{"id":5373,"date":"2018-05-04T13:03:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-04T03:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/?p=5373"},"modified":"2018-05-04T13:03:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T03:03:43","slug":"salam-sejahtera-snippets-from-my-surabaya-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2018\/05\/04\/salam-sejahtera-snippets-from-my-surabaya-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Salam sejahtera! Snippets from my Surabaya experience."},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott C, Bachelor of Property Economics
\nUniversitas Surabaya, Indonesia
\nSemester 1, 2018<\/p>\n

First of all, Surabaya has a very culturally rich history and the locals are very proud of this, its best that you at least try to familiarise yourself with some of the historical events and culture customs, as this will help you understand Surabaya\u2019s Identity<\/a>. You will find most people in Surabaya upon meeting foreign people will be very curious and will ask for pictures and may want to ask you a lot questions, don\u2019t worry or suspect anything, generally this is\u00a0to do with the fact that they usually don\u2019t get a lot of tourists (especially in the more rural areas), so naturally they are very curious. Sometimes, you can get the reverse because they are shy, this is easy to overcome, a good ice breaker is simply introducing yourself in Indonesian, \u201cNama Saya *insert your name*\u201d, roughly translates to, \u201cname my\u201d, they most likely will laugh at your terrible attempt and then become more talkative. Try to learn some basic Indonesian<\/a>, as this will become helpful in negotiations with taxi drivers, store vendors and so on, otherwise you may be given the \u201ctourist prices\u201d, but if you speak a little Indonesian they will likely become a more negotiable. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo taken: Borobudur Yogyakarta<\/em><\/p>\n

Getting started<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Getting your phone connected in Indonesia is relatively straight forward, if your accommodation is close to UBAYA (assuming you are on exchange), there is a mall called \u201cMarina Plaza\u201d, this mall mainly sells phones and data sims. Data sims are very widely used in Indonesia, and they are probably the easiest to obtain and recharge. Basically most of the people use Whatsapp to call and text, which the data sim is able to be used for. Regular plans can offer actual calling and texting options, but are very expensive in comparison. $50k Rupiah, should get 5GB of data, which will\u00a0likely last you over a month. It will allow\u00a0access to\u00a0Facebook, YouTube and so on. You are able to recharge the data sims at either alfa-marts or indo-marts, they will require your phone number and clearly state that you are topping up your data, otherwise they might give you a call and text recharge, which is not what you want, most of the time they will understand, but the odd occasion they don\u2019t, just use Google translate, 9 times out of 10 that will solve most miscommunication issues.<\/p>\n

On that note, there are also another two apps worth downloading: GoJek and Grab. Grab is a taxi service that is similar to Uber, usually there is a fixed price and this service can be either linked to your debit\/credit card or they have a cash option. GoJek is probably one of the most important apps (it will take some time to set this app up properly), as it not only allows you to order\u00a0taxis (similar process to Grab), but also you can order food. The food options are limitless and cater for most tastes, please note though that there is a delivery charge and also in comparison to local food cost, it is quite expensive.<\/p>\n

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Photo taken: Heroes Monument<\/em><\/p>\n

Things to see and do<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel like doing some touristy stuff, there is the Heroes Monument and Museum, which celebrates Indonesian independence from colonial rule and the integral part Surabaya played in this war. Ciputra Waterpark and Mount Bromo which isn\u2019t too far from Surabaya are also great attractions. These are the main ones, but there is also a lot more to do and the more locals you meet the more options you will have. There are a lot of old temples and mosques, which date back hundreds of years, that are only minutes outside of the city. It\u2019s suggested that you try to take part in as many events that you get invited to as possible, as it will allow you to mingle with local people and students, which results in invitations to other events.<\/p>\n

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Photos taken: Borobudar Yogyakarta and Bromo Volcano<\/em><\/p>\n

Accommodation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In regards to accommodation, here are some points to look out for:<\/p>\n