One of the good things about studying in an international university as a local student is that you get to meet lots of different people from different countries. It's the closest anyone can get to studying overseas without actually studying overseas.
I'm typing this while occupying the same room as a couple of Zimbabweans, an Indian, a Singaporean (who was originally from India) and a Malaysian Chinese. It's interesting to realize that in spite of our very different backgrounds, all the decisions we have ever taken in life have led us to this exact moment - all of us taking a break from the hecticness of university life by just chilling out in the middle of the night as the rain beats down on the streets outside.
Back in Rembau, I had no choice but to spend almost all of my time with fellow Malays. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, but as someone who grew up being surrounded by people of different religions, ethnicities and backgrounds, I often craved a little diversity. Furthermore, as someone who prefers the English language over his own mother tongue, I seldom got to put my English skills to use.
In spite of everything, I still thoroughly enjoyed my two years in Rembau. You make your own happiness and all that. I believe in taking life as it is and, instead of complaining about the things you don't have, you'd be better off making the most of the things you do have.
I've spent almost two and a half years in MIU and, once again, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. My experiences while being in an almost exclusively Malay environment throughout my time in Rembau have actually allowed me to appreciate the fact that Malays in MIU are very few and far between - there are probably more Zimbabweans (not to mention Africans in total) here than Malays.
I'm not sure how many different nationalities there are here in this university, but an advertisement I saw some time back indicates the presence of at least 20, mostly from Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Plenty of languages are spoken here as well - I've picked up a few Tamil and Hindi/Urdu words, and it's pretty cool to be able to understand what people are saying when they converse in these languages, albeit only in bits and pieces.
I'll be graduating in about a year after I finish my internship, which is due to begin in February next year. I have no idea what will happen after that, but I'll depart from MIU knowing that my three years here were well spent. The experiences I've gained here could never have been gotten anywhere else, and for that I am forever grateful.
