Winter Break: Time to Laze Around

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I am finally done with the semester and I can’t wait to fly back to Malaysia tomorrow. Most of my grades are out and I hope I get an A in the last one as well. I did well this semester despite being a full time procrastinator. ;)

School Life
Well, I am not really looking forward to next semester (as always). I have this core course that I am a bit nervous about; it is a project based course and it involves group work. Group members are assign to you and you don’t get to choose them. Well, lets hope I get into a good group. It is not that I am difficult to work with. In fact, I am a team player but I am nervous about getting group members who are lazy and are not motivated at all. See, I don’t mind getting shitty colleagues or group member once I am out there in the work force; at least you are getting paid to work with assholes. :P But I am going to keep a very optimistic attitude next semester regardless of the types of group members that I have. I believe that I am capable to fend for myself (and for them). I need an idea for an awesome web application though. Give me some ideas, please? ;)

Patience is Virtue
Despite trying hard to be “zen” this semester, I had failed miserably in trying to be patient. I noticed that I get increasingly temperamental and easily agitated towards the end of the semester. I yelled at two students because they unplugged my laptop without my permission when I was in the loo and make sarcastic or rude remarks at those who annoys me. I also ended up “lecturing” a group member for being incompetent since he cancelled an important meeting at the very last moment.

It is not that I am not trying my best. I do try to be patient and it seems to work during the beginning and the middle of the semester. Towards the end of the semester, everything started to get hectic and my tolerance level dropped down to 0. I’ll try harder next time.

Travel
I went to Portland, Oregon last month and it was a fun trip. I do believe that I tend to underestimate my own potential at times. I missed 4 days of classes and was freaking out that I won’t be able to do well in my next exam (I had an exam the next day after I arrived home. No time to see the professor for advise) and I had 2 programming assignments due. To my surprise, I managed to do well in my assignments and I did well for the exam despite preparing last minute at the airport.

The conference in Portland taught me a lot about the importance of having self confidence. It is not that I am not confident but I do have that occasional depressing moment where I will underestimate my own potential. According to the conference, this is pretty normal especially among young ladies. I will blame it on my period and my mood swings (PMS) :P

I plan to travel to Thailand next month. Hope I managed to get tickets!

Intense Craving for…
A hot guy in my bed ANIME! Gosh, I missed watching anime so much. For some weird reason, I missed watching Bleach. I thought I was over it since the story line is not consistent anymore and it is a bore but I guess I’ll try and watch a few recent episodes and check out some spoilers. Planning to watch other anime too. Give me suggestions on what anime to watch if you have one…

Love Life

Pretty much non-existent. I think I should get out more and be a bit more social. Recently, I saw a picture of my ex-boyfriend. He looked pretty ripped now. Why can’t he looked that way when we were dating?! And why did I dumped him again?! Looking good is always the best revenge. :P

The Pros and Cons of Studying in a Foreign Country

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This is based on my own experience studying in a different country. There are both pros and cons when it comes to everything and it includes studying away from your family.

The Pros
1. Experiencing a New Environment and Culture
The top advantage of studying abroad is that you get to experience staying in a different country. You get to experience a new culture which can be very refreshing. This could be the main advantage for someone who never travels to other different countries before. I’ve traveled before but the thought of studying in a different country and being an international student always intrigues me.

2. Meeting New People
New environment, new culture and new people. Getting to know other people from a different country is always intriguing, isn’t it? I don’t have any high school friends that I still keep in touch with. This is because I used to hate my high school life and wonder why did I ever study in such a shitty school. Not to mention that my high school is filled with delinquents and I was not the type to hang out with these people. As a result, I don’t have much close friends. That started changing when I did my A-Level. Again, I only have few friends that I am close to. So, the thought of making new friends in a different country intrigues me. I am not going to lie, I love my college life even though I am often faced with shitty group members and fake bitches. At least here, I managed to make some real friends that I love hanging out with and I actually care about some of them.

3. Better Education Quality
One of the reasons why I left to study abroad. The country that I currently study in has better education quality compared to my home country. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that my home country has a shitty education quality but if you have the chance to learn from the best, why should you reject the offer? Unless if your home country’s education quality is already good, I guess you don’t really have any reason to study elsewhere unless if you love the idea of meeting new people and experiencing a new environment.

4. No Family Members to Watch Over You
This might be both good and bad. The idea of studying in a different country may be fun for you since you can do whatever you want without any family members to control you and watch you like a hawk. Going out whenever you want, wherever you want with whomever you want? No problem! Coming back late at night at 3am in the morning? Who cares! Mom is not here! I am guilty of coming back late at night especially during the weekends or when the finals are over. It is time to chill with friends. However, I am not totally free from my family’s clutches. In my case, both my aunt and uncle is in the same country as me. They can actually help my mom to watch over me. However, I live in the dormitories. I don’t live with my aunt. So, I am still free as a bird! This might be a good reason for you to leave if you just need a bit of time to be away from your controlling family members! My family members are not controlling at all but I like coming back late at night without having my mom yelling at me afterwards.

The Cons
1. Missing Your Family
They can be really annoying but you tend to missed your family especially when you are 7000 miles away from them. I am a mommy’s girl and I am close to all of my family members. I tend to missed them a lot when I am away. I talk to my mom via Gtalk but sometimes it is hard to even chat because of my busy schedule and the time difference. My mom is busy as well. We don’t really talk much if I am away. She does call from time to time.

2. Missing Out on Family Activities
I can’t even spend my holidays with my family. Even if the holiday last for about a week, I don’t see the point of travelling back to Malaysia. Also, I tend to missed out on a lot of family activities. Recently, my family went to the Universal Studio in Singapore without me! I am so annoyed, I swear! And they spent the night in a beautiful resort without me as well. I told my mom to fly me to South Korea this December so that I can ‘absolve all her sins!’

3. Missing Your Home Country
Believe me, you will end up missing your home country. Or maybe not. Depends on the individual, I guess. I tend to missed my home country a lot because of the food! I am not afraid to say that the food in the country that I studied in sucks. It sucks so bad! I am not used to the food there. Even the sushi sucks. Also, I missed the malls and the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Also, the night life in Malaysia is fantastic as well. I am pretty sure that if I had studied in Malaysia instead of studying abroad, I would have been a party animal. I would be a wild child! My mom recently confess why she sent me somewhere else to study. It is because she wants me as far away as possible from the sin city! I agree though. Even in a country where the night life scene is very limited, I still come back to the dorms at around 3am in the morning. :P

4. No Family Members to Watch Over You
As I stated previously, this can be both a good thing and a bad thing as well. What if you get seriously ill in the hospital? Who is going to take care of you? Your friends? They don’t really give a shit about you, believe me. Even if they do, they can’t anyway because they have other commitments to attend to. You can only depend on your family members for these kinds of things.