Hello everyone...
Just came back from OPKIM... but my health is not very good today...
Hoping that it would get better in a few days' time.
Got a nu foster family... looks like my list of acquaintances is getting longer.
Anyway, I had a wonderful time, learn nu culture, make nu friends and of course.. got a nu weight...ehehehe!!!
Man, this cold is really making me tired...
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Back from the land of the ... great wall??!!
Ehem...it has been some time since I last logged in and write something in this blog. Lots of things had happened to me for the last few weeks . One of it was a trip to China for 12 days (30th May-10th June). To cut story short, I was among the selected ones for this trip, organized by Ministry of Higher Education. The delegation included 29 other students (most of them were student leaders) from 17 public universities all over Malaysia. It was kinda surprising to be chosen as one of the group since there were few requirements that had to be fulfilled. Alhamdulillah, I managed to pull through.
Honestly, this trip had left a big impression deep in my heart. Well, I made a lot of new friends, gained new insights on Chinese educational system, its people's devotion towards the nation's development, with endless efforts of preserving their cultural and historical relics. However, not everything is a fairy-tale in a foreign land... I had to say that there are some things that had made me miss Malaysia so much while I was there. No, it wasn't food.. I'm quite content with the food (although the daily menu mainly consists of eggs, fish, lamb, capsicum, a bit of chicken, tofu and veggies...PHEW!). I got to learn how to use chopsticks properly (thanx a lot Em-UPSI)and I got to taste the halal-version of the famous Peking duck...yum, yum! Although at 1st, it tasted a bit weird (since I've never eaten it b4.. obviously!), but it was a real satisfaction to eat it since I only read and watched its process thru the Net and Discovery + National Geographic Channel.
Okay, back to my main point...about missing Malaysia while I was there...
Honestly, language was the major difficulty. Man, it was hard to communicate with the natives since Mandarin is much more recognized in China. Luckily, we had a Malaysian Chinese guy in our group and he became our mediator/translator throughout the visits to the universities(except the visit to Shanghai International Studies University-SISU). Even though they had the 'International Students' Centre', none of its staff are actually English-literate (since the international students are required to learn Mandarin in order for them to study in the universities in China).
Secondly... the people. I had to be frank... most of them are not exactly hospitable. Since most of the ladies in the delegation wear 'tudungs' (head coverings), we got that funny look whenever we went around. From what we understood, though China has its own Muslim population (which is the largest in the world), most of the female youngsters don't wears head coverings... only the elders do. Asking for directions could became a huge problem, especially when the person you're dealing with are looking at you with a 'different' eye... I don't mean sexually, but in an unapproved way. That's when I felt that even the slightest approach from a stranger, asking whether you're lost or something... is actually a life saver for me or for anyone that matter whenever we're in a foreign soil. It's quite hard to find that during my visit to China, but there are also kind souls that were willing to help... although most of the time we ended up using sign languages to deliver our points across.
(to be continued...)
Honestly, this trip had left a big impression deep in my heart. Well, I made a lot of new friends, gained new insights on Chinese educational system, its people's devotion towards the nation's development, with endless efforts of preserving their cultural and historical relics. However, not everything is a fairy-tale in a foreign land... I had to say that there are some things that had made me miss Malaysia so much while I was there. No, it wasn't food.. I'm quite content with the food (although the daily menu mainly consists of eggs, fish, lamb, capsicum, a bit of chicken, tofu and veggies...PHEW!). I got to learn how to use chopsticks properly (thanx a lot Em-UPSI)and I got to taste the halal-version of the famous Peking duck...yum, yum! Although at 1st, it tasted a bit weird (since I've never eaten it b4.. obviously!), but it was a real satisfaction to eat it since I only read and watched its process thru the Net and Discovery + National Geographic Channel.
Okay, back to my main point...about missing Malaysia while I was there...
Honestly, language was the major difficulty. Man, it was hard to communicate with the natives since Mandarin is much more recognized in China. Luckily, we had a Malaysian Chinese guy in our group and he became our mediator/translator throughout the visits to the universities(except the visit to Shanghai International Studies University-SISU). Even though they had the 'International Students' Centre', none of its staff are actually English-literate (since the international students are required to learn Mandarin in order for them to study in the universities in China).
Secondly... the people. I had to be frank... most of them are not exactly hospitable. Since most of the ladies in the delegation wear 'tudungs' (head coverings), we got that funny look whenever we went around. From what we understood, though China has its own Muslim population (which is the largest in the world), most of the female youngsters don't wears head coverings... only the elders do. Asking for directions could became a huge problem, especially when the person you're dealing with are looking at you with a 'different' eye... I don't mean sexually, but in an unapproved way. That's when I felt that even the slightest approach from a stranger, asking whether you're lost or something... is actually a life saver for me or for anyone that matter whenever we're in a foreign soil. It's quite hard to find that during my visit to China, but there are also kind souls that were willing to help... although most of the time we ended up using sign languages to deliver our points across.
(to be continued...)
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