I was born, bred and educated in Malaysia and most of my life is spent here, with the exception of a few months overseas for vacation. Coming from a poor family, I don't get to travel much moreover taking vacation to somewhere far.
Being in Monash compensates for this, as people from different nations can be seen enrolled in our campus. Noticeable ones from the far-west middle-east (huh?) Arab nations, the not so far India and Sri Lanka as well as the super near South East Asians with the majority being Indonesians.
We should be glad being able to expose ourselves to so many cultures and traditions all under one roof. Imagine the amount of things we can learn from each other, languages, country, customs, traditions, food (most important) as well as their beauties XD ... I mean the beauty of diversity.
Therefore I humbly urge all my local friends to spend time getting to know these people as a friend. There are differences in the way we communicate (language is not a barrier but an excuse) or behave but fear not, trying is the first step to everything. You might never know, he or she might end up being your gf/bf ^^, partner, best friend, guardian angel, clubbing buddy... blah blah blah
We should not only mix with our own kind although it is easier and more simply, take a step out of our comfort zones once in a while and look out the window. By making an effort to welcome our foreign buddies, I can guarantee you it will be an eye opener as well as a form of education. Not only will they thank you for making their stay here more meaningful but you might one day be visiting their country and thanking them back instead.
With all my previous criticism, don't get me wrong. I don't hate Monash in fact I love being in Monash for giving me all kinds of opportunities and this being one of it. We all agree that no one is perfect therefore my criticisms are meant to be constructive, hopefully help making Monash a better place for all of us.
Let me end this article with three quotes,
1) To my foreign buddies:
"We are friends
but we are making mistakes
cause if I don't understand you,
you don't understand me
if we solve the problems
everything will be free"
by Namewee aka Wee Meng Chee in his song entitled 'Kawanku/My friends"
2) About my criticisms:
"Dissent Is the Highest Form of Patriotism"
by Thomas Jefferson
3) About my blog:
"If I criticize I care,
If I care I love"
by Evilbunny & A lot of mothers in the world.
Written by Evilbunny"The best ideas comes from the worst minds" 7/9/07
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1 comment:
We should all be friends with our foreign friends.make them feel homely and share with them some malaysian love.maybe invite them over to our homes and cook for them some local dish.and it doesn't matter if ur cooking sucks, cause it's the thought that counts.in return for our good hospitality, our rich foreign friends should take us malaysian monash nerds out clubbing. maybe buy us some western "chinese tea" while they're at it. teach us malaysian nerd buggers how to joget a bit.that would be a lot of fun!
-we live in a world full of contradictions-
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