These are the questions and answers from the JCU ISA-IALF Bali (ADS Awardees) Skype session in September 2012:
JCU INDONESIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION (PPIA)
I need your help for searching a temporary accommodation. Can JCU ISA help me?
Yes, we can help you. We usually contact some potential landlords or hosts so that you can contact them by yourselves and find out more about the accommodation and the rate. Once you are here, if you like your temporary accommodation you can stay. If not, you can search for another one (by yourself) and move. But help us in helping you! Please don’t be too picky or demanding for a perfect accomodation, remember that the people who help you searching for the accommodation are students too, who are sacrificing their time for study to help you finding a temporary accommodation.
If you feel that none of the accommodations we have shown you is suitable for you, we will not let you be a homeless in Australia! :-P We will ask for the international student centre to help assigning you to an accommodation if it’s already close to your departure date. You may be given a room in a share house (which number is limited, and you cannot choose which one you would like to stay in), or in the worst case scenario, you may be given a temporary accommodation in a hostel $30/day/person, where 1 room is occupied by 2 to 4 people.
(Anita Raharjeng & Deasy Tandio, both spend a lot of time searching in a share house for new students in the internet and in the neighbourhood, and making a lot of phone calls and email to the landlords)
Does PPIA greet us (new students) at the airport?
We are going to greet you at the airport. But, only a few of us have cars, and they are the small ones. Therefore, please ask for a pick up arrangement from uni/ALO. The uni will send a van to pick you up in the airport and a PPIA member will accompany you to the listed temporary accomodation.
(Deasy Tandio, was greeted by Anita and Jimmy when she arrived in the Townsville Airport)
What services/social events does PPIA provide for the Indonesian student? Do we need to pay for joining this association?
We have some gatherings throughout the year so that the new students can meet the current students and the permanent residents and share their stories. From them, the new students can gather numerous precious knowledge about job opportunities, special stores and groceries (halal groceries, seafood groceries, Asian groceries), the location and time of service of some churches or the mosque. Don't forget to bring a plate (it means: bring a food that you can share with the others)! Moreover, we have multiple group vacations so that the new students (and their families) can visit various interesting places. We also teach Indonesian culture in the uni and in some schools.
PPIA will provide the cutlery in every gatherings, and subsidised some expenditures in the vacations, and pay for various things. The membership fee is $10 per semester.
(Deasy Tandio, loves bringing bihun goreng ayam to the gatherings)
STUDYING IN JCU
Who do we contact on campus if we have a personal problem as an ADS student?
It depends on what kind of problem that you have. You can contact a mentor, the liason officer, the security service, or contact the uni counselling service. The information about these services are going to be given in the IAP.
(Anita Raharjeng & Deasy Tandio, both enjoy chatting with ALO and both sometimes called the security services when they have a problem with locked doors in uni)
Who can we contact if we have some difficulties with the academic writing or the study skills?
You will know this from the IAP. There are learning advisers who can help you, or you can ask for a tutor. The learning advisers are the people who are going to be the teachers in the IAP, and they are based in the library. You can go to them if you want to proofread your writings, consult about your assignments, etc. You can also contact your lecturer. They can help you if you want to discuss your assignment, or your subject module, etc.
(Deasy Tandio, never absent from the IAP)
What are the student facilities that JCU provides?
You can find the answer in the JCU website. The obvious are the library and the librarian service (they can help you to find books or articles for your assignment), multi-library book loan service, ATM (Commonwealth Bank), in campus accommodation, bus subsidy, sport centre, the counselling centre, the job finder and career centre, the international student centre, the computer centre, the IT centre (you can make an appointment to consult your laptop problem to them), the disability service, a bookshop, a canteen, multiple cafés, a multi-faith chaplaincy, the child care centres, photocopy and printers (some schools provide a free photocopy and printing service), etc.
(Anita raharjeng & Deasy Tandio, love the free lunch sessions in uni!)
Can we choose the bank that we are going to open an account in? Which bank is the best one?
No, we can't choose it. The JCU will open us an account in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). We haven’t try the others. We all use the CBA. The monthly fee is free, we can have both the ATM card and the debit card that can be used to purchase goods online and in stores, and we can also make a long term deposit with a higher bonus rate.
