalo liat London, mungkin sedikit2 inget Jakarta walaupun banyakan ga mirip nya siih tp yaa dibandingin Hull, masih lebih mirip lah. Hehe… Karena London adalah ibu kota dan pusat ekonomi juga, jadi London itu suasananya sibuk, it seems like everyone is on the go. Buat aku yang suka dengan ke-hectic-an dan kesibukan, menyenangkan banget sih jalan2 di London. Kenapa notes kali ini tentang London? Yaa.. karena setelah York, London adalah kota kedua diluar Hull yang aku datengin di UK.

Pertama kali visit London, saya pergi dg housemate saya. Pas banget waktunya lagi Christmas holiday. Tentunya di waktu winter dan suasananya Christmas banget. Yang harus diwaspadai ketika liburan di musim Christmas seperti saya adalah melangitnya harga2, mulai dari kereta dan akomodasi. Tips-nya, booking semua di awal. Bulan Oktober kalo bisa udah booking semuanya supaya dapat best deal. Untuk transportasi, selain kereta kita juga bisa naik bus dari Hull. Hanya saja perjalanannya 5 jam. Tergantung lagi, apakah beda harganya signifikan. Plus, kalau punya tiket kereta, kita bisa masuk ke certain attractions dan makan di certain resto with 2 for 1 price. Promo ini sangat2 menarik karena yaa sama aja dapet diskon 50%. Syaratnya, ke London harus bersama teman2 dan berjumlah genap. Hee. Lalu, untuk akomodasi ada banyak pilihan. Ada wisma KBRI yang katanya sangat terjangkau (saya sih belum pernah nih jangankan ke wisma KBRI, ke KBRI nya aja blm pernah, heheheh), ada juga hostel yang terjangkau. Sarannya sih, kalau bisa pergilah ke London bersama teman2 yang banyak karena bisa ngirit ongkos akomodasi.

Lanjut, what did I do? Pertama kali ke London, 4 hari dan betul2 niat. Semua itinerary nya dibuat dg oke. Beli2 tiket masuk attraction dari internet karena biasanya lebih murah. Ada juga deal2 tertentu yang memungkinkan kita masuk ke beberapa attraction dengan harga combined. Kalo nggak salah, pertama kali ke London, aku pergi ke Madame Tussaud, Sherlock Holmes Museum, nonton Wicked, ke British Museum, Portobello Market, Harry Potter Studio, Oxford Street, Parliament House, liat changing guards di Buckingham Palace, naik London Eye, dan ke Hyde Park. Yah, kira2 begitulah yaa.. Menurut saya sih semua attraction nya menarik dan recommended kecuali Sherlock Holmes Museum yang ngantri nya panjang banget dan cukup mahal tapi tidak sesuai dengan ekspektasi.

Untuk aku, it’s a must-nya London ada beberapa. Kalo nggak ke tempat2 itu yaa rugi lah (menurutku yaa..). Pertama, nonton musical di London. Teater tempat musical2 ini ada di daerah West End biasanya. And I love West End area. Nggak tau kenapa tapi rasanya festive aja. Hehe. I also love strolling around in South Bank. Again, lebih karena alasan environment. Entah kenapa suka aja atmosphere disana. Lalu, ke Harry Potter Studi. Dimana lagi bisa ke Harry Potter Studio? Agak mahal tiketnya tapi for someone who grew up with Harry Potter like me, sungguh2 nggak nyesel.

Menurut aku sih, pertama kali ke London itu harus dipuas2in. Bener2 harus mengunjungi apa yang ingin dikunjungi. Karena kita bisa jadi turis benerannya hanya pas pertama kali ke London. Kesempatan berikutnya ke London… well, pastinya karena udah pernah jadi kurang exciting walaupun kalo buat aku sih, pengen balik2 terus ke London. The city has a charm.

What can you do besides the normal touristy activities? Coba buka website nya visit London dan cari2 event apa yang sedang berlangsung. Menyenangkan sih, dateng ke event2 yang diselenggarain di London karena pasti niat. Saya pribadi sih pernah dateng ke Winter Wonderland yang recommended banget, HARUS dikunjungi klo lagi ke London saat winter dan ke Canada Day. Menarik! Coba juga jalan2 ke taman yang ada di London, dateng ke pasar2 yang banyak banget juga di London. Atau, kalo yang mau ngeceng silahkan beredar di jalanan kota London pas jam orang bubaran kantor. Lots of cute guys with suit. Hehehe…

That’s about it. I didn’t give anymore details about the website, etc but you can ask me anytime. If you wanna go to London, I’ll be happy to make an itinerary for you. Hehehe.. Okay then, London is a city with charm which makes me want to go there again and again.

Oct 18, 2013

AdventureNotes #2: York

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

So, this is my second notes about my adventure while I was studying in the UK. Why York? Well, there are two reasons for that. First, my trip to York is the first out of city trip that I did after I came to UK. Second of all, because I love York. Seriously, York is my most favorite city in the UK. I don’t know why and you may not agree, but the city is very gorgeous.

The reason I went to York is because my housemate asked me to join her and her friends to go. She actually wanted to shop – because there’s this big outlet in York. I agreed to come not because I wanted to shop but because I just got nothing to do at that time. LOL. Good way to spend money, Zaa.

York is not too far from Hull, only around an hour by train. As usual, I had to book my train ticket early so I could get better deal. However, I made a mistake. I misinterpreted my friend’s request and I bought too many train tickets. What should I do? Thank God I bought the open ticket or all day ticket which means that I can travel anytime during that day. It costs a little bit more expensive than the advanced ticket; so I can returned the extra tickets. It took a long time until my money was refunded into my bank account but yeah, at least I got my money back.

I did quite a lot of things when I went to York. I didn’t go to the outlet the first time I visited York but I went there later on. As my favorite city, I went to York several of times. I just love it there. Places that I’ve visited in York are the museums (Castle Museum, another museum that I cannot remember the name, and Railway Museum), the tower (which again, I cannot remember the name), the Shambles (which is a cute old street), the Minster, and the parks. As I went there for the first time during the Christmas period, there was also a Christmas market. I loved the ambiance of the market, especially during the night. I also tasted the famous English afternoon tea (which was very expensive and… well, not as I imagined).

