Time flies..

Have you ever realize how fast time flies sometimes and yet sometimes it feels like it takes forever for a moment to pass by? Exams seem to pass so slowly and yet time is NEVER enough when I'm on vacation

Believe it or not, I'd been here in the States for more than a year now. Throughout this one year, I'd learned so much about being myself and other people. Not denying that there were lots of dramas throughout my entire stay here [as always], these dramas actually helped me learned more about some people I met. Not everyone are as nice/kind as they seem, they have a motive. I'd heard so much profanity ever since I got here that it has become a no-big-of-a-deal thing anymore. The things that people say or do, in or out of class are just beyond your imagination sometimes. What we consider corrupted thinking is a norm here and what they considered beyond acceptable is just too much for me to accept sometimes.


I know many people think that studying abroad is a great thing, and I do agree it is a great experience, esp in college. But working with 130 high school kids for 6 weeks during my summer job actually made me grateful for having the opportunity to study in Malaysia, regardless of all those negativity in the system. I mean, each society has their plus and minus. Kids here in the States are more open minded, outgoing and carefree. They get to choose classes, no extra tuition after school, no parents hovering over their shoulders trying to make them study..and no punishment for not doing well in school.. [and by that, I mean no canning/ scolding for not getting A's] These sound good to you huh? However, the culture difference is undeniable. Parties, cliques, couples and all those profranity is just too much to handle. Have you watched the movie "Mean Girls" by Linsay Lohan? What I can say is that everything is similar to what you see on tv/movies. Oh, and the parties..tsk tsk tsk..I think parents back home would go crazy if any of their kids were caught dancing and dressed like that. Everything is just so MTV-oriented. What we call "clubbing" nowadays back home is what parties are like in middle school or high school here. And dating among the students here are just too common? They start dating as young as primary school. Imagine walking into a std 3 classroom and you see couples holding hands or kissing? What do you think about that? Throughout my job with the Upward Bound kids, many have asked about how things differ back home and how much more strict things were. And many have admitted that they rather have not done things they had done, especially getting into relationships at a very very very young age. And yes, I do agree with them, these kids are just too young to get themselves into relationship. The other day as I was walking in the mall with some friends out of boredom, I saw a really young girl who looked about 13/14 years old max with a really big belly. No, she's not fat, her skinny hands will tell you just that. She was pregnant! Can you believe that? And my american friends told me it's normal to see that. People get pregnant all the time in middle school/ high school. One of my friend [she's 19 this year] just gave birth to a boy 2 months ago. She's only a freshmen in college when she was pregnant. So you ask, what happened to her? Did she get married? No! She's now no longer just a poor college student but a poor, single mom, college student. Her boyfriend? I think they broke up or something coz' pictures of him were taken away from facebook recently. There was no trace of him anywhere on her websites anymore.

Not only did I learned about the cultural differences between Malaysians and Americans, there were huge differences between Asians too! Some Asians who are from small towns are arrogant and dirty! Can you believe some Chinese guys tried persuading me that I should cook and clean for them instead of striving for my goals? They also tried persuading me that I am chinese instead of being a MALAYSIAN Chinese! There were also other students who accused me of stuff just because I was different. My thoughts and my ambitions were not acceptable by some, all just because I'm a girl and I'm small! I hate it when someone tells me what I can't do based on my appearance. I tried talking to them but I gave up after a while. These people are not worth my energy arguing anymore. =p


Anyways, out of these people I'd met, not all of them were so "traditional thinking"..I made great friends with some. My best friends are all from different countries with different background and I am truly grateful for them. We hang out, study, help and encourage each other all the time. Oh, and they carry stuff for me too, afraid that I will break my bones..
As you can see, they care and love me so much that they think I'm actually anorexic! haha Hence 2 instant noodles on my door when I wake up 2 different mornings.

Whatever that had happened throughout this year has helped me grow more and more each day. I know what I wanna achieve and I work towards it with the great help of my friends. I am truly blessed and I thank God for everything. =)

I'm here, gratefully..haha..