UNAIR NEWS – Studying abroad is a dream for any student. Hanzalla Armand, a student of the Faculty of Humanities (FIB) Universitas Airlangga was lucky to get the wonderful opportunity.

Hanz got accepted into one of the best universities in Malaysia, the Universiti Sains Malaysia, for one semester through the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA).

Dealing with culture shock

Despite staying in a country with the same root, Hanz still had to deal with culture shock on his early arrival. It was not easy to adapt to a whole new environment.

“Coming in a country with a different environment takes some time to adapt, especially adjusting to the new time zone, schedule, the university’s academic responsibility, and other rules,” he told UNAIR NEWS on January 21, 2023.

As a newcomer, Hanz fully realized his responsibility to respect the people and the local culture.

Promoting Indonesian Arts

Being an IISMA awardee encourages Hanz to participate actively in both academic and non-academic activities. He promoted Indonesian culture in various opportunities.

To UNAIR NEWS, Hanz shared that he took part in the FUSE festival at the Universiti Sains Malaysia to present Indonesian traditional arts. “Indonesian students performed Javanese dance to promote our culture in the university’s festival,” said the Jakarta-origin student.

It was not a walk in the park for Hanz. He had never been used to performing traditional dances. He practiced harder to make an outstanding dance performance.

“We practiced the dance to synchronize the movement with the partners by playing mini-games to build chemistry. It’s unique, I’ve never had that before,” he said.

Besides traditional dance performances, Hanz and his fellow IISMA awardees at USM also promoted Indonesian culture through “Heroes Challenges” to celebrate Indonesian Hero’s Day.

“The Heroes Challenges consist of several events, like cosplay, watching movies together, and enjoying Indonesian food and beverages. All students can join the event,” he said.

The other cultural activity was “Batik Challenges”. They invited children from a private foundation in Malaysia to collect organic waste on the campus to make batik with a modern technique, the Batik ecoprint.

“We recycled organic waste around the campus by mashing them until it sticks to the fabric and forming certain motifs. The results were as expected. The children were enthusiastically happy as well,” he said.

Gaining valuable experience

During the IISMA, Hanz got valuable experiences he had never had. In a way, it even transformed his lifestyle.

“I must say, it’s a life-changing experience from self-reliance, discipline, and maturity as I get into a new environment,” he stated.

Besides, IISMA encourages Hanz to be more confident, especially in speaking various languages, considering he had to interact with international students from global universities.

“The program encourages me to be more confident speaking various languages with an international circle around me. I’m truly grateful to be a part of IISMA,” he ended.

Author: Yulia Rohmawati

Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia

Source: https://unair.ac.id/en/unair-fib-student-promotes-indonesian-culture-in-malaysia/