Last weekend, precisely on Saturday, November 11th 2023, international students together with mentors and academic staff held a friendly bonding session in one of the tourist villages in Borobudur, Central Java. This event is aimed at bringing mentors and mentees closer together, enriching cultural and Indonesian language knowledge, as well as introducing traditional foods and places in Java.
This event took place from 06.30-16.30 and was attended by 16 mentors and 19 international students from Malaysia. The mentor system itself was created to help foreign students studying at Veterinary Medicine UGM to make it easier for them to mingle, both from an academic and non-academic thing. The mentors are chosen through a selection, and they will be responsible for the foreign students who become their mentees.
One of the mentees, Dhamirah, said “The activities held on 11th November 2023 were really fun. I enjoyed spending time with the seniors and got to know them more. Besides that, I finally had the opportunity to explore Yogjakartan’s cultures and tried new cuisines such as lodeh, sambal pete, gudeg and peyek during our visit at Jogan Gumelar, Borobudur.”
The activity begins with a self-introduction bonding packaged with games. The games created are not only entertaining, but also educational. The mentees were asked to guess the names of animals, organs, or places they encountered on campus. After that, assisted by a tour guide, the mentors and mentees had the opportunity to ride ATVs and enjoy the beautiful view of Borobudur area.
Author: Dea Dwi Novita
