LIVING MY OWN DREAM (pt. 3) : IELTS test at IDP Bandung

On Sunday 27th November 2022, I took my first IELTS test at IDP Education Bandung. On Monday, 16 January 2023, I took my second test at the same place.

Here is the location : Jl. Naripan No.24A, Kb. Pisang, Kec. Sumur Bandung, Kota Bandung, Jawa Barat 40112

What did I prepare on the D-1 (besides the language materials)?

• I checked the location of IDP building on Google Maps to enable me to calculate the duration I need to take from my homestays (I stayed at Bobobox and my cousin's house, thankyou Cici Diana for accommodating me). By doing this, I also could predict which one the building is, so I wouldn't get lost.
• I read people's sharing experiences on the personal blogs who have taken the test at IDP Bandung, so I could predict how good the service of the staff.
• I prepared an appropriate outfit. I wear a sweater, denim trousers, and sneakers. No accessories including a watch. I think it was the comfiest outfit for me because all of the things we wear will be stored in the shelf like a hat, a jacket, etc. Moreover, the AC inside of the exam room was quite freezing especially when I had heebie-jeebies for around 3 hours nonstop :')))
• I prepared sufficient stationery + important eligible stuffs : ID card/passport, receipt/booking payment, HB pencil, eraser, mouth mask, mineral water

Next, I put the D-day timeline below (all in the WIB timezone) :
> 07.15 : arrived at the IDP Bandung building, since the fence was still locked so I waited across the road, at the warteg (lol) while reviewing my notes (you can read them on the previous post).
> 08.30 - 08.50 : the staff took my pass photo and recorded my fingerprint
> 09.30 - 12.00 : started the test (Listening, Reading, Writing section, nonstop)
> 13.40 - 13.50 : started the Speaking section (the Speaking schedule was revealed D-3 yet it could be started earlier actually)

For a glimpse of info, I put the questions I got in my first and second test here as well. I'm sorry if they're not so complete because I also quite forgot even after the test ended :""DDD

🔴FIRST TEST (27th November 2022)
1. Listening : Booking form Hotel Tarookna Sarah Jones, Waterfront Development, Teaching Methodology Activity diagram steam, Gastropoda
2. Reading : Tuthankhamun Sequine, Malaria Combat in Italy, Art-based Training for Engineers (CONNECT Programme)
3. Writing :
- Task 1 : Bar charts of the average retirement age for men and women in 2004 and 2008 in 7 different countries.
- Task 2 : An increasing number of people are choosing plastic surgery. Why do people choose to change the way they look? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?
5. Speaking :
- Part 1 : Do you work/study? What lessons do you like in school? What is the meaning of your name? Is there any family member who have the same name as you? What do you want to name your child?
- Part 2 : Describe a photo that you are proud of?
- Part 3 : Photo and geography/history *banyak pertanyaannya aing lupa hampura*
(*) Examiner : her name is Elizabeth, an old lady with age around the 50s, ramah banyak senyum.

🔴SECOND TEST (16th January 2023)
1. Listening
- Part 1 : Tipe-tipe rice cooker (fill in the blank type of question; 1,950 USD; recommendation milih rice cooker)
- Part 2 : Poisonous Italian garden (multiple choice type of question, matching info) rose garden
- Part 3 : Ngeblank lupa parah maapkeun
- Part 4 : Lecture marine biology aquaculture (I just remember some of my answers lol : genetically modified, mutate, tuna, zenzibar, coast)
2. Reading
- Passage 1 : New Zealand tracks Maori
- Passage 2 : Ngeblank lupa parah maapkeun
- Passage 3 : Biogeography (cockroach, mite harvestmen insects, evolution pangea, dr. Boyer, Canadian Hawaiian goose, armadillos)
3. Writing
- Task 1 : Bar and line charts tentang male and female students 6 subjects (engineering, social sciences, science and maths, agriculture, health, humanities) and the total number per each subject: agriculture terendah among others tapi equal.
- Task 2 : Some experts say for road safety cyclists should pass a test before being allowed on public roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
4. Speaking
- Part 1 : Do you work/study? Where do you live? What do you like about your city? Are you a morning person or not? What are the differences between your morning activity when you were a kid and now? Did you do household chores when you were young? Do you have a breakfast every morning?
- Part 2 : Describe a person you knows grow some plants?
- Part 3 : Is it easy to grow plants nowadays? Do you think chemicals in farming should be banned? How do farmers earn money? Why do people like to grow plants? Is there any plant in your neighborhoods?
(*) Examiner : an old lady with the age of around 60s, lebih ramah daripada examiner test 1, ada ketawa kecil tapi lupa aing karena apa, kasih penjelasan saat kasih pertanyaan.

