Antony’s Life Blog

(Picture is from stock.xchng.)

I have been asked several times about tuition fee at Indonesian universities. It’s not an easy answer. When I pursued my bachelor degree at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), I paid ~$20 / semester for my tuition fee. Yes, it was 20 bucks (not 20 thousands).

Well, it’s true that I studied at the university about 15 years ago. However, I believe the current tuition fee is still below $250 / semester (anyone from UGM to confirm?)

Why is it so cheap? Firstly, UGM is a public university. Private universities usually charge much higher tuition fees. Secondly, Yogyakarta, the city where UGM is located, is an inexpensive city to live.

Just to give you an overview, here is a list of my spending when I was living in Yogyakarta (again, it was 15 years ago):

• Room rental: $10 / month
• Food: $20 / month
• Transportation: $5 / month
• Entertainment: $5 / month
• Miscellaneous: $10 / month

Of course, the costs are 3-4 times more expensive now; but still they are quite cheap. Just for comparison, I can easily spend $20 for a dinner in Vancouver.

I took some pictures on Canada Day 2008 celebration in Richmond, BC. More pictures are available on my Flickr and Web Picasa accounts.

The first picture is a Canadian pirate who wants to say “Happy Canada Day everybody!!!”

The second picture is a father and his son preparing Canada Day celebration. So… are you ready kid?

And here is the last picture… Canadian girls are beautiful, aren’t they?

The following video from TED Talks explain how Canada’s System Care System. Here is the summary from Allison Hunt’s speech:

• Health care system in Canada is free.
• 10 months waiting to get appointment with surgeon to get x-ray.
• 18 months waiting to get appointment for surgery.
• If you want to get in front of the line, work as volunteer for the communities.

PS: When I got a dermatofibroma surgery in Canada last year, I had also to wait about 6 months. First, I had to make appointment with dermatologist, which took 2 months. Then, I need to make appointment with the surgeon, which took another 2 months. Finally, I had to wait for the surgery, which took 2 months again. Anyway, this is what you get for free service.