Below is the article I wrote (after being edited excellently before it was published :)) for the International Students newsletter at UNSW, the Uni where I'm pursuing my postgrad studies currently.
Frankly speaking, I thought it was compulsory for us to contribute; turned out it was supposed to be voluntary. And here I ended up sending my writing to the newsletter. It's fun, though. Haha.
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The Introductory Academic Program provided me with great insight into
what life will be like at UNSW. Prior to coming to Australia, I took an
English Academic Program (EAP) provided by the AusAID representative in
Indonesia. At the time, I thought the IAP would provide me with somewhat
similar knowledge and skills that I had obtained during the EAP in
Indonesia.Despite my concerns, I still decided to take part in the IAP, never missing a single class or assignment. And as a result, I came to understand that Uni life would not just be about study and that I should try my best to adapt to this new and unfamiliar learning environment by participating in as many activities and opportunities I can.
My biggest concern has always related to tutorial work. I felt anxious about how well I would perform after many said that tutorials would often involve heated discussions. But then, I discovered that my fear was too excessive. My IAP instructor, Lorraine, helped me greatly in overcoming my fear and also helped me improve my skills in academic writing. She showed me that in fact, an international student like me could do just as well as any local student in Australia. My article review, which I thought might be an absolute disaster, actually came out quite well. Knowing all this, I guess my anxieties were unfounded and I was really expecting the worse for no reason. But, what is more important: I’m glad I made the right choice to attend the IAP, it was definitely worth it!