As a short visit destination, York offers quite a lot of attractions. I really like York with all its attractions. There are more museums than what I mentioned above and more interesting places a little bit outside of it such as Castle Howard. I regret I haven’t had a chance to visit Castle Howard because people said that it is gorgeous.

Now, for the tips. If you want to go to York, there are many options of transportation. You can go by train, bus, or coach. It’s only an hour by train but the fare is slightly more expensive. Great deal on Megabus sometimes so you can travel by coach for one pound only. Bus may be a good choice if you want to get to know Yorkshire area better. Visiting York can be expensive. The museums are not free. It is quite expensive, honestly. So, get promotion deals and buy the one year tickets. Plus, always ask for student price. I think, shopping in York is fun. I like to go to the outlet and find good stuffs in cheap price. The price in the outlet is already cheap, but if you go during the sale time, it gets cheaper and cheaper.

I definitely recommend people to go to York. It is such a beautiful place with interesting attractions to visit.

 Oct 09, 2013

AdventureNotes #1: Introduction

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

I feel like I write things based on request. LOL. Please anyone motivate me to write something more challenging. Well, it’s not that writing this type of text not fun, but I think I need to write more serious stuffs. Well, anyway… It’s been more than a year since I came to UK and study AND travel. The last part may not be the focus but it’s definitely the most memorable (I think).

In my opinion, travelling is a must! When you’re half way around the world from your home country, do travel. You’ll gain so much experience and learn so many things. You’ll see the world you’ve never seen before and you’ll be more knowledgeable.

I am quite independent and therefore I am not scared traveling alone (is there any relation, anyway?). But I believe that as long as I can speak and I have brain, I will be okay. As a part time traveler, I used to plan my travel during holidays or weekends, depend on the place I want to go to. I also have to save my money so that I can spend it during my trips. Traveling is not cheap so you need to prepare financially. Try to find promotions or cheap trips from the university so you don’t have to spend as much money.

In this modern world, traveling is not too difficult as it was before. Even if you have to travel alone, you can plan your trip before hand, book your transportation and accommodation online, etc. You can also always try to look for people you know, who may be able to help you during your trip or kindly let you stay in their place.

Traveling inside the UK is very very easy. As long as you plan your trip far before the date, you can get cheap prices. As people in UK also speak English, language won’t be a problem. There are also loads of information about touristy places and you won’t get lost – well, you can get lost but you’ll always find someone to help you.

Unfortunately, traveling outside the UK is quite difficult for Indonesian citizen. To travel in European countries, you need to apply for schengen visa. The procedure may not be too difficult but there are many requirements and documents that you need to prepare. You also have to have quite a lot of money in your bank account. The cost for schengen visa, per July 2013 is around GBP 100. Therefore you need to prepare if you want to go to other European countries.

An easier way to travel if you want to go somewhere outside UK without any visas is going to countries with on arrival visa. For Indonesian citizens, this means Turkey and Morocco. Those two countries are not too far from Europe (yeah of course because Turkey is partly Europe) and you don’t need to apply for visa before hand. You can just buy your airline tickets and go! As they are a bit far (Turkey is half Asia and Morocco is in Africa), the airfare can be quite expensive. So, again, prepare your money.

I don’t have a lot of money but I try to save money as much as possible for travel. I think it is worth it. So, while you’re in the UK as a student please do travel! 🙂

 Oct 08, 2013

Walking Everywhere

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

Tulisan ini nggak di request siapa2 sih, tp berhubung sedang flash back, jadi inget sesuatu yg lucu waktu dateng pertama ke Hull.

So, in my second week in Hull I was going to meet Mbak Tina for the first time. I remember that we planned to go to Hull Fair. It really is a big fair in Hull yaa… jadi yang datang bulan September, harus banget nih yaa dateng ke Hull Fair. Macem pasar malam di Indonesia cuma orang sini lebay aja yaa.. Haha.

Anyway, ceritanya waktu itu kita janjian, ketemu jam 5 sore di rumah Mbak Tina. Karena anak baru sampe di Hull, I don’t know places, right? Segera lah aku meng-google maps-kan (ini bahasanya gimana sih harusnya?) alamat nya Mbak Tina, ngeliat peta, lalu memutuskan untuk jalan kaki. Yup! Daripada nyasar naik bus (udah mana bayar kaaann) mending nyasar jalan kaki. Haha.

The information in my apple map showed that I need to walk around 25 minutes to Mbak Tina’s house. Berjalan lah saya. Lalu, si Ibu (my mom in Jakarta) me-whatsapp aku.

Ibu: Lagi ngapain Mbak? Hari ini janjian mau ketemu orang Indonesia ya?

Izza: Iya. Ini aku lagi jalan ke rumah Mbak Tina.

Ibu: Naik apa, Mbak? Jauh ya rumah mbak Tina?

Izza: Jalan kaki. Sekitar setengah jam gitu dari tempat aku.

Ibu: Kamu bisa jalan? Jauh juga ya kaya dari rumah ke kantor ibu.

Lalu yg setelah itu dibahas adalah…. why did my mom asked me ‘kamu bisa jalan?’ Hahahahaha… Ya bisa lah bu… hihi. Mungkin si Ibu nanya karena I was the kind of person who didn’t like walking, especially in polluted Jakarta. Hahaha.. Dan percakapan ini teteup loh dibahas terus di Hull. Hehehe.. I don’t think I’ll walk as much in Jakarta, really.

Daaaannn… setelah sekian lama disini (caelah berasa lama ajeee) akhirnya terbiasa juga jalan kemana2. Mulai dari jalan ke university (10 minutes to Wilberforce building areas), ke LIDL (15 minutes plus pulangnya bawa belanjaan berat), ke Newland Ave (ujung ke ujung demi belanja murah which takes around 45 minutes sampe balik ke rumah lagi), ke kantor kelurahan which is rumahnya Mbak Tina (30 minutes one way), sampaaaiii ke city centre kalo niat banget dan udaranya lagi cerah (which takes like an hour one way).

