Finals.

So it seems that my final exams for this semester are just around the corner - seeing as I'm writing this after midnight, that means tomorrow. Fortunately, this time around I do feel somewhat motivated.

If only that motivation had come a lot sooner, though. Namely, at the beginning of the week-long study break.

Frankly speaking, I did want to start studying earlier. I was just distracted, as usual. It's kinda hard to concentrate on your studies when everyone around you is doing anything else but. My housemates may have been having their own final exams during the week (they're doing a different program from me) but you could hardly tell by the way they were going about it.

Well, the guys are now done with their finals, and they've all gone home. This means that I have the house all to myself this weekend, plus most of next week as they'll be on semester break.

And what of my own semester break? Well, I'm not in Foundation anymore, so that means I get more than a week's break - namely, a fortnight and a half. Yeah, that's right. Three weeks.

Just the other day one of my lecturers was talking to me about shifting my second semester backwards a bit, meaning that it would start in August instead of June. This was because that it'd be better for me to have a classmate for my second semester onward.

See, if I went ahead and started in June as planned then it would mean that I'd be the sole student in pretty much all my classes for the rest of my three years at Manipal. Starting in August would mean that the only other student in my program in the entire university would be starting her second semester along with me.

I realized the benefits of the arrangement. My only concerns, however, were as follows:

(a) Would it mean that I'd be graduating later than planned?

(b) What the heck would I do until August?

The first question was answered after my lecturer assured me that regardless of whether I started my second semester in June or August, I'd still be graduating at the same convocation ceremony.

As for the second question, though, I was forced to decide between the following options:

(a) Take the whole two-and-a-half months off, effectively making my three-week break into a ten-week one.

(b) Undergo a kind of short semester, taking a couple of elective subjects.

(c) Become a paid student tutor, teaching Math and stuff to Foundation students during tutorials.

(d) Take up an early internship at AirAsia, gaining some valuable experience.

After some consultation with my mother, I decided that I'd go for the second option. Option (a) was completely out of the question, as I'd probably spend all that time off loafing about, leaving my brain relatively inactive. As for option (d), I figured that a single semester wouldn't be enough for me to go for any sort of industrial training, and for all I know I'd probably get bullied there. Option (c) remains viable, though, and I'll see if I can't have that along with option (b). I could use the money.

Anyway, in case I haven't mentioned it before, final exams start tomorrow. Here's hoping and praying that I'll do well.

End of a Chapter.

Well, it's been a while since I've written in.

Fine, that last statement was sort of inaccurate, I suppose. I have written in a couple or so times this month, only to blank out and discard anything I'd already typed out at the time.

I've been busy, I guess. Not exactly unexpected, of course, I had it coming when I signed up to study for a Bachelor's degree. And judging by the fact that I'm still only in the first semester of my first year, it's only gonna get tougher from here on out.

I'm not complaining, of course. This whole semester would have been less stressful if I'd managed to manage my time more wisely. Difficult to do when your friends and housemates are mostly foundation students who have a considerably lighter workload on their backs. Sure, they may be learning stuff like Calculus while I'm being treated to lunch by my Management lecturer, but whatever they're doing for coursework isn't dissimilar to what we had back in school.

Picture courtesy of Richard Nyirenda (second from right).

As for me, one of the major projects I had to carry out for coursework this semester was to organize a stall for the inaugural MIU Charity Food Fair, for English. Being the only guy in a group with six other (older) girls, I was chosen as group leader - and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. We still managed to get the job done in the end, thankfully, and made nearly RM 200 in profits, which will be donated to a local orphanage.

With Food Fair groupmates. Photo courtesy of our course lecturer, Ms. Shanti.

Besides that, there was also the Mid Valley mini-study for my Marketing class. My two coursemates and I were to go to Mid Valley Megamall in KL to study the impact of macroenvironmental forces on business there. We had to take pictures, interview a few people, and so on. I called in a favor from my man Sam for this one, and the two of us managed to come up with a decent video. I included it in the presentation later on,  and my coursemate (the other one had to leave our class to join another one, for reasons)  and I ended up getting a near-perfect score for the project (video certainly helped, thanks Sam!). Still feel like we could have done better, but hey I ain't complaining.

Last but not least, there was the survey for Business Statistics, regarding the MIU library and its services. We had to prepare questionnaires, distribute them to 30 respondents, process the questionnaires and finally present our findings. I actually stayed up until two in the morning preparing the slideshow for that last bit; I could have been done earlier had I not decided to play street soccer with the guys until around nine that night. Anyway, the whole project was fun, but I probably wouldn't enjoy having to go out to get external respondents for the next one.

All in all, it's been a great semester. I've learnt so much, not just about academic stuff but also real life. I tend to think that if I'd gone to study somewhere else, or at least taken up a science-related field I'd still be living under a metaphorical coconut shell. Well, maybe a plastic container, depends on the people I surround myself with.

I've still got a couple of weeks and a few tests to go before the study break and subsequent final exams. Chapter One is soon coming to an end. Keep calm and carry on.

Pampered.

Photo courtesy of Nazmi Abdul Jalil.

MIU recently received a new Vice-Chancellor, Tan Sri Dr. Mohamed Salleh Mohamed Yasin, who is apparently the brother of Malaysia's current Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Yasin. He happens to knows my mother, as they worked together during his time at the Malaysian Qualification Association (MQA).

So anyway, he gave his first address to the students earlier today. He seems pleasant enough, and has that air of achievement that makes you feel that he's the perfect person to take this university forward. And judging by his truckload of past experiences, which include being one of the pioneers of UKM's medical faculty all those years ago, you have to think that he'll do just that.

At the end of his speech we had a brief Q&A session. I just sat quietly in my third-row seat in that lecture hall, wondering what on earth the type of questions we were meant to ask were.

As always, there was an overall reluctance from the hundred or so students sitting comfortably in their seats. The Tan Sri then decided to randomly call upon one of the international students, and the lucky guy was an engineering student from Kolkata, India.

My questions about the questions were then answered, as the guy started to complain about the lack of 'edible' food for him and his fellow international students. Indeed, my Zambian classmate later remarked that she had often seen Mr. Kolkata stare blankly at the food in the cafeteria during lunch, wondering what to do.

And so it continued as such. Complaint after complaint, not only from the expatriates but also my fellow compatriots as well. Some of them, such as the food problem, sounded justifiable enough for me. Others, however, appeared to be rather more petty matters.

A Zambian student voices out some justifiable complaints. Photo courtesy of MIU's official Facebook.

I was just starting to metaphorically shake my head at how pampered these people were, but then I was struck by a slight tang of hypocrisy - I'm not exactly from a background of survival either.

I think it's fair to say that, generally, the students in this country are, to varying degrees, spoiled. And when I say "this country", I'm not just referring to the locals. There's a Bangladesh national here who comes from a family that's so filthy rich that he can't even make himself a cup of tea; butlers have been doing the job for him since he was a kid.

The locals aren't that much better off either. The national education system is structured in such a way that students are regularly spoon-fed, and expect assistance from their teachers for every single exam.

As for MIU, we have students that complain about not having hot water to shower in. Complain that transport to and from the university is difficult. The list goes on. Well, newsflash people, that's how life is. Suck it up, grow up.

I'm not saying that I'm the most independent guy here; no, far from it. I can't even cook a good meal to save my life. However, one thing I do, and have always done, is learn to adapt. Take the hardships as life lessons. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and all that.

In any case, MIU is still a new institution, and there's plenty of room for it to improve and grow. I can say that I know a thing or two about life in a place as new as this. And I turned out just fine.