By GOH SONG WEI
With the recent slump of the ringgit, more and more international students are turning their attention to Malaysia as their study destination. One of the major concerns almost every foreign students face when stepping into a new environment is the uncertainty and fear of not being able to “blend in”.
Despite efforts from the Student Exchange Enquiry Counter of International Student Services and AIESEC Taylor’s University to bridge connections, the gap between international and local students still exist. The reality remains that some groups of foreign students can be seen hanging out with fellow students from the same country.
Vince added, “This is because not everybody is an extrovert and as out-going as you would think. Most of us simply just can’t step out of our comfort zone, so even if we attend conferences, seek out help, but the gap will always be there.”
In this situation the blame is on no one, simply because it is difficult enough to be on a foreign land and cope with studies and everything in between. Hence socializing is not prioritised.
Perhaps we Malaysians should take the initiative, the first step in making friends with foreign students. Not on any formal setting, just simply approaching and start a conversation can be considered a great start.
Furthermore by doing this, we are only showing the world that Malaysia is represented by a small group of TU students to be actually very friendly.
The benefits of doing so? Expanding your social circle is never bad. Knowing more friends, share a good story, maybe a laugh or two. It could really make a difference.
After all with the high-class facilities that we have, it is only normal that we make our study environment a friendlier and cheerful place.
You never know whose day you might make by taking that first step towards a possible beautiful friendship, would you do it?
With the recent slump of the ringgit, more and more international students are turning their attention to Malaysia as their study destination. One of the major concerns almost every foreign students face when stepping into a new environment is the uncertainty and fear of not being able to “blend in”.
Despite efforts from the Student Exchange Enquiry Counter of International Student Services and AIESEC Taylor’s University to bridge connections, the gap between international and local students still exist. The reality remains that some groups of foreign students can be seen hanging out with fellow students from the same country.
Vince added, “This is because not everybody is an extrovert and as out-going as you would think. Most of us simply just can’t step out of our comfort zone, so even if we attend conferences, seek out help, but the gap will always be there.”
In this situation the blame is on no one, simply because it is difficult enough to be on a foreign land and cope with studies and everything in between. Hence socializing is not prioritised.
Perhaps we Malaysians should take the initiative, the first step in making friends with foreign students. Not on any formal setting, just simply approaching and start a conversation can be considered a great start.
Furthermore by doing this, we are only showing the world that Malaysia is represented by a small group of TU students to be actually very friendly.
The benefits of doing so? Expanding your social circle is never bad. Knowing more friends, share a good story, maybe a laugh or two. It could really make a difference.
After all with the high-class facilities that we have, it is only normal that we make our study environment a friendlier and cheerful place.
You never know whose day you might make by taking that first step towards a possible beautiful friendship, would you do it?