Semua berawal dari kebiasaan. Awalnya shock dong yaa harus jalan kemana2. Haha. Tapi karena udah expect dari awal, nggak segitu kaget juga. Pertama kali jalan ke city centre rasanyaaa pegel banget n cape banget. Tapi, lama2 toh biasa2 aja. Cape banget kalo pake lari2 ngejar bus atau kereta yaa (hehehe.. pengalaman pribadi). Intinya, kehidupan di Hull akan diisi dengan jalan, jalan, dan jalan (kecuali klo lagi punya unirider dan gamau rugi, ke Newland Ave aja naik bus. haha) karena modes of transportation disini hanya bus. Daerah2 yang penting dikunjungi di Hull cenderung walkable kok dari daerah student housings dan university jadi nggak perlu khawatir.

Sarannya adalaaah… persiapkan diri dengan alas kaki yg suitable untuk jalan kemana2, yang nggak bikin kaki sakit. Hehehe… Olahraga dikit2 boleh laaah.. dan siap2 kurus! (amin… hehehe). Selamat mempersiapkan diriii.. Let’s walk everywhere (unless I have the unirider, LOL).

Jul 05, 2013

Living in the UK Is NOT Expensive

Published on by Izza Dinillah2 Comments

Tapi bo’ong…

Lagi2 tulisan ini untuk Indonesian in Hull yaa.. nggak cuma yg di Hull sih tp yg membutuhkan juga atau yg nge fans sm tulisan sayah (ngarep). Hehe… Kali ini, tulisannya adalah ttg smart shopping. As it is written in the title, living in the UK is not expensive tp bo’ong.. Tapiii kalau tau trik2 nya dan tau gimana spend money di UK, biaya hidup akan jauuuuhhh lebih hemat. This piece of writing will be only about groceries dan teman2nya yaaa. Okay! Here it goes…

First of all, berbelanja kebutuhan sehari2 di UK butuh survey dan kecerdasan tersendiri (ciee… hihi). Don’t ever buy something in a place before checking the price in other places, kecuali klo emang terdesak banget. Ada beberapa pilihan toko yg menjual barang kebutuhan sehari-hari. Masing2 toko menjual barang tertentu dengan harga yg lebih murah drpd toko lain. Jadi, beli lah barang yg tepat di tempat yg tepat. Toko2 yg ada disini adalah toko2 yg ada di Hull yaa.. I don’t know if this is the case in other cities.

1. LIDL. Supermarket ini cukup populer di kalangan mahasiswa. Di Hull, LIDL ini ada di ujungnya Cottingham Road, di persimpangan dg Beverley Road (bukan Beverly Hills, awas jgn nyasar). LIDL ini, seperti toko2 lain, menjual barang2 kebutuhan rumah tangga. Yg selalu bikin pengen ke LIDL adalah bread selection nya yg wangiiii dan kadang2 ada promo. Biasanya, barang2 yg cukup murah dijual di LIDL adalah sayuran, buah, dan susu. Singles in Hull (Chysa dan Izza) pasti lari2 ke LIDL kalo beras dan telur habis. Yup! Di LIDL, beras long grain nya paling enak plus murah (40p saja) dan harga telur nya juga murah untuk konsumsi pribadi (83p). Yang pasti, susu di LIDL harganya lebih murah dr toko mana pun (1 pounds untuk 1.2 liter). LIDL punya promosi yg ganti2 setiap minggu. Ada weekend offer dan weekly offer. Jadi, sebelum belanja di LIDL harus cek dulu katalog nya di internet supaya nggak salah beli.

2. Price Crunch. Well, I don’t really know about this place tapi berdasarkan cerita dr housemate, price crunch ini adalah alternatif toko Cina. Barangnya nggak selengkap di toko Cina atau di toko2 lain, tp harganya emang lebih murah. So, if you need something urgently you can go to price crunch.

3. Tesco. Waktu pertama dateng, I thought you can get anything in lower price in Tesco. Padahaaaallll… Oh no! Tesco termasuk mahal juga. Tips belanja di Tesco adalah liat offer of the week dan cari barang reduce. Barang reduce ini biasanya goods yg udah lama atau mau kadaluarsa. Walaupun kadaluarsa tp masih bisa dikonsumsi. Biasanya, barang tsb akan kadaluarsa besokannya atau lusa nya. Reduce goods bisa didapat di Tesco sekitar jam 4 sore. Jangan beli barang2 reduce yg kira2 akan basi, kaya saos2 atau yoghurt. Biasanya, yg masih bisa disimpen itu ikan, sayur2 atau buah utuh (bukan prepared fruits). Barang2 bermerk tesco juga rata2 lebih murah tapi lagi2 harus dibandingin dg toko2 lain. Sekarang ini, aku udah jarang banget belanja2 di tesco kecuali emang barangnya hanya ada di tesco. Oia, tesco juga punya halal selection jadi klo mau daging2 frozen yg halal bisa didapat di tesco. As it also has world food section, jangan lupa bandingkan harga di tesco dan toko Cina.

3. Home Bargain. Ini adalah surganya belanja barang2 apapun. Apapun ada disini kecuali fresh goods. Jadi, kalau mau beli toiletries, laundry thingies, can foods, coffee, instant thingies, dan stationery murah, datanglah ke Home Bargain. Alat2 masak di Home Bargain juga murah2 banget. Jadi, jangan panik jangan tergoda beli alat2 masak sebelum ke home bargain! Semuaaa di home bargain harganya murah sekali kakak… Mari dibeli kakak.. hehe

6. ASDA. Asda ini supermarket yg mirip bgt sama tesco. Tapii kualitas fresh goods nya lebih OK daripada tesco. As it is in tesco, ada juga reduce-an di ASDA, as well as offers. Jadi, cek lah website asda sebelum berbelanja. Hehe..

5. Sainsburry. Ini adalah toko elit di Hull. Harganya lebih mahal dr tesco, asda, LIDL, apalagi home bargain. Tapi, fresh foods nya emang enak. Makanan kesukaan aku di home bargain adl chocolate fudge yang enaaaakkk bgt.

