I believe that it’s a valuable experiencefor the most students to have the chances to be an exchange student. I am extremelygrateful to the teachers for providing us this wonderful opportunity to studyin University of Malaya, which gives us a platform tolearn the foreign culture.
During my exchange period at University of Malaya, I have plenty of new experiencesand beautiful memory. No matter in study or in improving my learning ability, Ihave gained a lot. Its obvious that I dare to speak English loudly now, whichmeans this exchange trip is good for improving my communicating skill. Also, Ihave a deep understanding on various religions and the culture of differentcountries by chatting with my foreign classmates. And you will know clearlythat if you want to know about something of one country or a place, you hadbetter to go to that place, you will find that only when you truly experienceeverything at that place, can you know about it very good. It’s different from thosedescribed in the internet.
I have so much feeling of my life inMalaysia,studying, traveling and so on. It’s a common phenomenon that we always regretthat we didn’t do something well after that thing has finished. So do I. Iregret that I didn’t make a good plan before I go toMalaysia, such as how to makefriends, how to do better in study and language learning. I hope that myexperience sharing could give those who is going to go there next semester agood use for reference, so that they can do better than me. I will from thefollow three aspects to share my experiences: studying at Universityof Malaya, living inMalaysia, and traveling aroundMalaysia.
Studyingat University of Malaya
In the aspect of study, I have a lot toshare with you. I will give some suggestions, which are just representing myown position.
1.My study experience
Thissemester I took four courses, including; Gender and Development, QuantitativeAnalysis, Presentation skill at work place, and Southeast Asiaculture and community. Through these four courses of study, I learned much,such as knowledge of the relationship between the gender and the economic, towhat extent the women make a great difference to the development of economy. Andthe basic knowledge of quantitative analysis, to compare the different studymethods betweenMalaysiaandChina.And I find that, Malaysian teacher more focus on the practical things; I think it’sthe symbol of the foreign teaching methods. Moreover, I am so interested inpresentation skill class, it provide a great platform to me to practice my English,to improve my English speaking and presentation skills. In addition to theseuseful course, I take the Southeast Asia culture course, which is truly broadenmy horizon and gain various knowledge , the teacher told us so much thing aboutthe culture , the religions and the customs of southeast Asia. I got a lot allcourse include the presentation assignments and group discussion, tutorialcourse and final examinations. Through the way, on one hand, gaining thenecessary skills to write and present a study, on the other hand, thepresentation assignment can improve my spoken English, more and moreconfidence.
Iam very grateful to these four courses the teachers! In addition to knowledgeof the harvest, I am so happy to study together with students from manycountries. Generally, normal class time is not too long, but we need to dohomework often, reading articles, to develop my self-learning ability. I enjoythe homework, based on the team collaboration, not only improve our ability tocommunicate but also enhance our spirit of cooperation.
Thereare final exams in the end of the semester. You have to work hard in the end. Studentsare encouraged to ask questions, both in classroom and outside. Tutorial classoften consists of discussions around chosen topics rather than teacher-providedlectures. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about things you don’t quiteunderstand or comment on issues you disagree with.
2.Coursechoosing
Aswe all know, there are three ethnic inMalaysia, including Malay, Chinese,and Indian. Also, there are a lot of foreign teachers in University of Malaya,so it’s so important to know how to select the appropriate courses. It means wehave to select the course very cautiously, because some Malay teachers are usedto teach in Malay. How to choose the course you are interested in? My opinionsare as follow:
First of all, you have to list some courses you want to take, you cannot only choose the courses which are relevant to your major, but also you canchoose some interesting courses, such as some language courses , like Malay, Korean,Japanese, Russian, and Thai. This is one of the things I regretted. From myperspective, it’s a nice thing to master a new language, maybe you can notlearn it very well, at least, you could know the first step of that kind oflanguage, and you can learn it by yourself after the class. This is a rare opportunityto learn a language by free, and with some nice teachers. Moreover, you canchoose one course which is from the faculty of social culture, to learn thelocal culture and customs and I believe that it can help you to adapt to thelocal life quickly. Of course, we can not neglect our major part, you can takethe relevant courses, and to compare with the courses in our home universityand you can enjoy different teaching methods and system.
Secondly, its essential to know about thecontent of the courses and the lectures, so that you can ensure that you cantake this courses or not, don’t choose the courses which are too professional anddifficult, cause we are not the full time student, we just exchange student, wedidn’t study in English all the time, we should take some courses that are easyto understand. I think for our exchange students, the most important thing isthat to learn the advantage of the good study methods, to enjoy the course,instead of challenging the difficult course to cater to our satisfaction.
