By Azra Farzana Shuib
When Nurul Syazwani Hasram, 22, was forced to work with people outside of her usual circle for a group project, she freaked out. How can I be randomly assigned with strangers to complete a 160-page report, right?
œIts impossible to work with strangers. Thats what she thought at first.
When she was in her second year, she had to complete the Hazard and Operability project, which involved analysing a Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) rig located at a building. Being miles away from home, she couldnt help but to lose her cool when assigned with people from other parts of the world.
Fortunately for her, it didnt go wrong. In fact, it was one of her best experiences.
œI was wrong. Youll be surprised at how a stranger can teach you a lot of things and how nice people can be, she admitted.
œThe submission is the best part, because we finished what we started.
Challenges studying abroad
Syazwani is a Malaysian currently studying Chemical Engineering with Environmental Technology at University of Manchester. Despite having the perk of traveling to several different countries, she couldnt deny the challenges of facing cultural differences. She confessed being a little defensive when people hurled ignorant accusations about her culture, religion and nation.
œBut in the process, I learnt that people who said those things are not necessarily bad people. Its just what they know, even though its not always the truth, she said.
Syazwani also described how its hard for her, though being brought up in a culture that values high morality and modesty, to be at par with the British people when it comes to politeness. She was considered rude for not saying œplease at the end of her sentence. It only came to her consciousness when a friend explained to her that it is a culture of the people over there to say œplease, while understanding that Syazwani wasnt being rude. Following that, she has to constantly remind herself to always say œplease, and to use the right title to address when writing emails.
œI didnt feel hurt at all by the reminder, because in Malaysia, we do say ˜please when asking someone for a favour, just not as frequent as how people do it here. I wish someone should have told me earlier. I never knew if many of them had thought that I was rude before, she joked.
œCome to think about it again, I dont really consider this as my worst experience. Its just my struggle while I am here, she mused.
United Kingdom is famous for its attractive accent. Thats one of the things that came to mind when talking about the country, apart from football, of course. But Syazwani isnt a native English speaker, making it difficult for her to grasp many accents in the first weeks.
œBefore this, I always thought everyone speaks Queens accent, but I was wrong “ there are Northern, Welsh, Scottish and many more. I once took more than two weeks just to familiarise myself with one of my lecturers accent, she laughed.
Persistence in the pursuit of learning
Engineering is not an easy course to begin with, but Syazwani is taking all in her stride. She is now enjoying all moments, by learning how strong she is when she stands alone, and appreciating the people standing together with her.
œOn a serious note, learning the course is fun and I am enjoying every tear and sweat of it. I never understand what engineers really do until I got here, she said.
Being far and months apart from her family means so much more than going through the challenges. She noted that its where she has discovered herself the most. Maybe travelling, volunteering, and studying in a place so foreign are experiences best felt under the sky full of challenges. When she volunteers, she experiences diversity. And when she travels, she learns to be independent.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason why were not experiencing the thrill of life yet is because we have not taken ourselves there. Maybe the first step to take is just to get rid of the fear and just go.
To Syazwani, the part that shell miss the most after graduation can be simplified in her own words that œthe university life has taught me that amazing things happen outside of our comfort zone”. ***