The Cost of Living in a Small City

Upon graduating from Sanata Dharma University for two years, now I begin thinking of getting a scholarship to pursue a higher level of education. These few weeks, I have been quite intense in looking for information concerning scholarships in the internet. After reading and jotting down the information I got from the net, I finally came to a final conclusion of how to get a scholarship, that is, I must have a valid TOEFL or IELTS score, which in fact, I don’t have at the moment. To get better ideas about IELTS or TOEFL, I decided to ask my former lecturer, Mr. Barli, by emailing him, about the place where I can get such a test. After getting his answer, I know that there are only several cities which hold IELTS regularly; there are Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Semarang and some other off sites venues. Having known such cities, I complained within my heart, how on earth can I go to one of these cities just to have IELTS test? If I go to one of the cities, it will take money, energy and time. But my sole problem is the money. Only for the test fee, I have to pay $150 and around $25 additional fee. The fee mentioned has not covered my accommodation, ticket fare and food. I am quite confused now. As far as I know, every scholarship requires its candidates to submit a TOEFL or IELTS test results as its must requirements. Oh…I am in a bad mood. This year, I hope I can save some money to pay the test fee and be able to compete in the scholarship competition. This hardship is a form of risk living in small cities which will cause lack of information and it will lead to stupidity and lost opportunity. Were I rich, such a case would not be a problem. There some things which I hate from small cities; first, they do not have international test centers such as British Council and IALF. Second, small cities have not internet connection but Dial Up connection, which is very slow and sometimes, can make you die of boredom of waiting. My advice is to bring two cups of coffee when browsing the net since its speed is only 56 Kbps. Third, they do not have good newspapers and books. In my city, no bookstores are available, no Kompas is sold. So that is why sometimes, it is boring here.

Peace and Love



Kristian