I like to tell my students to save their money and go abroad, just for a short vacation. It's not that there is no place in Indonesia worth to go visiting, but there is a very good lesson abroad. For example, when I did my research for Bandung High Tech Valley, I went to Silicon Valley, Malaysia Super Corridor, India (but have not gone to Bangalore yet), and Singapore. I want to smell the coffee in these places.
First of all, you can see how other people live. True you can learn this from reading books, blogs, or watching television, but being there is different. There are so many things that cannot be captured by all of these. For example, for political reasons or (media) company's policy the writers cannot write bad things about the object they're talking about. When you go to these places, you can see things for yourself. You can see how clean/dirty the place is, how un/friendly people are, how things work in these countries, and other things.
Second, when you interact with the people of these countries, you will realize that we (Indonesians) are not way behind and Indonesia (as a place) is not bad at all - in fact, in some places maybe we are better. This will give you more power to believe in yourself. "Hey, if they can do it, we can also do it." ... And, we can! This experience will also make you appreciate what you have here in Indonesia. Well, this is why I live in Bandung - of all the places in the world.
Yes, going abroad is still expensive for students. I know. Students are the same, whether they are in Indonesia or in Ireland. But, if there's a will, there's a way. Trust me on this. Just don't give up.
A few months ahead, we are planning to take some people of our small team to go abroad. Maybe we'll go to Singapore and Malaysia first, just because they are so close to us. Wish us luck.
First of all, you can see how other people live. True you can learn this from reading books, blogs, or watching television, but being there is different. There are so many things that cannot be captured by all of these. For example, for political reasons or (media) company's policy the writers cannot write bad things about the object they're talking about. When you go to these places, you can see things for yourself. You can see how clean/dirty the place is, how un/friendly people are, how things work in these countries, and other things.
Second, when you interact with the people of these countries, you will realize that we (Indonesians) are not way behind and Indonesia (as a place) is not bad at all - in fact, in some places maybe we are better. This will give you more power to believe in yourself. "Hey, if they can do it, we can also do it." ... And, we can! This experience will also make you appreciate what you have here in Indonesia. Well, this is why I live in Bandung - of all the places in the world.
Yes, going abroad is still expensive for students. I know. Students are the same, whether they are in Indonesia or in Ireland. But, if there's a will, there's a way. Trust me on this. Just don't give up.
A few months ahead, we are planning to take some people of our small team to go abroad. Maybe we'll go to Singapore and Malaysia first, just because they are so close to us. Wish us luck.
Comments
You're absolutely right, wish you and your students best of luck.
Most of the hardworkers abroad are mainly come from Asia (some from Indonesia too) and they can be categorized as high-achiever.