A Home, Thousand Miles Away: Why UMKT is Essra’s Second Home

umkt.ac.id, Samarinda - For a few, studying abroad is not a simple decision. Although promising, one has to sacrifice the comforting sense of their hometown.

However, that is not in Essra Mohammed Osman’s case. Instead of longing for her homeland, she finds her second home in Universitas Muhammadiyah Kalimantan Timur. Coming from Darfur in Sudan, Essra went to Samarinda with bright hopes in building the future of her homeland. At UMKT, she is currently studying Informatics Engineering, hoping she would inspire her fellow countrywomen to study abroad.

“To me, Informatics Engineering allows me to think more creatively, especially when solving problems by coding.”

Essra’s story of knowing UMKT was unique: she fell in love on her first sight when surfing throughout the internet. Based on her findings in a scholarship information website, Essra dug deeper and researched UMKT thoroughly. She was amazed UMKT treats international students well and found her most favorite major well.

“I choose UMKT because the university is very supportive to international students. That really caught my attention in the first place,” Essra said in an exclusive interview.

After rounds of selections and interviews, Essra finally arrived in Samarinda and is currently studying at UMKT, fully-funded by the university. It makes Essra’s life hassle-free, given that she lives with her roommates from Kenya in a university-provided guest house.

As of today, Essra has lived in Samarinda for two months. She is content with the green scenery and serenity of Samarinda and rated the city 8 out of 10. However, Essra claimed she still needs to adapt with the city’s climate and delicacy.

It is because Essra had difficulties when she first arrived in Samarinda. She was struggling to acclimatize with the tropical climate of the city, having previously lived in dry, arid climate in Sudan. In addition, Essra had to learn a new language, culture, and meet new people. Although she had early challenges, Essra could overcome her problems, thanks to the hospitality of Samarinda citizens and assistance from her friends.

“Indonesians have welcomed me very well, they often looked and smiled at me. That is why my adaptation became easier,” Esra added.

The stark culinary differences also made Essra intrigued with local delicacies. Of all foods, Essra loves Nasi Padang the most.

“Nasi Padang is my favorite food. Although it looks simple, Nasi Padang is rich in spices and flavors,” said Essra, expressing her utmost fondness with small laughter.

Despite her love for nasi padang, Essra admits she missed local food a lot, especially kisra (Sudanese flat bread) with mullah (a traditional stew from Sudan). In an exclusive interview with us, she wanted to cook kisra and okra mullah. Okra mullah is a stew made of beef, fennel, garlic, and onion, whereas kisra is a flat bread made from fermented sorghum or wheat flour..

Despite her longing for local food and tradition, Essra is still determined to discover more about East Kalimantan. Its traditional delicacy, culture, natural landscape and language, are the things that Essra wants to know more during her study in UMKT. Her intrigue grows larger, as she was enchanted with the grand size of Samarinda’s Islamic Center Mosque.

Essra also finds very close similarities between Sudan and Indonesia. Both communities strongly adhere to the values of helping each other, communal living, as well as meticulously serving their guests with hospitability. In addition, both Sudanese and Indonesian mostly profess Islam as their religion.

Despite the similarities, there are two things that both Essra and most Sudanese admire about Indonesia. First, despite the diversity, Indonesians are able to unite and put aside their differences. Second and last, The Sudanese people are wonderstruck by Indonesians ability to preserve their tradition despite their progress on education and overall development of the country.

Her fascination toward Indonesian culture makes Pancasila Education one of her most favorite subjects. According to Essra, this subject taught her about Indonesia’s cultural diversity and nation-building at a glance. In addition, she is obsessed with programming classes, of which she claims it sharpens her creativity and can practice her skills, after acquiring the theories given.

“UMKT is a safe campus and takes their international students with great care,” said Essra. “When you want to go abroad and live your life outside of your comfort zone, you will get a lot of experiences that make you grow,” she concluded with meaningful words for those who are still in doubt of studying abroad.

Writer: Raisha Azzahro

Translator: Muhammad Rafly Raihandy