7. Toko Cina. Ada 2 toko Cina yg biasa didatangi di Hull. Yang pertama ada di Newland Ave, deket kampus dan student houses. Toko Cina ini jualan makanan Cina (yaiyalah namanya jg toko Cina). Disini kita bisa beli sambel ABC (yg kalo lg ga ada stock nya bisa bingung setengah mati) dan kecap ABC. Ada juga snack2 kaya hello panda dan juga mie instan. Kita bisa beli indomie juga di toko cina ini. What we need to be aware of is that in Toko Cina, the price is a bit higher, terutama di toko Cina Newland. Toko Cina kedua itu ada di city centre. Di toko yg di city centre, barang2nya cenderung lebih murah dan tokonya lebih besar. Klo di toko Cina Newland hanya ada frozen goods and instant things, di toko Cina town ada juga fresh foods kaya udang atau ikan. Treasure nya toko Cina town adalah ada kue kecil2 yg ada gulanya di atas, macem makanan lebaran pas kita kecil. Hehe. Harga sambel ABC itu sekitar 1.50 pounds, kecap ABC yg ukuran sedang itu sekitar 2 pounds, dan harga indomie itu 32p (toko Cina town) atau 35p (toko Cina Newland).

8. Toko India. This is heaven (haha lebaaay). Datanglah ke toko India di Princess Ave yg besaaar and you’ll find unbelievable things seperti kangkung, kacang panjang, labu siam, cabe rawit, dan bawang merah. Yup! They exist in the UK! Walaupun nggak ada setiap saat, tapi lumayan laah. Disini kita juga bisa dapet bumbu2 instant, beras thailand,  indomie, dan makanan2 asia. Klo udh mampir toko India, pasti ada yg dibeli. Nggak bisa pulang dg tangan kosong, bisanya dg dompet kosong. Hehe. Ada 2 toko India yg biasa didatengin, yg satu lg ada di Newland Ave. Toko India di Newland Ave ini lebih murah. Semua barang lebih murah tp harus hati2 liat expiry date nya karena kadang2 klo nggak merhatiin, kita bisa beli barang yg udh expired. BEWARE klo mau ke toko India di Newland Ave, terutama untuk cewek2 kece karena penjaganya genit!

9. Heron Foods. Toko ini spesialisasinya adalah frozen foods. Kalau mau beli makanan frozen, datanglah ke Heron. Biasanya harganya murah banget banget. Tapi, hati2 klo ke Heron karena barangnya terdistribusi dg baik sekali. Jadi, klo minggu ini ada barangnya, minggu depan belum tentu ada dan nggak tau kapan Heron akan restock barang itu.

10. Fruitopia. Fruitopia adalah toko sayur dan buah. Ini adalah favorite nya aku n Chysa karena barangnya fresh dan murah. Kadang2 kita bisa dapet 2 pack strawberry fresh yg harganya cuma 1 pounds. Intinya, klo mau belanja buah dan sayur, datanglah ke fruitopia. Fruitopia ini ada di Newland Ave jugaa..

11. Springbank Shops. Nah, yg satu ini saya nggak terlalu paham. Tapi intinya, di Springbank banyak banget toko Asia dan butcher halal. Tinggal pilih mana yg dimau dan bandingkan harganya. Ada butcher yg juga jual nugget dan kawan2nya dg harga cukup murah 3 for 10 pounds. Ada juga toko yg jual telur partai besar dg harga sangaaattt murah.

Okay! Begitulah review ttg tempat2 belanja di Hull and smart shopping tips. Berhemat2 lah dan menabung buat jalan2. Hehehe… As I say, as long as I have rice, eggs, nuggets, and sambel ABC, I can live happily. Haha! Selama di Hull ini, belanja termahal adalah di minggu pertama dan sisanya tinggal melengkapi kebutuhan aja. Again, living cost kita akan tergantung gaya hidup kita juga. So, have fun budgeting!

Jun 24, 2013

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

It’s a movie title. But I’m not going to write about that, really…

This is a request by Dhisty. Hehe.. Dhisty asked me about the winter in here and how to prepare ourselves for the winter. Ini cerita sayaa…

Bagi orang Indonesia, terutama yg belum pernah tinggal di negara 4 musim, tentunya winter jadi sesuatu yg menarik dan ditunggu2… atau mungkin ditakuti karena kita belum pernah ngerasain. Tapiii tenang ajaa.. kita kan punya kemampuan untuk beradaptasi and at the end, we can be friends with winter!

First of all, mahasiswa Indonesia yg mau kuliah di UK rata2 akan dateng kesini sekitar pertengahan atau akhir September. Bulan September itu biasanya masih autumn disini. Suhu nya mungkin sekitar 10-15 degrees. For Indonesian: ‘What??? 10-15 degrees? I’m gonna be freezing!’. Kenyataannya: yes you’re gonna be freezing the moment you get out of the airport and walk to your house. Jadi, bersiaplah dengan jaket secukupnya plus siapkan energi buat jalan geret2 koper. Hehe… UoH biasanya nyediain jemputan pas international arrival day. Fasilitas ini sangatt memudahkan karena nggak perlu repot, tinggal duduk di bus dan tiba2 udah sampe Hull. Tapi, klo tanggal kedatangan kita pas nggak ada international arrival day, like in my case, bersiap2lah lari2 ngejar kereta, pindah kereta, gotong2 koper, dan naik taksi atau bus ke UoH international office. Kalau udah booking akomodasi n punya kontrak, kita bisa langsung dapet kunci dan masuk rumah. Beware dg waktu kedatangan kita karena klo kita sampe di Manchester Airport lewat dr jam 2 siang, kita akan kebagian shift malem yg berarti akan sampe di rumah sekitar jam 11 malem. Oia, saran aku sih, datanglah dr Manchester Airport karena lebih sepi, lebih deket, dan nggak ribet imigrasi nya.

Bulan pertama di Hull mungkin akan jadi bulan terdingin di UK. Haha. Karena badan belum terbiasa, jd semua terasa dingin. Cuaca di UK yaaa begitulah. Unreliable. Jadi, bersiaplah bertemu angin, hujan, dan badai. Yg paling menyebalkan adalah angin karena bikin udara jd dingin walaupun temperature nya tinggi. Should we prepare coat from Indonesia? It depends. Kalo di Indonesia ada coat yg menurut kita nggak terlalu mahal dan cukup OK untuk menahan udara sekitar 10-15 degrees, silahkan dibawa. Waktu dateng kesini, I have one coat yg dipake teruuuuus sampe bulan Desember. Haha. Kalo merasa punya jaket yg cukup tebel dan gamau bawa coat, tenang aja… di Hull ada banyak pilihan pusat belanja yg jual coat dg harga dari mahaaaaalll bgt sampe muraaaaahhhh bgt.