Thirdly, if you meet some trouble when youchoose course, you can ask for help. The local student, even the local peopleare very nice, they are willing to help you. Even worse, if you have somelanguage problem, you can ask the Malaysian-Chinese students for help. They aregood at English , Chinese and Malay, they will do their best to help you. ofcourse, the best you can solve the problem by yourself, cause it’s a greatopportunity for you to communicate with others and learn to calm down to solvethe problem in a strange place.
Last but not least, if you are interestedin other courses you can not take, you can apply those courses to the teachers,and you just expressing how you are eager to take this course, and if the teacherhas admitted, you can go to the student office to get the certification letterfor the courses. You can take the courses if you are sincerely to express youraspiration, because the teacher are very nice , especially to our exchangestudents.
AboutMalaysia
Malaysiais a Malay country, and Islam is theirofficial religion inMalaysia,there are some other religion, including Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. Iknow a lot about their religion and customs by chatting with them, it’s a greatmemory for me to learn their culture with some lovely friends, and they are sonice. I enjoy the time when we sit together and introduce our culture andtalked about our experience and some interesting things. It is a wonderfulmemory to me. There we respect each other, though we are from differentcountries, and have different belief.
There is a time, a Malay friend brought meinto their pray room, and told me how they do preparations for their pray, andshowed me how they pray. It’s a nice experience, because the I am so curiousabout their pray room, and finally I have chance to explore that mysterious thing.And finally, I realized that the religion is the most important thing to them,and I feel so surprise at their strict adherence to their religion.
Sometimes, we join the interesting party,which is held by Malaysian- Chinese, they are so nice to us. I remembered thatduring the mid-autumn festival, they invited us to have a dinner, and gave usmoon-cakes, they try their best to let us don’t feel lonely, and at the end ofthe party, they sent us back to school, they are so warm, and they often bringus to the night market to have some delicious food. Sometimes, we talked about China, which theyare so familiar with and at the same time feel so unacquainted, we oftenintroduce some Chinese famous place to them .All of these are the wonderful experience.
As to food, my favorite food is durian, andI also love the durian products, I am so luck I can eat a lot there. And I amso surprise there is buffet durian, which attracts lots of tourist from allover the world. There are some night markets on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday,which you can eat a lot of delicious food.
Traveling & home stay
Malaysiais a tourist resort, there are so manyfamous places, such as twin tower in Kuala Lumpur,Malacca, Penang, Langkawi etc. and its convenient to go to other countries,likeThailand,Singapore.during the exchange period, I have been to the most famous places inMalaysia.Malacca and Penang reflect the Chinese feel. Becausethese two places are the hit place that attract many Chinese immigrated informer times. I have fun in these places.
We met a lot of trouble during our trip,but I am so lucky that I have several friends, We encouraged each other, andseek the way to solve the problem together, and I have realized that the power of a team, and only when you calmdown, can you solve the problem quickly.
Home stay is another wonderful experience, we went to the local Malay’shome, and stay there for two days. It gave me a chance to live in a Malay way,and it broadens my horizon and gain various knowledge by experiencing the lifein a Malay family. They held a wedding in order to let us know about theircustom and culture, and the hosts provide us their traditional cloths and deliciousfood. On the second day, we went fishing and played their traditional games, wehad fun at that time. And we are so grateful to them.
In a word, this exchange life is a valuableexperience, what I learn from there are important to me, I got a lot, not onlythe knowledge from the book, but also they let me know how to be a nice person,it’s a great trip! I miss my friends and I will go there again, to have a greattrip again! See you! My lovelyMalaysia!
