The tour started from the main gate or south gate towards the library. The officer from the ITB Ganesha Campus Library gave a presentation on the facilities and services provided by the library. In addition, the officer also provided the students with information about the libraries located in the Jatinangor and Cirebon campus.

Afterwards, students were introduced to the rules, websites, as well as applications for borrowing books and journals. After the presentation session had ended, the ITB Library gave prizes to several lucky students.

Students were then directed to the American Corner area up to the fourth floor of the library. This library tour was organized in such a way so that the students can be familiar with the layout of the library building. In the library, there were bathrooms in each corridor located near the stairs. Each bookshelf had also been sorted neatly with clear guidelines. Therefore, students were not allowed to store and move books without the staff approval. There are also maps provided on each floor of the library building, so students don't have to worry about getting lost.

After the library tour, the "buddies" briefed the international students about the next activity of the Ganesha Campus tour. The tour started from the north gate and ended at the south gate. During the tour, the buddies would stop occasionally for a moment to explain the uniqueness and purpose of nearby buildings. For example, Plaza Widya Nusantara is the best location at ITB to take pictures because the famous Labtek building behind it really enhances the overall feel of the photo.

One of the students who participated in Student Orientation Day 2022 was Abdullah. He was originally a student from Yemen who is currently studying in the Architecture Study Program. "People here in Bandung are friendly. Also, ITB has [a] positive impression and strict academic staff," Abdullah commented. That was the reason for him to study at ITB.

During the campus introduction session, Abdullah was interested in ITB's architecture. As a participant in the Developing Countries Partnership scholarship program (or KNB Scholarship), Abdullah also liked Bandung for its distinctive architectural style.

The Ganesha campus tour was held on Monday and exactly one week prior to the start of classes. This was conducted so that international students can feel the atmosphere of what studying at ITB was like. Many students were even interested in knowing the activities organized by student associations, extracurricular clubs, and KM ITB (Keluarga Mahasiswa ITB). The international students and the buddies also got a little carried away by the warmth on the Ganesha campus, so there were light conversations about the stories on the students’ original homeland, OSKM ITB activities, and many more.

Reporter: Alvina Putri Nabilah (Biology, 2019)
Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering 2021)