Almost the end of sem

UM, MESL Program, 2012
Various photos taken by Sophie, Isai, Farhad, me

With one paper to go (due tomorrow!) and three exams left (that's for the first 2 weeks of January), the semester is nearing its close. There were many new friends made- acquaintances who, in the course of four months, had become people to hang out with, i.e. the three Chinese girls Sophie, Yan, & Luna who are making me realize the misconceptions I had about China, Iranians like Farhad and Elham whose presentation on the Iranian education curriculum remains one of the major eye-openers of the sem, pretty Thai girl Ang who I talk to about boy(friends; ours), shopping, and Thai food, local Adi who has kept me abreast about certain social dynamics in Malaysia, and the many many others who are not in that frame (like Rimi the Nigerian, Ali from Pakistan, and another local, Sara).

I learned a lot from the classes, too. Perhaps more on those when they've been wrapped up.

When the sem started, I was sort of regretting the decision to go. Something had just started and it was back home; at that time I was unsure leaving so soon was the smartest thing to do.

But, see, 4 months later, I didn't really lose any of the things I feared I would. On the contrary, many things were gained, i.e. new survival tactics, adjustment amo, second language learning approaches, etc.) Life has expanded, maybe not exponentially so, but there's expansion there, by at least an inch (or two). :)