Indonesia – Astrid

Student: Astrid
Course: Bachelor of Arts
Program: International Internship

I had a wonderful time during my internship, the Deakin Abroad team and the International Internships staff made everything super easy and we were very well supported the whole time. We even had International Internship staff waiting for us at the airport as we arrived as well as weekly in-person catch-ups whilst on the program to make sure everything was going well for us.

The way the program's ran makes it super easy to make friends, as in the weekly catch-ups you meet students from lots of different universities, which is fabulous!! They also ran a lot of fun social nights too. Lots of us were in the same accomodation (btw this isn't always the case) and we'd cook dinner together and have tea on our building's rooftop which was a lovely way to end the day! Most of us were doing different internships so it was great to hear all the activities we each did daily.

Jakarta itself is such a cool city, there is always something to do, and has some of the best food (you absolutely must try Ramen-Ya) in the prettiest restaurants! It’s also super easy to go travelling on the weekends to other parts of Indonesia such as Flores, Yogyakarta, the Thousand Islands, Lombok or Mount Bromo, which I would highly recommend!! The shopping there is fabulous too, there are so many local brands that have super cute clothes, shoes and jewellery. Going to the cinemas is so much fun too as most of them are quite fancy (only $5 per ticket too!!), and it's also great way to escape the rain if you're there in rainy season.

I grew so much in my confidence as it was unlike any other city I’d lived in, but I’m so glad I went on the program. I actually enjoyed it so much  I’m returning this year to live there again for 10 months on a different New Colombo Plan program! It’s been such a huge help on my resume too, as people always think it’s impressive being able to adapt to such a different city and lifestyle and are curious about my experience there. You'll make great connections whilst you're there and be able to expand your network which is always a bonus. We also got to attend a few events at The Australian Embassy which was super cool.

Could not recommend it more!