Sekitar bulan November (2012), temperature nya udah mulai winter banget. Walaupun klo di Hull ini, kayanya hanya up to -5 deh… I don’t think we experienced lower than that in the last winter. Awal winter ini beda2 yaa setiap tahun. Kadang2 early, kadang2 late. Datengnya salju juga nggak tau kapan. Last winter, awal Desember udah bersalju walaupun nggak niat salju nya. Terus mulai lebat sekitar awal sampe pertengahan January. What to prepare for winter? Winter coat pastinya. Karena udaranya dingin, butuh coat yg lebih tebel dari coat autumn. Kalo bisa sih, cari coat yg waterproof juga karena salju bakalan cair kan… Lalu, butuh juga boots yg bawahnya karet. Kalo nggak karet, bakalan susah jalan karena slippery. Tenang, barang2 ini nggak harus dibawa dr Indonesia kok! Again, in here there are lots of options to get these things.

Salah satu must have item untuk melindungi diri dari dingin adalah long john atau disini disebutnya thermal (di pronounce ‘temol’ di Hull). Sebenernya sih thermal ini adalah baju dalem yg dipakai sebelum pake baju luar pas winter atau kapanpun kita ngerasa bakal dingin. Mungkin kaya leggings plus manset kali yaa… Yup! During winter we use lots of layers of clothes.

Setelah winter, udaranya getting hotter and hotter. Jadi, nggak perlu khawatir lagi. Baju2 Indonesia bisa dipake setelah winter. Pengalamannya sih, klo udah lewat winter, segala sesuatu jd panas. Hehe… 12 degrees udah dibilang panas klo matahari lg bersinar cerah. Hehe… So, no need to worry, you won’t need anymore coat or boots walaupun kadang klo lg windy, kita masih pake spring coat. Again, nggak perlu khawatir harus bawa2 barang ini dr Indonesia.

Seperti yg udah dibilang di atas, ada banyak pilihan untuk beli kebutuhan pribadi di Hull. Ini beberapa tips berbelanja nya:

1. Primark. Ini adalah toko baju yg murah sekali di UK. Kalau butuh coat atau boots bisa beli di Primark. Ada harga ada barang, kualitas di Primark ini juga yaa so so lah yaa, sesuai dengan harganya. Kalau anda bertubuh kecil, berbelanja lah di children section. Ini yg biasanya dilakukan saya dan Chysa. Hehe… Barang2 di children section lebih murah tentunya. Untuk gambaran, aku n Chysa biasanya klo beli barang di children section itu yg ukuran 11-12 tahun atau 12-13 tahun.

2. Charity shops. Ada banyak banget charity shops disini. Biasanya yg dijual adalah barang second hand yg masih bagus (walaupun kadang ada jg yg kurang bagus kondisinya). Pandai2 lah memilih di charity shop. Biasanya, bandingin harga barangnya dengan harga barang baru di toko. Misalnya, di charity ada baju dr Primark dijual dg harga 1 pounds, tp baju baru di Primark harganya 2 pounds. Maybe you better buy the new one. Begitu… Di Newland Ave, deket dg student houses dan university, banyak banget charity shops, mulai dari charity shops yg agak mahal, sampe Age UK yg muraaahhh sekali semua barang 1 pounds.

3. Ebay. Di Indonesia, online shopping mulai menjamur. Di UK, online shopping adalah pengganti belanja, terutama untuk kita yg tinggal di kota yg nggak terlalu banyak pilihan berbelanja nya. Di Ebay ini,kita bisa menemukan semua barang. Tinggal di search aja, bisa di filter mau barang baru atau second hand, mau auction atau langsung beli… semua ada. Barang di ebay biasanya harga nya lebih murah dan kita bisa pilih merek juga. Negatif nya, kita nggak bisa liat barang nya secara langsung, jadi yaa.. begitulah. Barang yg sampe belum tentu sesuai dg yg kita expect. Raja ebay di Hull adalah Chysa. Silahkan tanya2 ke Chysa ttg tips berbelanja di ebay yaa.. She bought a phone for 7 pounds! Segitu murahnya.. hehe

Sekiaaan sharing nyaa.. Silahkan tunggu post berikutnya ttg studying in Hull yaa… 🙂

Jun 26, 2013

Live Your Life in Hull

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

Waaahh… nulis ini gara2 dipanas2in sama Mbak Wuri, Mas Udin n Mbak Tina nih…

Menulis bahasa Indonesia lagi setelah sekian lama nggak nulis pake bahasa Indonesia. Maaf klo bahasanya ‘gaul’, ‘nggak baku’, dan campur2 yaa.. I’m not good at writing, especially in formal Indonesian. hehe

Oke. Tulisan ini sebenernya untuk siapa aja, tapi khususnya buat temen2 yang baru akan dateng ke Hull di bulan September 2013 ini. (Semoga bisa bertemu yaaa!! Klo nggak ketemu, ingat2lah saya. hehehe.). Mostly, tulisan ini akan ngebahas ttg student life di Hull. Apa aja kegiatan2 yg bisa kita lakukan through university links

I just came to Hull…

Waktu pertama kali dateng ke Hull, yang menjadi first impression adalah ‘Wow, gue di UK!“ lalu… “Wow, gue di desa di UK!”. Karena dateng dari Jakarta yg merupakan kota besar, tentunya bingung ketika dateng ke kota antah berantah yg berasa jauh dari peradaban. Mikirnya adalah selain belajar, gue mau ngapaiiin? What should I do? Untungnya, di induction week, education department baik sekali mengenalkan kegiatan2 departement yang menarik2 semua, terutama untuk international student nya. I don’t know if this is the case in other departments? Can anyone comment on it? Beberapa kegiatan yg ditawarkan oleh departemen adalah buddy scheme, intercultural seminar, dan course representative. Okay, mari dijelaskan detailnya yaaa…