2011级保险专业范敏敏
时间过得飞快，将近五个月的交换生体验转眼间就告一段落了，回想起在马来西亚的每一天，仿佛一切都历历在目。回来后很多人问我参加这个项目是否觉得有意义，利用大学宝贵的一个学期离开自己的学校去一个陌生的国家是否值得？答案是肯定的，因为我学到了许多，见识了许多，成长了许多。
2013年9月6日，我们学校共14名马大交换生在这一天出发了，大家都怀着紧张又期待的心情来到白云机场。在出发前的一个星期，心情是复杂的，在憬景着在这个全新的学校，陌生的国度会带给我什么的同时，又对家人的各种不舍得，毕竟这是我22年以来第一次离家这么久的一段时间。虽然一开始，除了我们班的几个同学以外，其他同学对于我来说都是陌生的，但当我想到其实大家都有着一样的期待，一样的憧憬与抱负，将来的四个半月内，都要互相帮助的时候，忽然感觉到某种熟悉的亲切感。14个人，不多也不少，既代表着广东药学院，也代表着广东学生（这学期马大中国交换生中，广东的只有我们学校）。
四个小时的飞机，很快就到了吉隆坡，在过关的时候，刚好遇到了一位在马大读本科的香港学生返校，他很热情地为我们介绍马大的一切，包括他的上课制度，宿舍制度以及其他的各项活动。很感谢这位朋友的帮助，我们了解到我们应该办哪种电话卡实惠，去哪个食堂吃饭比较好吃等等。正式抵达学校宿舍已经将近晚上9；00了，经过一天的奔波，大家都很疲劳，拿到各自所住的房间，简单收拾一下，就倒头休息了，这是我来马大的第一晚，尽管是各种兴奋，但最终都被疲劳感战胜了。
环境优美的马大
第二天，正式开始办理各种手续，马大国际部的老师帮我们结局各种问题以及带我们参观整个校园，这一天，我才真正对马大周围环境有个大概了解。学校周围很多山覆盖，我们的宿舍是位于最高处的第10国际生宿舍，热带雨林气候使这个地方充满了生机，猴子在马大能四处乱走，能进入你的宿舍拿走你的零食，能在你开车的时候，突然横过马路。不得不说，这边太阳异常的毒辣，在来之前，我已经做好了充分的准备，但依然适应不了下午3；00时分那时候最猛的太阳。但其实仔细一看，马大的环境是相当不错的，蓝蓝的天，各种整齐的数目，各式各样不同风格的建筑教学楼，具有热带地区特色的低矮宿舍楼房。
穆斯林的婚礼
一个偶然的机会很荣幸认识到了这间学校的几位穆斯林女孩，她们带我们几个交换生参加了一个当地比较盛大的名人婚礼。对于我们来说，这都是第一次参加不同宗教不同文化习俗的异国婚礼，因此大家都抓住这个机会来好好感受这里的喜庆气氛。
婚礼很隆重，也很热闹，各种敲锣打鼓，各种精美摆设以及免费为大家提供的马来西亚传统食物。过了不久，一阵喧哗声从远处传来，之间一队新人在从人群中慢慢走来，后面跟着两行伴乐的男生。
第一次尝试马来西亚传统食物，的确颇具风味，。各种香料与味道调制而成的肉和蔬菜。对于喜欢清淡饮食的我来说，需要一点时间去适应。当这几个穆斯林女孩吃饭是用右手抓的时候，我们是用刀叉，文化的不同导致我们生活习惯也各不相同。但互相尊重互相包容各自的习俗是我们应该要做到的。
午饭过后，我们争先恐后地去和一队新人照相，尽管我们之间素未相识，但当他们知道我们是来自中国的交换生后，很热情地接受我们地祝福，和我们拍照。
正式上课
我在这边只选了四门课，因为考虑到期末考试成绩，四门课能让我有更多的时间在每一科上，并且能够专心备考，拿个好的成绩回国。这四门个分别是，local government，metropolitan planing，the culture of Korea和dance technique（本人对舞蹈的兴趣）。我最喜欢的一点是，这边上课，每班不超过20人，老师授课的方式很轻松很随和，他能顾及到全班每一个同学，在课堂期间来个小互动。Localgovernment这课的老师相当的风趣幽默，每次来上课的人都坐满了教室，同班同学当中有像我一样的交换生，来自欧洲的，日本以及韩国的。也有本来就在马大读书的当地学生。这么多来自不同地方的学生一起上课一起交流，是一见相当有趣的事情。我能通过他们的课堂表现感受到不一样的氛围。比较活跃的是几个欧洲小伙伴，他们会很好地跟老师互动，回答问题甚至提出问题。相反，中国的交换生却一直处于比较被动的状态，可能母语不是英文，缺乏了自信。几节课下来，我发现不同国家教育制度的不一样导致学生的学习习惯也不一样，我国死板的应试教育，课堂上基本没有活跃的氛围，就单单老师在讲，学生在听的这种模式让学生对比起其他国家的学生，加上母语不是英语，多多少少缺乏了竞争能力。老师也深深注意到这一点，非常尊重每一个国家的学生，很好地引导着我思考，鼓励我大胆回答，大胆地发散思维，让我从一开始的害怕到慢慢地开口回答，从一个英文单词组成的答案到后来能一句一句地独立观点。
