The Finale Cometh

The time has come. The quieter-than-usual library stirs up chatter and whispers of frantic prayer with study guides laid in front on individuals, as clean as mountain spring water ready to be mud with lashes of ink. Time spent staying up all night hanging out and internet surfing is now channeled to slaving to pages and pages of information.

Finals is just around the corner. Next week, to be precise. 

Coming from country where people are stereotyped to be "smart" and extremely hardworking because of our Asian descent. it's ironic that I am not. People assume that we are always prepared by the time finals come around we have to spend less time preparing. 

Wrong!

The truth is, we are just as unprepared as the rest of us. Students, the majority are alike. Procrastination is intrinsic. 

In fact, the reason why I came to America to study is because of the way the education system functions. In the American system, finals are often not accumulative and course work and attendance and participation is integrated in the final grade. For the British system, 90% of your final grade often leans on ONE day. If you mess up, you're done for. No extra credit. No way of making up the grade. 

I feel smart for not putting all my eggs in one basket. But that also means that I cannot afford to slack all semester as I used to do in school. this system keeps me consistent and going all semester, which I prefer. 

For now, I can roughly figure out my grades and I am happy. But finals can always turn the tables on the grades. Therefore, I am going to study now, maybe. 

Things I never knew about Malaysia

Recently I had to do research on a country for my International Media class. I picked an obvious country, Malaysia because I thought that it would probably be an easy task. I was wrong. I realized how little I knew about my country. I made up a list of things I realized I didn't know.

1) The population - 28,859,154
2) The land mass - 329,874 sq km (127,350 sq mi)
3)Racial breakdown

Malay - 50.4%
Chinese - 23.7%
Indian - 7.1%
Indigenous - 11.0%

I never realized how small the Indian community was in Malaysia.

4) Religion breakdown

Islam - 64.4%
Buddhism - 17.8%
Christianity - 9.2%
Hinduism - 6.3%

Another fact that surprised me was the number of foreign radio frequencies in Malaysia. I never even knew that Malaysian broadcasted foreign radio stations.

There are stations from Thailand, Vietnam, and even Britain.

To be honest, I am also reminded that I have forgotten a good chunk of Malaysian history. I have always pride myself in knowing that I knew a lot about Malaysia. Well, as the saying goes, "pride comes before a fall". I think that this research has humbled me and have taught me so many things. I am very honored to be from a country that has such rich history and I hope to learn more about it and share.

Malaysia Boleh!

The International Festival blasted itself at the NUC last Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.Being from Malaysia (I am not bias at all) think that the Malaysians did the best and I am very proud of them. Overall, we won second.

Malaysia Boleh! (Famous Malaysian slogan for "Malaysia can") -- Now that I think of it, maybe Obama stole it from us (Yes we can?) Hmm... I would have to get back on that.

Anyway, I thought that the festival went very well. Kudos to the International Student Council for pulling off a memorable event. The array of colors and east-meets-west diversity was stunning. The food was really good too, probably the highlight of the event.

Performances were good, some countries obviously better than others. *coughmalaysiacough*. All was good until the infamous-played-as-many-times-as-the-number-of-women-tiger-woods-cheated-on-his-wife-with-times-a-thousand Gangnam style was performed by the Korean Student Association.

I think that Psy needs other inspiration. The world needs a rest from Gangnam. Maybe we should all give our full attention to Justin Bieberthe bombing in Gaza.

Kim Do Yeon, a senior in Advertising was part of the horse-riding party.

"Yes, I think that the Gangnam style is overplayed but who cares? It's fun and while it's hot let's just get op op op op oppa Gangnam style!"

I know I should have probably gotten a better quote, but life happens. :)

All in all, it was a great day. It was honestly fun sharing the culture with others. I was actually surprised at the amount of knowledge I know about my country. It's been years since I have studied Malaysian history. I guess you just don't know how much you know until you are asked. Foreign people just bring it out! The International Festival was a great effort and should be done every year!

Petra holding a "kompang", a traditional Malay slap drum. I am wearing a fisherman's hat and a "baju batik" (silk shirt). The Baju Batik is an outfit usually worn at Malay and government functions and events. It is really light and comfortable.

The folks from Malaysia performing a traditional Malaysian dance called the "dikir barat". This dance is believed to be able to ward off evil spirits.



I can't wait til the next one!

Kenya believe she's Indian?