Buddy scheme itu semacem program, terutama untuk international student dan mahasiswa baru, dimana mereka bisa dapet kaya ‘pembimbing’. Saat itu aku mengertinya begitu. Tapi, ternyata kegiatannya banyak! Termasuk bagi2 tiket gratis untuk berbagai acara di Hull dan jalan2. ‘Pantengin’ lah webpage nya buddy scheme untuk tau berbagai kegiatan yg disponsorin oleh mereka. Lewat kegiatan buddy scheme ini, aku dapet tiket gratis nonton 2x konser musik klasik di City Hall dan tiket gratis untuk nonton Hull FC di KC Stadium. Cool. Ini dia webpage nya buddy scheme: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/buddy.aspx

Intercultural Seminar adalah kegiatannya Department of Education di UoH. Seperti namanya, kegiatannya yaaa seminar dong yaa.. Walaupun diselenggarain sama department of education, kegiatan ini terbuka untuk umum. Jadi, semua orang bisa dateng dan denger seminar tsb. Seperti namanya juga, topik2 seminar nya adalah tentang pendidikan, tp dilihat dr berbagai sudut pandang budaya. Orang2 yang mengisi seminar ini adalah international students dr department of education. Alhamdulillah pernah dapet kesempatan untuk ngisi seminar ini plus dpt hidangan spesial bubur ayam (walaupun nggak bubur ayam sih) buat sarapan karena seminar ini biasanya diadain di waktu breakfast atau lunch.

Course Representative atau course rep bahasa gaul nya, adalah perwakilan program di University Union. Semacem perwakilan kelas klo di SMP atau SMA… atau MPM klo di universitas di Indonesia. Pekerjaannya yaa tentu saja merepresentasikan keinginan mahasiswa2 di program kita. Sebagai course rep, kita bisa dapet training gratis, jalan2 gratis mengunjungi university union di universitas2 lain, dan ikut academic meeting departemen kita. Kesempatan yg bagus untuk PDKT sama dosen2 dan tau ttg kegiatan2 departemen. Bertambah juga kesempatan untuk lunch atau dinner atau breakfast gratisan di kampus! Hehe.

Months living in Hull…

Setelah berbulan2 tinggal di Hull dan udah bisa beradaptasi dg kuliah dan lain2, mulai lah galau karena I need something more to do! (walaupun klo lg deadline ttp aja sih kelimpungan dan I don’t have time to do anything. Hee…) Pilihan yang pas adalah untuk menambah pengalaman dg bekerja. Mahasiswa dg visa Tier 4 bisa kerja up to 20 hours per week. Jadi, ada kesempatan untuk kerja part time. Pilihan untuk kerja part time sebenernya banyak asal mau mencari dan tau dimana mencari nya. Ada beberapa permanent resources untuk mencari part time job di uni as following:

UoH Career Centre adalah service dr uni untuk students. Service ini tersedia untuk students dan alumni (berapa lama pun kita udah lulus dr uni). Intinya, seumur hidup kita bisa bergantung sm UoH Career Centre ini. Career Centre ada di top floor University House. Klo nggak serius2 banget nyari kerja nya, bisa juga ngeliat information board (mading – bahasa SD banget yaa) nya career centre yg ada di student service area di top floor University House. Ini dia link webpage nya: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/careers.aspx

University Email juga bisa jd salah satu media informasi ttg pekerjaan. Kadang2, ada event2 work placement yg diadain di masing2 departemen dan diinformasikan lewat university email. Kadang2, ada juga anak2 Phd yg lagi penelitan dan butuh participants. Nah, klo ada penelitian2 kaya gini, jgn lupa diliat apa aja yg akan dilakukan dan apakah dibayar atau nggak, karena ada beberapa yang butuh unpaid volunteer. Klo ternyata dibayar, biasaya per jam sekitar 8 pounds.

Student Ambassador bisa jadi pilihan menyenangkan sebagai part time job. Student ambassador adalah mahasiswa yang kerja di uni untuk jadi ‘tour guide’ dan ‘facilitator’ untuk acara2 uni. Biasanya, acara2nya berhubungan dengan mahasiswa baru atau higher education socialisation. Lagi2 harus diingat bahwa nggak semua event yg diselenggarain uni adalah event berbayar. Jadi, student ambassador bisa kerja tidak dibayar. Klo lg dapet acara berbayar, biasanya akan dibayar per jam (10 pounds per jam) atau per hari (30 pounds per hari) tergantung event nya apa. Jadi student ambassador klo buat aku pribadi sih jd pengalaman menyenangkan karena jadi dpt kenalan2 student ambassador yg lain, bisa kenal orang2 yg kerja di uni (which means higher chance to be able to work here in the future), bisa menambah tabungan, dapet training gratis, dan bisa ngerti lbh ttg education system di UK. Lebih beruntung lg karena bisa lebih tau ttg UoH, mulai dr sejarahnya, gedung2nya, acara apa aja yg ada di UoH, masuk keluar Asylum gratisan, lunch gratisan, dan dpt baju student ambassador gratisan. (ketauan yaa anak gratisan). Ini link ke webpage student ambassador: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/srs/becominganambassador.aspx

External link which means dapet kerjaan dari luar uni. Biasanya, bisa dapet informasi ini dr job centre di city (boleh tanya ke Mbak Tina atau Mas Ihwan untuk lebih lanjut nya) atau dari temen2 di uni yg kebetulan kerja dan butuh volunteer atau orang untuk kerja part time. Bisa juga info ini didapet dr supervisor kita sendiri. Jadi, berbaik2 lah dg supervisor. Kebetulan aku dpt kesempatan untuk volunteer sekalian research di reception class di sekolahan di East Hull. Walaupun volunteer berarti nggak dibayar, tp pengalamannya yg dicari. Dari pengalaman, biasanya perusahaan atau sekolah, atau institusi apa pun cukup welcome dengan mahasiswa yg mau volunteer. Proses apply nya nggak berbelit2. Kalau punya kenalan org yg kerja disana akan lebih gampang karena dia yg akan ngurusin. Kalau nggak punya kenalan, bisa minta surat pengantar dr kampus dan kita apply sendiri.