马大的学生组织与活动
在学期初的时候，我就向当地学生了解关于马大的各种学生活动，因为我想好好珍惜这一学期在马大的时间，通过参加课外活动或学生组织去了解马大学生的办事方式，去学习与借鉴他们的方法，能够更加好地融入这个学校。然后我了解到一个在马大非常庞大的华人学生组织，这边的华人组织都比马来人组织做得强大与出色，而马大的这个组织是为了继承华人的传统节日而成立的，名叫：马大灯笼节协会。每年的第一学期，这个组织都会招一大群学生，分别在各个部门与最多人的表演队伍。为整个学校呈现一个星期的嘉年华和最后的大型歌舞剧晚会。我在广药原本便是艺术团舞蹈队队长，对舞蹈的热爱胜过一切。来到马大，我不放过任何一个能让我展现与锻炼的机会，因此我去面试表演队伍中的舞蹈员。第一轮面试过了，到第二轮的试镜，到正式被选为歌舞剧的舞蹈成员。共三个月的时间，要为全马大的学生呈现出一出精彩绝伦的歌舞剧，期间需要五个不同种类的大型舞蹈，同样的一批舞蹈员。这就需要我们每天艰苦的训练。整个舞蹈队只有两个来自中国的交换生，其他都是当地的华人。虽然身上流着是同样的血，但文化差异始终还是有的。每天四小时训练的艰苦与多多少少地文化差异，让我一度想过放弃与退出。但因为对舞蹈的热爱，我坚持下来了，一个月后，我开始适应了大家一起训练一起休息的日子，看着离表演日期越来越近，我们大家都异常地团结与努力。
三个月的训练时间占了我交换生期间的一大半时间，但一切都是值得的，我认识了一群可爱又热情的舞蹈员，他们的专业精神和认真态度深深地感染了我，给我带来一段永远都不会忘记的美好记忆。还有这个组织幕后每个人地办事态度与组织能力给打动了我，就因为他们的辛勤付出，日以继夜地工作，为大家呈现了一台精彩绝伦的歌舞剧。
总结
马来西亚尽管不算是一个发达国家，当初选择这个项目的时候，也有很多人问过为什么去马来西亚，但我觉得就算是个不起眼的小国家，也有他值得让人学习的文化，也有朴素热情的人民，也能结下最真挚的友情。多让自己接触新的事物，学习新的知识是我人生的目标。还记得那时候食物中毒，当地的华人二话不说把我送到医院，把我与当地医生沟通，随后还买药给我吃，这样一个小举动，也让身在异国的我倍感温暖。在国内，当遇到困难与挫折时，或许能寻求身边朋友和家人的帮忙，但在外国，你能信任的便是那边的人们，其实多一份信任，少一份猜忌，会突然觉得，他们也有最善良最真实的一面，学会如何去用心与人沟通，是我在马来西亚感受颇深的其中一点。
其次，多去不同的地方走走，会发现很多动人的景色，会听到不同地方旅客的人生故事，旅游是一个很美妙的东西，只要勇敢踏出第一步，就会发现眼中的世界是多么的绚丽多彩，尽管在旅途中难免会遇到挫折与阻碍你前进的波折，但这正是考验自己的良好机会，在解决困难的同时，我会得到许多宝贵的经验。旅行真的很奇妙，能够让人的世界观，价值观，人生观在慢慢地改变。
再次，去不同的国家学习，我会体会到不同教育模式的利与弊，会让我思考着能够带给我，教会我什么。在努力融入当地文化语言这段期间，是件乐此不疲的事。我渐渐学会了用心倾听别人讲的故事，学会了与人分享。任何美好的事物，通过彼此之间的分享，会变得更加难忘动人。
最后，要提醒自己，永远怀着一颗感恩知足的心，感谢在马来西亚遇到的每一位同学，每一位朋友，每一位老师和每一位陌生人。是他们让我在马来西亚这期间过得如此快乐和难忘，哪怕一个不起眼的小帮助，也让我铭记于心。还要感谢广药的老师和家里的父母，是他们的支持让我获得这个难得的机会，而我能做的就是用心感受，努力完成那边的学业，带着优秀的成绩来回报支持我的人。
医药经济学院11保险（2）班林铠茵
在1月18号，也就是离开大马的倒数第二晚，我在给自己的明信片上这样写道：其实这半年不管怎么过都会后悔，但我很知足也很感激在大马的时光，那些在UM碰到的朋友，那些分别时说过一定会再重逢的姐妹，还有那些吃喝玩乐吵吵闹闹的哥们儿，都是收获来的宝贵的财富。现在我回到了中国，回到了自己的大学校园，坐在自己宿舍的桌前，做着无异于半年前未曾离开时的事，仿佛那半年只是一场梦，在这个梦里，只有我在移动。
