BegiNing oF Ma Life JourNey

Sooo,, here's mY story Begin...

On the 11th of August 2008, I arrived in Darwin leaving my country, family and community. The reason I came to Darwin was because my parents really want me to be a successful person. they are not educated but they really want me to get a good education. They work hard to earn money to pay my school fees, as we know it is very expensive for international students.

My friends and I arrived at night so I could not see much. The next day after my arrival it was my first day at school and I was shocked. 

When we entered the school  buses, I could not talk, move or look at the people around me, I just bowed my head because I was shy.

The first thing that amazed me was the buses, which are  bigger. The second thing was the school building was spacious as I entered the schoolyard.

The third thing was the multicultural people from white, black, brown and everyone was mixed. The fourth was while my friends and I were walking with Mrs. Tan around the school, I heard people talk in English a lot. A group of girls greeted me by saying "Welcome to St. John’s College, what is your name?”, but I kept walking because Mrs. Tan was waiting for me.

The worst thing was when I was in the Intensive English Unit class and the teacher talked  with us one by one in English. I was nervous because I could only speak English a little.

At St. John’s College, the tools are very modern and everything uses technology such as smart boards.

Besides that, it only has 6 subjects that we can choose ourselves. The ways of the teaching are also simple and easier to understand.

*Compared to Yayasan Pendidikan Jayawijaya (YPJ) in Tembagapura,West Papua, it does not have buses as big as in Australia. The building of my old school was very small compared to the size here. YPJ School is also multicultural which consists of  indigenous, Indonesian and it also has western people who have their classrooms.

I have lived in Darwin for nearly 3 years and now I am in grade 12. Over the 3 years I have been through some challenges and obstacles that I faced. When I just came, sometimes I was homesick and wanted to go home but that feeling has been reduced.

Now I have been living independently and able to adapt to new environments. My English is getting better and I am not afraid to talk to people anymore. I am also proud to my self because I could be one of the leaders at school and I have receipted some awards.