Tambahan informasi untuk bagian working ini adalah jangan lupa apply National Insurance Number supaya bisa dibayar. Nggak mau dong, kerja cape2 tp nggak bisa dibayar. Nah, kebijakan disini adalah semua orang yg bekerja (part time atau full time) harus punya national insurance number. Cara apply nya gampang, tinggal telepon aja, nanti ada formulir yg dikirim ke rumah dan harus diisi lalu dikirim balik. Sekitar 2 minggu kemudian kita bisa dapet national insurance number kita. Selain itu, di beberapa tempat tertentu seperti sekolah, biasanya mereka minta kita untuk punya CRB (kaya surat keterangan kelakuan baik). Untuk buat CRB, kita butuh rekomendasi dari uni. Jadi, datanglah ke departemen untuk minta form CRB supaya dapet rekomendasi. Biaya untuk buat CRB adalah 40 pounds. Tapi, departemen2 tertentu menyediakan fasilitas free CRB sehingga kita nggak harus bayar! Selamat mencari kerjaa…!!

Besides working and studying…

Pastinya kalau kerja dan belajar aja pusing lah yaa.. Selain kumpul2 dengan warga Indonesia di Hull di kantor kelurahan (rumahnya Mas Ihwan n Mbak Tina) atau di kantor PPI (kamarnya Mbak Wuri) atau di pos ronda (rumah Chysa atau rumah aku) atau di taman2 terdekat, ada juga kegiatan2 dr kampus yg bisa diikuti. Semua kegiatan non akademik di UoH akan ditangani oleh University Union. Semua mahasiswa UoH otomatis akan tergabung di University Union. It is a privilege for us to be able to join Hull University Union karena udah bbrp tahun ini HUU disebut sbg best university union di UK. Ada berbagai societies di UoH yg bisa diikuti kaya come dine with me society, Islamic society, atau International Student Association (ISA). Biasanya sih yg cukup menarik adalah ISA, dimana kita bisa kenalan sama temen2 internasional. Mungkin penjelasan ttg ISA bisa dibahas lbh lanjut sm Chysa yaa karena dia yg lebih aktif di ISA. However, ini link nya untuk University Union: http://www.hullstudent.com/

Okay! Begitulah informasi tentang student life di Hull. Semoga bermanfaat untuk semuanyaa.. Welcome to Hull!!!

June 17, 2013

Live Your Life in Hull

Published on by Izza DinillahLeave a comment

Waaahh… nulis ini gara2 dipanas2in sama Mbak Wuri, Mas Udin n Mbak Tina nih…

Menulis bahasa Indonesia lagi setelah sekian lama nggak nulis pake bahasa Indonesia. Maaf klo bahasanya ‘gaul’, ‘nggak baku’, dan campur2 yaa.. I’m not good at writing, especially in formal Indonesian. hehe

Oke. Tulisan ini sebenernya untuk siapa aja, tapi khususnya buat temen2 yang baru akan dateng ke Hull di bulan September 2013 ini. (Semoga bisa bertemu yaaa!! Klo nggak ketemu, ingat2lah saya. hehehe.). Mostly, tulisan ini akan ngebahas ttg student life di Hull. Apa aja kegiatan2 yg bisa kita lakukan through university links

I just came to Hull…

Waktu pertama kali dateng ke Hull, yang menjadi first impression adalah ‘Wow, gue di UK!“ lalu… “Wow, gue di desa di UK!”. Karena dateng dari Jakarta yg merupakan kota besar, tentunya bingung ketika dateng ke kota antah berantah yg berasa jauh dari peradaban. Mikirnya adalah selain belajar, gue mau ngapaiiin? What should I do? Untungnya, di induction week, education department baik sekali mengenalkan kegiatan2 departement yang menarik2 semua, terutama untuk international student nya. I don’t know if this is the case in other departments? Can anyone comment on it? Beberapa kegiatan yg ditawarkan oleh departemen adalah buddy scheme, intercultural seminar, dan course representative. Okay, mari dijelaskan detailnya yaaa…

Buddy scheme itu semacem program, terutama untuk international student dan mahasiswa baru, dimana mereka bisa dapet kaya ‘pembimbing’. Saat itu aku mengertinya begitu. Tapi, ternyata kegiatannya banyak! Termasuk bagi2 tiket gratis untuk berbagai acara di Hull dan jalan2. ‘Pantengin’ lah webpage nya buddy scheme untuk tau berbagai kegiatan yg disponsorin oleh mereka. Lewat kegiatan buddy scheme ini, aku dapet tiket gratis nonton 2x konser musik klasik di City Hall dan tiket gratis untuk nonton Hull FC di KC Stadium. Cool. Ini dia webpage nya buddy scheme: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/buddy.aspx

Intercultural Seminar adalah kegiatannya Department of Education di UoH. Seperti namanya, kegiatannya yaaa seminar dong yaa.. Walaupun diselenggarain sama department of education, kegiatan ini terbuka untuk umum. Jadi, semua orang bisa dateng dan denger seminar tsb. Seperti namanya juga, topik2 seminar nya adalah tentang pendidikan, tp dilihat dr berbagai sudut pandang budaya. Orang2 yang mengisi seminar ini adalah international students dr department of education. Alhamdulillah pernah dapet kesempatan untuk ngisi seminar ini plus dpt hidangan spesial bubur ayam (walaupun nggak bubur ayam sih) buat sarapan karena seminar ini biasanya diadain di waktu breakfast atau lunch.

Course Representative atau course rep bahasa gaul nya, adalah perwakilan program di University Union. Semacem perwakilan kelas klo di SMP atau SMA… atau MPM klo di universitas di Indonesia. Pekerjaannya yaa tentu saja merepresentasikan keinginan mahasiswa2 di program kita. Sebagai course rep, kita bisa dapet training gratis, jalan2 gratis mengunjungi university union di universitas2 lain, dan ikut academic meeting departemen kita. Kesempatan yg bagus untuk PDKT sama dosen2 dan tau ttg kegiatan2 departemen. Bertambah juga kesempatan untuk lunch atau dinner atau breakfast gratisan di kampus! Hehe.