This will be the last story on my fun-more-unique-than-the-other-international-students-here-at-UCO-(sorry-guys) series! I wish I could get them all but I only have so much time. Anyway, this international hails all the way from Kenya. However, she is from an Indian descent. Here is her story.

“My best friend is African American, I have a white boyfriend, and the people here I associate as my family are Indians.”

Satnam Aildasani, an 18-year-old actuarial science freshman, hails from Kenya, Africa where she grew up. Ethnically, she is Indian but her nationality is African. According to her family history, Aildasani is a third generation Kenyan on her father’s side and fourth on her mother’s side.

English is one of the six languages that she speaks. Aildasani also speaks Swahili, an African language, and Hindi, Zindhi, Gujrati and Punjabi, Indian languages.

“One side of my grandparents speak Hindi and Zhindhi, and the other side speak Gujrati and Punjabi. That is the reason why I grew up learning multiple languages at once.”

 Aildasani admits to loving being so diverse. She feels that she has learned to interact with different kinds of people without much difficulty.

“I would say that I have it all. I feel I can be social with every ethnicity and relate with many on a personal level.”

Aildasani also explains that she speaks in a British-Kenyan accent. She grew up with the British education system in Kenya. In addition, her brother is attending school in London and she has been there many times.

Aildasani is Senator for the African Student Association and is taking part in the coming Miss Black UCO pageant. She says that she considers herself Kenyan but also appreciates her Indian roots. In fact, she wanted to join the Miss Asian UCO pageant but missed the deadline.

“I don’t have a preference. I do not mind being Black and Indian. That is just who I am. There is no sense in tearing apart these two because this is what I am made up of. I even have an Indian family here”.

Aildasani recalls the story of how she was first acquainted with the people she now calls her family.

“My father came here with me for orientation. He met an Indian family whose son is also taking actuarial science. The son invited me for Indian food at his home and there was where I met his family and other Indian families.”

Although she has strong ties with the Indian community here in the U.S., Kenya will always be her home.

“Kenya’s weather is perfect – not too hot and not too cold. It is so beautiful and most of my family is there. My childhood is there and I cannot leave it behind”.

She also speaks of the misconception of Americans toward her beloved country.

“Kenya is very developed. It is not as Americans quote, ‘Jungle Book.’ We have houses and Internet. We have cell phones and we know how to use them. We don’t ride elephants to school and we don’t have tigers as pets. Yes, we speak English. Kenya has the best of both worlds. There is the developed side and the undeveloped side. I get the privilege to experience both.”

Aildasani says that she has no trouble juggling between cultures to adapt.

“I find no difference. Everyone’s the same. I don’t have to change because bottom line is, we are all human. It does not really matter to me. I am just thankful to be a part of different cultures all at the same time”.

Malaysian Feet, American Soil

Here's another story of an international student from a country that I am very proud to call home!

“Yes, I am a Malaysian. But I’ve been here for so long, I guess I can’t really call myself a Malaysian. I have been Americanized”.

Rajiv Arumai Thurai has been in the states for the past decade and will graduate with a degree in Nutrition from UCO this coming May.

At age 13, his aunt adopted him from his parents and brought him here when she got a job as a nurse.

Growing up, Thurai refers himself as a sentimental person. During his teenage years, he would write and use poetry as a means to express himself to girls. However, after having sudden interest in soccer, his poetic hobby faded away.

“When you play soccer, you have friends, teamwork, and family. Everyone was like my brothers and sisters and we’re all like one big family. So I guess that’s why I play soccer. Its not a single sports it’s a teamwork.”

        
                         Rajiv, posing with his favorite soccer team's banner.

Thurai is of mixed parentage. After his parents’ divorce, he lived with relatives on his father’s side, which influenced his traditional and cultural views. He speaks four out of five languages fluently. They are English, Malay, the national language of Malaysia,   , a Chinese dialect, Hindi, an Indian dialect, and he took four years of Spanish in high school in the U.S.

“My real mum is Chinese and my dad is Indian. So I’m what Malaysians would call, a Chindian. But religion wise, I’ve been with my dad’s side until today. So Hinduism is what I followed.”

Being in the U.S. for so long, Thurai claims to have caught on some of the American values but has also preserved some of his Asian values.

“I have to say I never changed my Malaysian values. Or maybe I don’t really follow any value at all. I’m still staying with my ‘mum’ until now because she’s single. So you can say I have a mixture of both American and Malaysian value. Yes, she’s [aunt that adopted him] not my real mum but she has been taking care of me for 24 years.”

