So, off he went, packing his suitcases for another country he believes to be the world's new phenomena: China.

"China is growing faster *and* I believe Mandarin is the next big thing," says Leonard, who's studying economics and trading at Renmin University of China in Beijing. "Soon, Indonesians will interact a lot with Chinese for business purposes, so I believe mastering Mandarin will help me build a successful career."

Leonard doesn't have to be a fortune teller to make such predictions. With the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) implemented at the start of the year, more capital, goods and services are expected to flow from the "Waking Dragon" to Indonesia, bringing more opportunities for job seekers. And studying in China - whatever the major - is one way to jump on the gravy train, as students immerse themselves in Chinese culture and society.

"With stronger ties between China and Indonesia, many medium and large Chinese companies will do business in Indonesia," says Gandhi Priambodho, former chairman of the Indonesian Students Association in China (Permit). "These companies will need employees who speak Mandarin, because many of Chinese employees *coming to Indonesia* might not speak English."

Studying journalism at Renmin University of China has already paid off for Grace Hsiuling Satya Putra, who after her degree obtained a job for a private TV station based in Jakarta handling their special Chinese feature program.

"I didn't study in China because of my Chinese background," says Grace, a journalist at Global TV. "My family doesn't speak Mandarin or hold any Chinese traditions - we don't even celebrate Chinese New Year anymore.

"But I remembered my Indonesian language teacher once said: *if you can master foreign languages, you can rule the world.' So, that's how it started - I learned Mandarin because I thought it would bring me good prospects," she adds.

Grace, Gandhi and Leo are among an increasing number of Indonesians who picked China as their study destination. In 2009, the China government reported that around 7,900 Indonesians studied in the country, an increase from around 6,000 in 2007. By comparison, around 15,000 Indonesians studied in Australia in 2009, and 7,700 in the US in the same year.

Just like Leonard, who picked China over a western country, Gandhi also chose to study at Renmin University of China after eliminating Canada as his study destination.

"The education costs *in China* are more cheaper than countries like Britain or the US," says Gandhi, who earned his diploma in Chinese language from the University of Indonesia and took a master's degree in Chinese contemporary studies.

Leonard agrees, stating the average tuition fee in Beijing, for example, is around RMB 21,000, or US$ 3,000 per year.

"And books are also very cheap because of government subsidies," says Leonard, now the chairman of Permit. "The prices here are only 30 to 40 percent of the price of books in Indonesia."

Cheaper tuition fees and books prices aside, 24-year-old Chrisman says the living costs in China are also affordable.

"Daily expenses are much more affordable compared to countries like Australia," says Chrisman, who's studying mechanical engineering and automation at the Beijing Institute of Technology. "The downside, if any, is rental accommodation in Beijing is quite expensive."

Living in Beijing for some time, Chrisman has found the locals very welcoming of foreigners. And this doesn't only apply to his campus life, but also in his daily life.

*This makes the whole learning environment in China comforta-ble and supportive *for foreigners*," he says.

Just like Chrisman, Gandhi even says he sometimes gets "special treatment" from the locals who are curious about Indonesia.

"On the streets, people often asked me: *Where do you come from?'," Gandhi recalls his arrival in Beijing in 2001. "When I told them my name is Gandhi, they thought I was an Indian."

"For them, I was like a new *item'," he laughs, and continued, "but that made me feel lucky because many locals there invited me to their houses to introduce me to their families. I felt very special."

Grace also has fond memories of friendly locals in China.

"I'm of Chinese-ethnic origin, but the people I met in China didn't believe it," Grace says. "They thought my Indonesian-Chinese friends and I were Koreans," she laughed.

Living in China for around five years, Grace felt she was had a experienced as much as she could about the people and their culture. So, when she graduated in 2008, Grace returned to Indonesia for good.

"I decided not to pursue my career there because we all know how journalism practices are in China," says Grace, adding she learned about censorship and "Marxist journalism".

"There's no freedom of press there - so I thought, why I would want to work there if I can't do things other reporters in the world do?" she adds.

After all, Grace says, her goal was only to study in China, and learn more about its language and culture.

"Whatever major you want to study, I can say that China offers you good quality higher education," Grace says. "But I'm not interested in working as a journalist there," she adds.

Unlike Grace, however, Gandhi, Leonard and Chrisman will try their luck in China. Chrisman, for example, says he will try to get work experience in China before going home.

"I'd prefer spending a few years first here *in China* before returning to Indonesia because I want to get some experience that might be different *from what I would get in Indonesia*," he says. "Such different experiences could later help me better my career prospects in Indonesia," he adds.

Gandhi shares a similar view, citing the challenges of working in a foreign country as one of the reasons he stayed longer than expected in Beijing.

"I used to think that after my Mandarin skills had improved, I would return to my job at Indonesia Shang Bao," Gandhi says, referring to a Mandarin-language newspaper in Indonesia, where he used to work as a setter. "But after I spent some time here, I changed my mind because I found a job and new challenges arose making me want to stay longer," he laughs.

Gandhi, however, insists his decision to stay longer doesn't mean he's forgotten his motherland or that he doesn't want to develop his own country. In fact, he and his friends have been actively promoting Indonesia to locals through various events.

"We feel the Chinese here have little knowledge about Indonesia," he says, referring to his experiences of meeting locals who kept asking him about where Indonesia was. "Many rich Chinese people love to travel to other countries - they visit Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia - and even invest money there. But they aren't interested in Indonesia because they think our country is chaotic, disastrous and not safe, with bad-mannered people."

Therefore, Gandhi goes on, it's his and his friends' job to polish Indonesia's reputation in China. In May this year, for example, his organization, Permit, will hold an event to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Chinese-Indonesian diplomatic relations. An Indonesian culinary parade, film festival, cultural exhibitions and seminars are scheduled to bring the locals closer to Indonesia.

"We're very enthusiastic about promoting beautiful Indonesia and its friendly people to the locals here," Gandhi says. "So, you know, we don't necessarily have to be in Indonesia to contribute to our country's development. We can make contributions to our beloved country even when we're abroad."

Top 10 countries of Origin for international students in China

1. Republic of Korea ...........(64,232)

2. The United States............(18,650)

3. Japan........................(15,409)

4. Vietnam......................(12,247)

5. Thailand.....................(11,379)

6. Russia.......................(10,596)

7. India........................(8,468)

8. Indonesia....................(7,926)

9. Kazakhstan...................(6,497)

10. Pakistan....................(5,738)

The number of international students in China increased by 6.57 percent to 238,184 in 2009 (an increase of 14,685 over the previous year).

Source: Ministry of Education, China, 2009

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