在大二的时候我就得知学校有和马来西亚的交换项目，并一直留意着，提前做好自己该做的准备，终于得到了这次机会。我所交换的这所马来亚大学，是一所文理学科和医学兼有的综合性大学，是马来西亚规模最大和最著名的大学之一，也是一所全马历史最悠久的学府。UM是马来西亚唯一一所环太平洋大学联盟成员大学，与海内外著名学府都有着广泛的联系
9月6号，我们一行人拖着行李浩浩荡荡的从广州飞向了吉隆坡，一个以宗教闻名的国家首府，怀抱着几许向往和期盼开始了为期半年的新的征程。当天晚上就顺利的选好了舍友、分配好了宿舍，两人一间，虽然条件有些艰辛，但在我看来，却是再好不过的了，不用爬上爬下的睡觉，没有四人住宿的吵闹拥挤，是极好的。虽然仍是盛夏，但KL的夜晚远比GZ来的凉爽舒适。
转眼一周过去，选课的事情虽然遇到些困难，却也是圆满解决。回顾那些日子不一样的经历，我真为当初申请来大马交流的决定而感到庆幸，在这里我看到了一个真正的大马，一个书本上和电视上看到的大马……在这一周里，也都能慢慢适应KL、UM的节奏，不再会乘错校车，也没有再走错教室，课堂上虽然是全英文，但也能跟进老师的思路，做笔记看课件。那里的生活很平和，不用考虑过多国内的纷扰，只专注于学业和生活，因为当地的学生在校园里只做着一件事，那就是学习。
在外交换的一个学期中，我选取了经济学院所教授的五门课程，共计17个学分。介于本专业（国贸）大三上学期在广药的课程较多，所以如果有下届交换生的话，就比较建议在UM选多点课程，这样不仅可以减轻回校之后的补课负担，也可多多的学习国外的课程知识，更多的了解中国与其他国家教育制度、教育模式的不同之处，较深的融入国外学生的学习生活娱乐当中，努力提升自己的文化修养与英文水平。
其实在来大马以前，有点担心文化沟通的问题，可是大马同学、老师的热情彻底打消了我们的顾虑，非但没有陌生，而且还有很亲切的感觉。虽然语言不通给我们的交流带来了不便，但是当地同学会很主动的找我们聊天，给我们讲解当地的一些风土人情，我们也会和同学们介绍我们的学校、故乡和中国人民生活的一些现状。大马的师生关系和中国的很不一样，在中国虽然也提倡师生关系要像朋友一样，但在很大程度上，老师还是老师，学生还是学生，老师总给学生一种很有威严的感觉，学生要听老师的话，而在国外，师生间的朋友关系表现的特别明显，很大一部分可能是外国人之间的不受拘束，就比如我们一门数学课上，老师是伊朗人，上课的时候学生有问题的话可以随时的打断老师的上课，而且还可以和老师开各种各样的玩笑。在马来亚大学里，大部分的老师都很喜欢来这边交流学习的中国学生，会有老师担心某些中国学生英文不好而上课多加留意，而且还很关心我们在这里的生活情况，还邀请我们上老师家里做客，让我们有机会感受吉隆坡当地风土人情。
这边的学习与我们之前接受的学习最不同的一点就是这边更加重视实践能力，有更加多样化以及更加丰富的实践活动类型的作业，需要我们通过动手操作等方式来完成作业。同时，这边的学习中还有一点很有特色的地方就是大部分课程的作业都需要我们通过组成学习小组，然后通过协作与分工等方式完成作业，这首先是锻炼了我们的团队合作能力，其次也让我们有更多的机会和来自不同国家的同学接触，还能够取长补短，从小组成员身上学习更多之前自己没有接触到的知识，使自己提高的很快。
学习的同时，我也有机会饱览东南亚的美丽风光，先后去了马六甲、金马伦高原、槟城、兰卡威、新加坡等地旅行，这些地方的美丽风光给我留下了很深刻的印象，结识的许多日、韩、大马、印度的朋友，当地的穆斯林朋友也非常热情的给我们提供了很多的帮助，沿途也感受到了东南亚的热情。
在马大，除了学习上课和旅游，还有一个很重要的事情就是交朋友。那里的大学才好像是一个大的社会，你会认识到很多不同“种类”的学生，会遇到不同国家的人，交多国的朋友会让我懂得不同的文化，也让我了解别国风俗风情。
不管怎么说，我们这一次过来交流也是中马交流的一种体现，希望以后这样的机会越来越多。经过这一个学期的生活经历，不得不说我已经喜欢上了这一块土地，希望以后有机会还能过来，但愿这段经历能成为我一生中美好的回忆！
2011级国际经济与贸易专业张蓓
出发前在白云机场合影
校园巴士
师生合影
和当地穆斯林美女合影
参加当地人婚礼
参加学校演出活动
马六甲
沙巴
新加坡
