UNS — Najmudhiyatin Ummah, commonly known as Najm, is a student of the Arabic Language Studies Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, batch of 2021. Along with two of her colleagues, Nezard and Brillin, she had the opportunity to fly to Cairo, Egypt, through the Cairo Credit Transfer Program, or PROTEC 2023. PROTEC is a program led by the Arabic Language Studies Program of UGM in collaboration with UNS, UAI, and Unpad.
During their approximately three-month stay in Cairo, they focused on improving their Arabic language skills and had the opportunity to study at the International Center for Arab Studies and Training (ICAST) in the first month, and at Banha University in the second month. This program took place from November 2023 until February 22, 2024.
Regarding the reasons, Najm admitted that she has always been interested in the Land of Pyramids and dreamed of studying at Al-Azhar University in Egypt.
“I was interested in joining PROTEC because, before enrolling at UNS, I applied to Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. However, it wasn’t my fortune to get into that university. And after hearing that UNS had such a program, I was interested because my dream was to study in Egypt. I thought that even if I didn’t continue studying there, I could experience studying in Egypt, even if only for a short time,” she said on Thursday (3/14/2024).
Najm also shared a bit about the atmosphere in Cairo, Egypt, leading up to the holy month of Ramadhan. She mentioned that people there would hang lanterns in their homes. Every alleyway would be festive with lanterns and Ramadan decorations, commonly known as Ziinah Ramadan.
“As for Ramadan culture there, every house definitely has lanterns. So when Ramadan is approaching, there are many lantern sellers, ranging from small ones for keychains to large ones. In residential alleys, there are many street decorations like lanterns and colorful paper hanging on strings, commonly known as Ziinah Ramadan (Ramadan decorations),” she added.
PROTEC has been conducted for several years, but it was interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Najm, who had wanted to apply since her first semester, had to wait until the fourth semester to finally participate in the program. HUMAS UNS
Reporter: Adisti Daniella
Editor: Dwi Hastuti