August was getting to the end. I dreaded the moment of waking up every day, for I knew too well that September 1, the day on which I shall be separated from my loved ones, was getting closer and closer to me.
Amid my busy packing time, it came. I started my 30-hour transition from Penang to Toronto. And after this pivotal time, here I am, officially a university student.
I could still remember my interviewer saying”treat differences between abroad and in Malaysia as an extension of difference between your home and in Sunway” during my Princeton interview, but this has been harder than expected. Sweating hard under the hot sun during the orientation, we never knew that the temperature could drop to negatives within a month; overcoming the my subconscious mind of “people drive on left” took long than usual, and till now I had to look both ways while crossing; time managing had become more important than ever when terms looked so short (4 months), assignments and mid-terms came to close to each other, and people were kept talking about resumes and co-op work preparations. Above all, I couldn’t help but to compare from time to time how it went in Sunway and here: the convenience of having Sunway Pyramid vs having need to take buses to hang out in Conestoga Mall, and the close knit among classmates and housemates vs not even knowing each of the classmates in a class of 100.
This justifies the thoughts like “if only I’m in Malaysia,” especially when I woke up from dreaming home in my sleep. Guess what alleviates this? Chinese food near UW plaza, playlists of Olivia Ong, and Skype sessions with family and classmates in Sunway.
There are some beauty that worth my appreciation, though. The quaint and natural view of houses–built without gates, the picturesque sight of lush green field “decorated” with geese near my dorm, and the red and yellow leaves of maple tree, offered me this visual entertainment. And beside the nature appreciation, the people here are whom I shall be thankful for: when a stranger offered help to open doors for me as I was carrying heavy items, their helpfulness immediately ingrained a wonderful first impression on me.
Fingers crossed, that time could enable me to relish more fully in the life here, and explore the beauty of the culture here.
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It’s Thanksgiving today, so I shall use this opportunity to appreciate my 8 gap months in Malaysia, and the individuals who added colors to these days.
In particular, these are my family members (with whom I spent a great time hanging around the cities of Butterworth and Penang), my fellows in Toastmasters–Bagan Ajam or not (for the wonderful 10th anniversary, club contest preparation, and house warming), principal and colleagues in IOM Math Butterworth (comrades in educating children; apologies for no photo), trainers and trainees in IMO training camps, and other friends in Sunway (who came for a trip in Penang) and in Chung Ling Butterworth (for farewells). Hope you had a great time as well!
To end my post, may I share a pun describing my life so well, edited from PPAP (for some time it stuck in my mind, but I tried hard to get rid of it since I had enough of this funny experience back in Sunway.
I have a pen
I have assignments
…Uhm…Deadline’s here!I have a book
I have my mid-term
…Uhm…
Study time!
anzoteh96 
At least you have the time to write a blog post. I don’t even have the time to do that !