This photo has part of the students, taken in Kothen, Germnay during the modules: Malt and Beer, and Dairy Science. In front: Dr. Carter (coordinator in Germany, and Sandra, Dairy Science lab/research assistant)
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How time flies~~~
It's coming to the end of my 18 months in Europe...I'll be graduating Feb 11th!
I could still remember quite vividly the atmosphere on the first day when I arrived with Yuen Ching...the Brussels Central train station, getting onto the train with our luggages, arriving in Sint Pieter station...above all, not knowing a word of Dutch...and there was not a word of English in sight...
...and the feeling of jet lag made me felt so so so weird...coupled with the 'omg, I'm in europe? Am I dreaming?' that kind of feeling...(I still got that feeling coming on and off even after a few months staying and running around)
and then there was the first day of class...the feeling of going 'back to class' was so familiar yet so fresh...because I've never experienced anything like having students from nearly 10 countries in a class..there were a total of 25 of us in the scholarship program...splitted into two groups: 13 in Gent, Belgium and the rest in Dublin, Ireland...
The Gent group has student from countries such as Malaysia (me and Yuen Ching), Indonesia, The Phillipines, China, Kenya, Canada, Georgia, Nigeria and Ethiopia while
The Dublin group has (apart from local Irish self-paying students) students from: the U.S., Chile, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, India and Oman (or is it Yemen, I can't remember properly)...
...and worth saying is that apart from what we learn from the course...the most precious was perhaps what we learnt NOT from the course...
we learn so much from each other...our different backgrounds: culture, religion, thinking/belief system, and living style...
one of the most important thing in our communication is really about these values: respect, compromise, tolerance, patience...which really is more easily said than done...
...sometimes a small conversation becomes a hot, fierce debate...and certainly sometimes (or 'many' times:P) we drive each other up the wall!!!
but on top of it all...we developed friendships...
for me, one of the most unforgettable things would be my understanding of African students...(I have never really get to approach any previously in Malaysia or Australia, so my understanding of them, if anything, is so so little you can say it's none)
...there are really so much difference between many aspects of the Africans with those of the Asians...or even Americans, British, Australians...
and in fact, there are certainly aspects which I regret to say that I still cannot tolerate...but I've gain more understanding which I'm sure will be very useful in the future...and I've found a nice friend from Kenya too...which I hope I would be able to visit in a few years time...(It's actually more of the Safari in my mind:PP)
I know these 18 months would be unforgettable my whole life~~~
...and sis applied this year for a course...I really hope she'll get it..keeping all my fingers crossed...and toes too:P!!
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