It was another warm summer day when I was thinking to see the other side of the earth. The next thing I remember was a program by Internatinal Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) called Student Exchange Programme (SEP). I remember when I found out that winter SEP 2022 was coming, I prepared everything for the registration. I was so excited because I am a dreamer. I’ve been dreaming to travel to Europe and I think this is the time to go since I had the opportunity. Not only to travel but also to dig the knowledge related to my education from my dream city, Budapest which many people called it Heart of Europe.
“The world is wide and beautiful and there are many wonderful places in it.” Anton Chekhov said. And yes, that was my favorite quote to travel the world! Live in a two-seasons country makes me curious about four-seasons country. I wanna try to hold the snow, I want to wear a winter clothes as in my favorite series, Harry Potter. Long story short, I applied for the winter SEP and selected to be the outgoing students. I was so excited to be selected. I chose community pharmacy because I want to learn how’s pharmacy going in Europe. I applied for Hungary, the country where my dream city is in, Budapest. The duration was 1 month because I want to explore this city as long as I can. I was contacted by the SEO of Hungary (HuPSA) by email to arrange the arrival date, accommodation, visa, and other documents. Her name is Csenge.
After short discussion with the SEO, I contacted another exchange student who chose Hungary to do this SEP. it was 2 students from South Korea and 2 students from Indonesia including me. I arranged the accommodation with them and we had a deal to live in a flat located in Saletrom U. 2b, Budapest. After we arranged the accommodation, I tried to book the flights. Luckily, I got the combo deal from Qatar Airways because I booked return flights. I got around 2 mio off. After everything was arranged, Finally I had a business with the embassy. And yes, that was a visa application. It was terrible because I had to come to the embassy 4 times. Yes, four times. I live in Malang, East Java and the Embassy of Hungary located in Central Jakarta. I was doing the student study service (KKN in Bahasa). The first time I came to the embassy, they said that they were close during the holiday season. It was on the end of the year. I waited for 8 days in Jakarta until the embassy open. The next time I came to the embassy, they said that they only accepted applicant only by request. In the same day, I book an appointment by email to the embassy. Unfortunately, they couldn’t accept applicant who’s not completed the documents. I told the SEO of Hungary and it was because they not accepted a C type Visa (Short Stay) instead of suggest me to apply the D type visa. It’s impossible because I had arranged the flights and it couldn’t be canceled. After a long discussion between the SEO of Hungary and the Embassy, I suggested to come to the embassy again to apply the business visa. My application was accepted and my visa will be granted 2 weeks later. The SEO of Hungary asked the embassy to grant my visa no more than my departure date and fortunately it’s possible.
My departure day was coming! After I prepared everything, I went to the airport. I was so happy because my dreams come true. I was so excited to visit Hungary. My flight was 19 hours and had 1 stop in Doha, Qatar. The flight was so good. After arrived in Budapest Airport, I contacted the SEO about my airport transfer. The cab was so nice. I was excited to try the left-hand drive car. That was my first time paying with Euro. After I arrived to the flat, I tried everything which cannot be found in Indonesia such as the dish-washer, dry toilet, and also room heater. It was -2 ◦ C when I arrived and it was so cold. After Csenge arrived to our flat, we do a PCR together. Before we go, we bought the monthly pass for the transportation including the bus, subway, and also tram, the most famous transportation in almost every European Union countries. Luckily my PCR test was negative.
I did an internship in AranyAlma Pharmacy located in 1076 Budapest, Péterfy S. utca 27. The owner was so nice to me and she is very care about me. I did many things during my internship such as the front counter, mixing the medicine, inputting the stocks, and many more. I helped the counter lady to sell the drug to the patient. I also helped the pharmacist to mix the medicine based on the prescription. The pharmacy had a cloud prescription which is not using the paper prescription anymore. It’s safer because we can track the patient medication. I learned many things during my internship. This is very helpful for my future career as a pharmacist. Beside doing an internship, I also joined the class in Semmelweis University Budapest.
I joined a practical class in the university. This is my dream to study in Europe and by this Student Exchange Program I can reached my dream. I was so excited to study in Europe. I learned many things. The education, the culture, also the knowledge. The student life was so interesting. I joined an international class which consist of many students around the world. I met many friends from Korea, Germany, US, and Africa. They were very kind! They helped me so much and they were very welcome to me. The curriculum was very interesting. They have to complete the five year study and directly can work as a pharmacist and they can work in all EU countries. Almost in every EU country, they use the same curriculum. Europe is very interesting. The SEP Hungary team made an itinerary for us to travel around the country.
The team arranged daily schedule for us to travel around Hungary. We traveled to another cities such as Szentendre, Tihany, Balaton, and Visegrad. We almost visited all tourist destination in Budapest such as Hungarian Parliament Building, Heroes Square, Great Market Hall, St. Basilica, Liberty Bridge, Margaret Island, Shoes on the Danube, Budapest Eye, Fashion Street Budapest, Thermal Bath and many more. We also joined an ice skating event held by the university. I tried various food from Hungarian, Iranian, Persian, Korean, Mediterranean, and many more.
There was various restaurants in Budapest. I was very curious about the McDonalds in Budapest. I tried all the McD near my flat. I also tried the Hungarian food. The name is Goulash. It’s a soup but with special traditional ingredient. I also tried to eat in the only Indonesian Restaurant in Hungary named Indonez Etterem. Located in Buda side and it takes a half hour to reach the restaurant. 1 month being a western person made me miss the Indonesian food. The food was so delicious but the price is very expensive. For the example for 1 rice it costs €2 but I enjoyed the meal. I was so proud to introduce the Indonesian food to my Korean and Hungarian friends. They said it was delicious but little bit spicy. I just realized that Western people didn’t like spicy food.
Let’s talk about my culture shock. I was born and raised in Indonesia. The first thing that shocking me was the dry toilet. We only use toilet paper to clean ourselves. Another culture shock was the people here is not as friendly as Indonesian. We can’t say hello to people we meet in the street even to our neighbour. I’m not sure but probably the culture was like that. I can say that the food price there was so expensive for me. I spent around €9 or Rp. 150k for one meal. It will be more expensive if we eat in a famous restaurant.
This is my unforgettable memories by joining the Student Exchange Program held by ISMAFARSI and IPSF. I learned many things. The culture, the education, also the moment! I got much positive impact by joining this program. I met many nice people from many countries, visited my dream city, got positive insight for my education, and also great experience! This program opens my mind. After finished SEP, I have more dream, more goals, and more vision in my life.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
Do not hesitate to start your own journey. Start your step by joining this SEP by ISMAFARSI and IPSF. Believe in your own dreams and take action !
Author :
AKHFAS FAISAL AMIN, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
HuPSA – Hungary