7. September 2016 | Von Bozana Bozic 

Cyberjaya: The cultural shock is real

Well well well, where should we begin… Malaysia is… different. Different to our hometown in Germany. It’s different in language, mimics, gestures, clothing, food, it’s different in every kind of way.

Cyberjaya: The cultural shock is real

We arrived late at the airport after both of our flights got delayed. The first thing that hit us was the heat. This temperature… after almost four weeks we still didn’t get used to it. The problem here is the humidity which we don’t really have in Germany.
One thing that we realized throughout the weeks is this open mind everyone carries here.

The people might stare at us because we’re from Europe and that’s kinda new to them but as soon as you just smile at them or need help they’re here and the best conversations developed out of those situations. Another thing we had to get used to is the lack of walking to your destinations… wherever you go, you take an Uber. Because of the humidity it is almost impossible to walk around for even just twenty minutes. But lucky us Ubers are super cheap and it doesn’t hurt your banking account too much.

Limkokwing

The first week of university was super fun! We met all of the first semesters since they were new to the Limkokwing and we were too so we got put together into orientation week. The aim of this week was to get to know each other and the Limkokwing University. We played games such as Spelling bee or Treasure hunt around the campus and went on a trip around Cyberjaya, to Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, the Capital of Malaysia which is half an hour away by car. In this week we made a lot of new friendships and even managed to go on a little vacation over the weekend to an island called Penang. Penang is known for its amazing food which we can totally agree with. We went there by bus and that was the best bus ride we’ve ever had. We drove through Mountains and the view was just incredible.

Back from this vacation we were able to start this semester relaxed and with a lot of excitement. After a few issues in the beginning with a schedule that contained classes which were on a higher level than we could take, we were extremely happy to see our new schedule since we had classes to learn Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. The lecturers are amazing. They are super friendly and really funny. Plus they understand that we’re only here for a few months so for them it’s no problem if it happens that we won’t make it to one class because of traveling through the country. Of course we will try to avoid this since we’re here to learn something but it’s good to know that they’re not handling this too strictly.

One aspect you have to keep in mind if you’re thinking about coming to Malaysia is to set the bar of your standards very low which is not always a bad thing. Like when it comes to food… we’ve always had the best food whenever we didn’t care about hygiene or the looks of the restaurant/stand. Local street food with local people who might look at you strangely is the best.

There are some things that might be better to know before you choose to come to Malaysia. Such as this rare mystic thing called toilet paper. There is no toilet paper in any bathrooms anywhere. That’s not a thing here… just like tampons for the ladies out there… not a thing and hard to get. The hygiene in this country could be better in general.

The men over here mostly the Indian parts don’t cut their little finger’s nail. It’s some kind of fashion for them which is kind of strange to us but whatever floats their boat I guess! If you ever ask someone if the food you’re contemplating buying is spicy and they say just a little… it is. It’s hella spicy so don’t try or otherwise you’ll walk out of that place looking like Kylie Jenner with freshly made lips. In the end we all agree that this first month was amazing with a lot of ups and downs and cultural shocks that made us grow together as a group and individually aswell and we can’t wait for what this future in Cyberjaya holds for us.

7. September 2016 | Von Viola Schmitt 

Living the california dream

Hi guys,

I wanna tell you a little bit about my life here in the USA! I study in Camarillo, Californien at the CSUCI.

Living the california dream

I am in the United States since the beginnig of August. Overall we are eight people from Macromedia of cologne and we all share one flat in Port Hueneme (it is also possible to live at the campus, but it is very expensive, another place to stay is Ventura or the area around). Though our flat is really small but we have a pool, a whirlpool and we live directly at the beach.

In the first two weeks we did a little roadtrip, for this we rent two cars of „sixt“ (it is much cheaper to rent them from the german website).

We have been to Yosemite Nationalpark, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Camel-by-the-sea, Big Sur, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We also went to a football game in San Diego. It was a great time and we saw amazing citys and landscapes, but you shouldn’t underestimate the distances. Here are some pictures from our trip:

At the end of August we had our orientation days at CSUCI. There we met the other international students from germany and oll over the world. They gave us some general information and a lot of rules we have to obey. We also get our schedules – we were surprised that we just have three or four days of class. But therefore we have to do a lot of homework. We also have to purchase a lot of books, but we can rent them for a few months so that we neend’t to buy them for a lot of money.

What we really like is that we are all in different classes so that we have to meet other people.
The system here allows us to gain points in several exams, presentations, group works and homework. So that if you fail the final exam you can pass the course anyway. The professors are nice but also very strikt with their rules. So you are not allowed to miss class for more than one time for example.

The campus is very nice but also very big, I think we will need a few days to orientate.
The CSUCI is in the middle of nowhere, so you are dependet of a car – whether you live on the campus or in the area around. My roomies and I decided to rent two cars instead of buying them, it is much easier in terms oft the insurance for people under 25, but it is also very expensive (nearly 9,000€ for four months).
Attention – you have to be early to get a parking place and you have to buy a parking permit for 195$ for one semester.

The university gives some offers to do some sports: zumba, kayaking, standup paddeling and sailing.  I’m going to have a kajak lesson in october. I will have a lesson of instruction and after this we will go to Channell Island for sunset kajaking. There is also a small gym at the campus and every student is allowed to use it. We also can join to the clubs here at CI. They have a lit of offers for doing sports like surfing, soccer, hockey and they have also clubs like red cross, vegan, organic ….. I’m going to the soccer and surf club, I’m very curious how it’s gonna be!

Some generell information:

I didn’t expect that the food is so expensive. While I need 150€ for a months in germany I need round about 200$ to 250$ in the US. But the people here earn a lot of fruits and vegatables at the fields, there you can buy a lot of fresh things for a few money.

The locals told us not to hang outside in the evening because it is too dangerous. But here is no party at all so it is not too tragic. 20 Minutes from here – in Ventura – are some nice bars, but you are not allowed to go there if you are not 21. The „Tavern“ is a hotspot there, it is a nice bar with an outside area, livemusic and a lot of young people. If you want to party you can go to Los Angeles, there are of course a lot of clubs.

 

That’s all for today, I’ll keep you updated!

See you soon,

Viola