Since his sophomore year at UCO, he has been spending more time with Malaysians, which he feels has been bringing him back to his Malaysian roots.

“When I first came to UCO, I did not hang out with Malaysians a lot. I hung out more with the Americans and Europeans. But then I went to the International Festival in my sophomore year. That was when I first met Malaysians and that’s when I started to hang out with them more. They accepted me too. When they accepted you, you tend to hang out with them more.”

Thurai believes that interaction is inevitable in the world today and people should learn to be more accepting of all.

“It’s not good if you just interact with one race. The reason for that is because life takes you to a big open road. It takes a bunch of things to pile them up and see how your life was. I like to see my life to be a mixture of friends from different parts of world. It’s not about being friends with your own race. That is why I’m friends with everyone here in UCO.”

Same feet, different paths

Recently, I have had the privilege of interviewing a few interesting people. These individuals have one thing in common - They are are all very well travelled and have interesting diverse backgrounds. It just amazes me how small and integrated the world has become.

The first person I interviewed was Thomas Coudron. This is his story.

“I am French with an English mom, so that’s where my British accent comes from.” 

Thomas Coudron finds himself having to explain himself often, at disbelief of his French nationality.

After just turning 22 in October, Coudron is pursuing his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). Coudron earned a degree from France called Bachelor’s International, a general business degree. He was at UCO two years ago as an exchange student as part of his degree requirement to study abroad and is now back at UCO.

Coudron had different reasons for returning to UCO, but the main concern was for someone special. 

“I got a girlfriend when I was here, so I decided to come back. It’s hard to find a job from abroad in the U.S. because of paperwork and visa issues. So I discussed with my dad, and concluded that the second option was to continue my studies in MBA.”

Growing up in France, where English is not spoken as much, Coudron finds himself most fortunate to have an English mother. 

“It’s pretty cool growing up with a British mom, and a French dad is pretty cool.  It has given me a tremendous advantage as English is one of the languages spoken the most. I have never studied for an English test or anything.  It lets me concentrate on other stuff. I thank my parents every day for that.”

However, Coudron expressed the downside at the expectations of growing up half-British.

“People think you’re a dictionary, and you can translate anything, whenever. It’s kind of irritating because they ask for one word, and depending on the setting, the sentence, it’s not going to be the same. So they say, ‘Oh, you’re not British because you didn’t give me the right word, you didn’t give me the right setting.’ It’s quite frustrating because I didn’t really have to learn all that stuff, it just came naturally to me. People don’t understand that. If you don’t experience, you don’t know and people don’t get that.”  

       
                                                                                                          Thomas (left), holding a British flag

Although Coudron speaks the Queen’s English, he still identifies himself as French, especially where sports are concerned. He does not see it as a problem being adaptable. He even sometimes gives people what they want.

“I consider myself French. I’ve been French. I define myself French first, especially in sports, supporting a team. I’ll be French in that case. It’s strange because I also go the way people see and perceive me. When people see me here, they don’t think me as French, they think me as British because of my accent. It’s just the way it is. I don’t think too much of it. I just go with it. They seem happy too, to think I’m British. I consider myself more British when I’m outside of France. If I’m in France, it comes back naturally.”

Coudron finds adaptability very important, especially with the world getting more diverse and travel being so easy. Having spent three and a half months in Madrid, Spain, five and a half months in the south side of England, and a year in the states, Coudron feels that the world is different but at the same time, not that different. 

“There is no universal wrong or right. You just have to understand what is going on around you. I think I’m open minded and I can joke about pretty much anything, but when I’m in the U.S., I can’t make too many religious jokes because people won’t necessarily understand it as that way. Stuff I do here, I don’t do there and vice versa. Knowing your environment and being able to analyze and recognizing the person in front of you is key.”

As for the future, Coudron is still not decided on where he is going to end up. He thinks that family would be a huge factor in settling down. 

“I don’t fix my mind on a particular geography. I’m glad I was raised the way I was, because I have learned so much culturally. I consider myself very lucky.  It’s amazing to be able to have two great languages to solve life with. It’s a great advantage.”

And there she floats aslumber,
Snuggled in the waves of coziness,
Safe in a sea of comfort,
Like a buoy bobbing serenely, resting on the open waters,
Her head sinking into blissful oblivion,
Mind drifting into ethereal consciousness,
Peaceful breaths calmly against the pool of blankets,
Like the quiet breeze against the white sails of a boat,
Her gentle snores like a gurgling stream

Mervyn C.