Months living in Hull…

Setelah berbulan2 tinggal di Hull dan udah bisa beradaptasi dg kuliah dan lain2, mulai lah galau karena I need something more to do! (walaupun klo lg deadline ttp aja sih kelimpungan dan I don’t have time to do anything. Hee…) Pilihan yang pas adalah untuk menambah pengalaman dg bekerja. Mahasiswa dg visa Tier 4 bisa kerja up to 20 hours per week. Jadi, ada kesempatan untuk kerja part time. Pilihan untuk kerja part time sebenernya banyak asal mau mencari dan tau dimana mencari nya. Ada beberapa permanent resources untuk mencari part time job di uni as following:

UoH Career Centre adalah service dr uni untuk students. Service ini tersedia untuk students dan alumni (berapa lama pun kita udah lulus dr uni). Intinya, seumur hidup kita bisa bergantung sm UoH Career Centre ini. Career Centre ada di top floor University House. Klo nggak serius2 banget nyari kerja nya, bisa juga ngeliat information board (mading – bahasa SD banget yaa) nya career centre yg ada di student service area di top floor University House. Ini dia link webpage nya: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/careers.aspx

University Email juga bisa jd salah satu media informasi ttg pekerjaan. Kadang2, ada event2 work placement yg diadain di masing2 departemen dan diinformasikan lewat university email. Kadang2, ada juga anak2 Phd yg lagi penelitan dan butuh participants. Nah, klo ada penelitian2 kaya gini, jgn lupa diliat apa aja yg akan dilakukan dan apakah dibayar atau nggak, karena ada beberapa yang butuh unpaid volunteer. Klo ternyata dibayar, biasaya per jam sekitar 8 pounds.

Student Ambassador bisa jadi pilihan menyenangkan sebagai part time job. Student ambassador adalah mahasiswa yang kerja di uni untuk jadi ‘tour guide’ dan ‘facilitator’ untuk acara2 uni. Biasanya, acara2nya berhubungan dengan mahasiswa baru atau higher education socialisation. Lagi2 harus diingat bahwa nggak semua event yg diselenggarain uni adalah event berbayar. Jadi, student ambassador bisa kerja tidak dibayar. Klo lg dapet acara berbayar, biasanya akan dibayar per jam (10 pounds per jam) atau per hari (30 pounds per hari) tergantung event nya apa. Jadi student ambassador klo buat aku pribadi sih jd pengalaman menyenangkan karena jadi dpt kenalan2 student ambassador yg lain, bisa kenal orang2 yg kerja di uni (which means higher chance to be able to work here in the future), bisa menambah tabungan, dapet training gratis, dan bisa ngerti lbh ttg education system di UK. Lebih beruntung lg karena bisa lebih tau ttg UoH, mulai dr sejarahnya, gedung2nya, acara apa aja yg ada di UoH, masuk keluar Asylum gratisan, lunch gratisan, dan dpt baju student ambassador gratisan. (ketauan yaa anak gratisan). Ini link ke webpage student ambassador: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/srs/becominganambassador.aspx

External link which means dapet kerjaan dari luar uni. Biasanya, bisa dapet informasi ini dr job centre di city (boleh tanya ke Mbak Tina atau Mas Ihwan untuk lebih lanjut nya) atau dari temen2 di uni yg kebetulan kerja dan butuh volunteer atau orang untuk kerja part time. Bisa juga info ini didapet dr supervisor kita sendiri. Jadi, berbaik2 lah dg supervisor. Kebetulan aku dpt kesempatan untuk volunteer sekalian research di reception class di sekolahan di East Hull. Walaupun volunteer berarti nggak dibayar, tp pengalamannya yg dicari. Dari pengalaman, biasanya perusahaan atau sekolah, atau institusi apa pun cukup welcome dengan mahasiswa yg mau volunteer. Proses apply nya nggak berbelit2. Kalau punya kenalan org yg kerja disana akan lebih gampang karena dia yg akan ngurusin. Kalau nggak punya kenalan, bisa minta surat pengantar dr kampus dan kita apply sendiri.

Tambahan informasi untuk bagian working ini adalah jangan lupa apply National Insurance Number supaya bisa dibayar. Nggak mau dong, kerja cape2 tp nggak bisa dibayar. Nah, kebijakan disini adalah semua orang yg bekerja (part time atau full time) harus punya national insurance number. Cara apply nya gampang, tinggal telepon aja, nanti ada formulir yg dikirim ke rumah dan harus diisi lalu dikirim balik. Sekitar 2 minggu kemudian kita bisa dapet national insurance number kita. Selain itu, di beberapa tempat tertentu seperti sekolah, biasanya mereka minta kita untuk punya CRB (kaya surat keterangan kelakuan baik). Untuk buat CRB, kita butuh rekomendasi dari uni. Jadi, datanglah ke departemen untuk minta form CRB supaya dapet rekomendasi. Biaya untuk buat CRB adalah 40 pounds. Tapi, departemen2 tertentu menyediakan fasilitas free CRB sehingga kita nggak harus bayar! Selamat mencari kerjaa…!!

Besides working and studying…

Pastinya kalau kerja dan belajar aja pusing lah yaa.. Selain kumpul2 dengan warga Indonesia di Hull di kantor kelurahan (rumahnya Mas Ihwan n Mbak Tina) atau di kantor PPI (kamarnya Mbak Wuri) atau di pos ronda (rumah Chysa atau rumah aku) atau di taman2 terdekat, ada juga kegiatan2 dr kampus yg bisa diikuti. Semua kegiatan non akademik di UoH akan ditangani oleh University Union. Semua mahasiswa UoH otomatis akan tergabung di University Union. It is a privilege for us to be able to join Hull University Union karena udah bbrp tahun ini HUU disebut sbg best university union di UK. Ada berbagai societies di UoH yg bisa diikuti kaya come dine with me society, Islamic society, atau International Student Association (ISA). Biasanya sih yg cukup menarik adalah ISA, dimana kita bisa kenalan sama temen2 internasional. Mungkin penjelasan ttg ISA bisa dibahas lbh lanjut sm Chysa yaa karena dia yg lebih aktif di ISA. However, ini link nya untuk University Union: http://www.hullstudent.com/

Okay! Begitulah informasi tentang student life di Hull. Semoga bermanfaat untuk semuanyaa.. Welcome to Hull!!!

Jun 17, 2013