Right every time I finished my test, I always noted down the questions and evaluated myself. So here you can see my notes :
🔴FIRST TEST EVALUATIONS
- I still have a challenging issue with the listening question type of spelling names and long numbers. I often get skipped because the recording was too fast so I didn't have the time to take a note! It ruined my concentration on the next question groups because the order of question  became confusing :"""))) So I ended up with capcipcup-kembang-kuncup-pilih-mana-yang-mau-dicup (picked the answer randomly) lmao.
- Actually the 'fill in the gap with one word' question type in the 4th part of listening section is my favorite one among other types but there were still some questions I wasn't sure.
- In the reading section in the T/F/NG & Y/N/NG & 'fill in the gap summary based on the available choices with synonyms' were my biggest challenges :((( They're extremely intricate.
- I wrote >200 words in writing section task 1 and I was afraid it would be risky for grammatical errors because I only had a little time to check it. I was still struggling with grouping the data as well. For writing task 2, I think it still lacks lexical resources as well as grammar. I was a little bit distracted by the keyboard sound of other people's typing ㅠ_ㅠ I used a headphone for reducing it though, I felt it made me so hard to maintain focus instead I was under pressure :")))
- For the speaking section, I have mentioned idiomatic expressions like “it's not my cup of tea” dan “my take on this is ...”. Unfortunately, in part 3, I lose my focus because the examiner spoke too fast and I couldn't get the main point of her questions plus I had been so nervous :((((((
- Important reminder : next time I have to handle this situation by repeating the question to the examiner like “could you repeat the question slower please?”.

🔴SECOND TEST EVALUATIONS
- In the listening section, I felt much more relaxed, focused, and anticipated to set the mentality and every step in undergoing the test, kayak perhatiin urutan soalnya vertikal/horizontal, distinguish question types by searching the paraphrase, etc.
- I'm pretty sure that's because of Jesus' name, in the listening section, I kind of felt easier in understanding the conversation. Idk why it's like magic and I think that's because Jesus didn't give me the question with a fast pace recording. Even in the most challenging multiple choice question, thankfully I could see the redline of the convo! Though there were still some questions I wasn't sure but I prayed “Jesus Christ, I have tried as much as I can, I trust on You for the rest, You have guided me during the practice now please help me to finish the test because I can't do this alone”.
- I was really grateful that I didn't get the spelling question as well! Geezzz it was my weakness because I often get it wrong ;;;__;;;; Instead I also was given the topic in my study area in the aquaculture sector in the 4th part of listening section!!!!!! AaAaaAAAAaaaA could you imagine how magical was that??? *now playing Mike Mohede - Kasih SetiaMu : siapakah aku ini Tuhan jadi biji mataMu, dengan apakah kubalas Tuhan selain puji dan sembah Kau* 🥺🥺🥺
- I still have to deepen my listening skill in the 'multiple choice' and 'matching info' type of questions to become more confident in choosing the answer.
- I think I was not really bad at time management during the reading section since I successfully finished passages 1 & 2 in less than 20 mins and passage 3 in more than 20 mins. Though there were still some questions I wasn't sure huehuehue.
- In the writing section, I might spend more time in task 1 so that in task 2 I couldn't recheck the grammar and spelling thoroughly until the last paragraph. For word counting, I wrote 250 words in task 1 and I got 320 words in task 2.
- In terms of the speaking section, I have tried to use idiomatic expressions such as “I'm not an early bird”, but I felt it's still rambling unclearly especially in parts 2 & 3. I have tried to speak longer as well in parts 1 & 3. I notice that I have been braver to confirm the question too with a question “can you repeat it slowly please ?” when I didn't get the point.

///

I was sooo thankful because of the IELTS score I got which passed my expectation, I was given more blessings by being accepted into many study programs as well as scholarships as I had always mentioned in my prayers. Those universities and scholarships were :
1. Master of Biotechnology, University of Queensland, Australia (intake February 2024) - with an LPDP scholarship (batch 1 of 2023)
2. Master of Biotechnology, Monash University, Australia (intake February 2024)
3. Master of Biotechnology, University of Auckland, New Zealand (intake February 2024)
4. Master of Biotechnology, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand (intake February 2024)
5. Master of Science in Aquaculture, Ghent University, Belgium (intake September 2023) - with a VLIR-UOS scholarship (2023)
 

It's only by God's mercy, not my capability I could obtain these acceptances and stand still at this point. After having a very long contemplation and discussed with my parents, finally I chose to take the VLIR-UOS scholarship at Ghent University because it's the first scholarship which accepted me and have the earliest intake timeline. God really answers my prayers exactly as I requested and even much better.

Though I also got my rejection letters (and many tears) in these scholarships :
1. Stipendium Hungaricum (Hungary) in Master of Science in Biology program at Szeged University
2. Manaaki New Zealand Asian Scholarship (New Zealand)
3. Erasmus Mundus (I applied for 2 programs: AquaH and IMBRSEA; I was accepted in the IMBRSEA program as a self-funded student but I declined eventually) 

I hope all of my kindhearted readers here can support and send me prayers to cheer me up so I will finish my studies—which will be started this September, yeay—on time. 

I'm determined that I will come back later to bring many precious memories and will make my parents and all relations who have been supporting me proud.

I wish that I can always be tough in facing numerous troubles in the future because this journey is what my prayers have been granted.

I wish my faith and body can be strengthened while I continuously whisper my prayers to the ground so they will be heard beyond the sky up above. Please say amen loudly guys🥺🥺

God's grace is real and abundant in my life, I believe the same happens as well in your life whatever you wish. I pray for your best days in the very near future are coming!

OK I think that's all. I'm going to complete an ongoing kdrama called The Good Bad Mother with ayangbeb Lee Dohyun while checking out my Shopee basket hohoho.

Adios!