Let me start from the beginning. Two years ago, my Dad passed his test to get a scholarship to study in England to get his PhD. He wanted us: my Mom, my two sisters, and I, to go along with him.
I had mixed feelings: I did and did not want to go. I didn’t want to go because I was enjoying life in Indonesia: I would miss my friends; I would miss my other family; and things like that. But I did want to go because (1) I wouldn’t have to do the end-of-primary-school test (Ujian Nasional), (2) I wanted to know what it is like in England, and (3) I imagined here was much better than in Indonesia: cleaner, more modern, and more structured. It was decided that we would go, but my Dad told me that I could stay if I wanted to. I don’t know if he was joking or not. Then I decided that I did want to go.
Here I am now, writing this story, in England. Me, I experienced lots of things since I lived in Birmingham: from the moment I got out of the plane, to the time I’m writing this story. And I’m sure I would experience other things too until the time I go back to Indonesia.
One of the most amazing things that happened to me is to go to school in England. My life at school here is great. I love my school. I understand lessons most of the time. I love Maths, Science, Russian, and Geography; most of the time I like History, ICT, PE, and RE; and I don’t like PSHE, Drama, Art, English, and Design & Technology.
I would never love, like or hate those lessons if I were in Indonesia. I wouldn’t have learnt Russian, or Technology, or maybe even History. That’s why I like living in England. There are lots of new things you could experience.
My first year here was when I was in year 7 (which was the first year in secondary school). I didn’t come at the same time as everybody else in the school. They came in September, and I came late in December (I arrived in England in September but there was no place for me at the school until December). This meant that it was kind of hard to fit in, because I was shy and I didn’t speak English too well. The other problem was that because I came later in the year, I missed some lessons, so in year 7 I only understood some of the things I learnt. And I didn’t do very well.
However, those are not true anymore. No, no way. My speaking of English may not be as fluent as my friends, and it may not be as clear, but I read and listen and write perfectly well, thank you. One thing to note is that I am not very good at analysing, but it has certainly improved. It is possible I couldn’t even analyse texts in Indonesia if I were told to.
In English (the lesson that is) at school, you (and your class) could read a book chosen by your teacher for a term, and you may be asked to analyse what the purpose of the book is or what is the meaning of the story. The book might be fiction or non-fiction, it could be classic as well, so it could be hard to analyse. Last year, in year 8, I was very good at analysing non-fiction, and a poem. I wasn’t very good at analysing a story, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. This year (year 9), last term, my class and I were reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. We were asked by our English teacher to analyse a lot of parts of the story in the normal lessons. Thankfully, for the test we didn’t have to analyse any text.
It’s amazing really, early in year 7, I couldn’t even write one good paragraph, and now my friends consider me as one of the smart girls in our class. Although I’m sure I’m not really good at English.
A few other things in school. There are many lessons you may have here that you wouldn’t have in Indonesia. For example, languages: you learn other language in school, like you learn English in Indonesia. Here, different schools teach different languages other than English. It could be German, French, Spanish, Latin, et cetera. At my school they teach Spanish, French, Urdu, and Russian. I only learn Russian since I chose it for my GCSE (which is like end-of-secondary-school test). However, I did learn Spanish from year 7 to year 8, so I now know a little Spanish and Russian. Not many Indonesians could learn foreign languages other than English. You could be one of the few people that do. It’s going to be a very good experience.
Other lesson that you learn here is Technology. Technology in my school is divided into four parts: textiles; resistant materials; graphics; and food. I learnt all four of them until year 8. Since year 9 I only learn graphics, because I chose it for my GCSE.
I discovered I’m not that bad at sports. I wasn’t and am not really sporty, and I detested sports. Not anymore. My sports knowledge has increased, although not much, but I know sports a lot better, especially football. Now the lucky thing is that you could watch football matches easily. In Birmingham there is a team that’s in the Premier League, Aston Villa. I’ve watched them play for sometimes now. But I’m not a fan of AVFC. Chelsea is my favourite.
Other favourite sports are netball and badminton. I liked badminton in Indonesia so I’m going to tell you about netball instead. My school teaches netball. They teach it in great details: they talk about the rules, positions, techniques, tactics, and teamwork. I came to like it.
Last thing I’m going to mention: since I’ve been living in England, I have been in new places. Most of them are beautiful anyway. I don’t want to brag, but seriously I think you should go around England, if you can.
Right, Okay. Let’s round this up. Coming to England is an amazing experience. There are so many good things: you improve your English; you learn lessons you wouldn’t expect to learn; you could watch football live; you travel to beautiful places. Don’t worry if you are terrible at speaking, you absolutely would improve, and some schools have teachers who could get you going in English, like my school. Relax, smile, and good luck!
Azzahra Syifa Widodo
Secondary School Student – Selly Park Technology College, Birmingham