(Deasy Tandio, keen on checking ebay and fishpond for discounts)
After we open the bank account, we can get an ATM card soon or should we wait for a while?
You will get the card in about a 4 days after you open the bank account, but you can draw the money from the bank by bringing your passport/student ID and your account detail.
(Anita Raharjeng, experienced in taking the new students to the bank)
What are the difficulties in completing the assignment or final thesis with regards to the funding, field work and paper writing?
There should not be any problem in funding because any activity related to studying is covered by the ADS, including fieldtrip. Thesis bundling is covered by the Graduate School or AUSAID alumni.
(Aryadi Arsyad, an ALA awardee who loves fieldtrip and attends numerous conferences all around Australia)
Typical shock culture experienced by research student in Master of Tropical and Marine Biology Faculty?
There is no typical culture shock. It all depends on the personality. For example, some people like a lot of directions from the supervisor, but some others really appreciate total independence.
(Welem Turupadang, is adored by the supervisors for his good sense of humour)
Where is the campus for Master of Information Technology-Master Business Administration? Cairns or Townsvile? Can I choose one of them?
You cannot choose, it's In Townsville.
(Deasy Tandio, had asked ALO about this)
What is it like to take a combine degree? Is it hard to study business subjects if one doesn’t have the educational background on it?
Business subjects elaborate more on working experience. An educational background in business will be helpful, but without it one will be alright. One can ask for the lecturer’s help to understand the materials, read the prescribed books prior to the lectures, and ask for a tutor if necessary.
(Deasy Tandio, is taking MPH MBA with a background in medicine and 4 years of working experience)
DISABILITY SERVICES
Is there any kind of motor vehicle or car for people with disability?
It depends on the disability. For all kind of disabilities you can go by bus. People who have lower limb disabilities can go by bus, or a motorised wheelchair, or a mobility scooter (looks like a scooter, but with 3 or 4 wheels) which price is around $1,500.
But, if you have a driving license from Indonesia, bring it! It will allow you to drive any kind of vehicles that you are used to (a scooter or a car)
(Deasy Tandio, had consulted ALO about this)
FOOD
Which one is cheaper? The on campus food or the off campus food?
They are about the same. With $5-7 you can get a meal for lunch in campus or off campus. Bring your own food if you want the cheapest and the most suited for your taste. Drinking water is available free from the fountains located all around the campus
(Anita Raharjeng & Deasy Tandio, both loves the campus french fries)
Is there any halal food on campus and halal shop near campus?
Yes, plenty. Or you can either buy a vegetarian food or bring your own meal to make sure that it is halal. There are halal butcher stores and halal meat sold in Coles or Woolworth, but without the halal label.
(Anita Raharjeng, a moslem who enjoy buying groceries in the halal butchers)
BRINGING THE FAMILY
Things to do and or consider before bringing my family (a wife, a 3 y.o. daughter, and a 1 y.o. son)
You better go alone first so that you can prepare all things for them, such as a car, the accommodation, the entertainment for the family (TV, internet). Finding an accommodation for a family (especially with kids) is not simple. And you will need some time to getting used to study and do your assignment.
(Yulia Djabir, an ALA awardee who spent more than 2 months to find a new house suitable for her family and her budget)
The weekly expenses expected if I brought my family
Before the family arrival:
· Expenses on health insurance and flight.
After the family arrives, the estimation is:
· Accommodation $250-300/wk for a unit with 2 bedroom.
· Electricity: $20-30/wk
· Groceries $150-200/wk
· Phone bills, internet: $20-30/wk
· Gas (for a car): $30-40/ wk
· Car maintenance: $600-900/6month
· Child care: $100/wk/child
· The scholarship will not enough, so that you should get a part time job or full time job for the spouse.
(Yulia Djabir, lives in Townsville with his husband Aryadi Arsyad and 2 kids)
Is there any “Indonesian” Child care? Which is run and managed by Indonesian or student?
No, there isn’t. But there is a child care in uni for JCU students’ children.
(Yulia Djabir, a mom of a daughter and a son)
Is it easy to find a part time job or full-time job for our spouse?
There are a lot of opportunity to work full-time or part-time. You can look up for vacancies on line, or ask some malls information desk for the vacancy in the stores.
(Anita Raharjeng & Deasy Tandio, both have a casual job as a babysitter)
© PPIA-JCU
