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Eye opening experience for Monash exchange students

A chance to travel and experience Africa without interrupting studies was too good an offer to resist for two Monash University students in Malaysia who opted to study a part of their course at the university's campus in South Africa.

While students from the Monash University campus in Malaysia have previously embarked on exchange programs to its various Australian campuses, and even other universities overseas, 2006 was the first year in which students from the Malaysian campus elected to do a semester (or two) in South Africa.

The Monash University South Africa campus is located in Ruimsig, about 25km north-west of the Johannesburg city centre.

Ms Celine Thong, went in semester 1, 2006 and stayed for two semesters.

“I planned to stay for a year because I thought if I only went for a semester I wouldn’t have enough time to travel”, she said.

For Ms Sabrina Islam, who joined her in mid-2006 for a single semester, travelling was also an interest.

“What I really liked was my trips around South Africa, like when I went to Cape Town. Cape Town was just amazing. I also went to Botswana. I loved that, it was the best part of the whole thing” she said.

Meeting new people, especially in a new country is often nerve-wracking, but both girls found the South African students to be friendly and easy to work with. “They were very friendly people, very warm, very friendly” said Sabrina.

“Everyone was friendly to everyone” agreed Ms Thong.

“The campus is so small that everyone hangs out at the same place so you kind of get to know everyone. It’s so much easier there I feel. People there are so friendly and so willing to share knowledge”.

Even the teaching style was something to adapt to. “Their method of teaching is very different. They interact with you and ask you questions,” said Ms Thong of her experience.

“The class size is very much smaller, so the lecturer knows you personally and you know everyone. You can email them and some even give their mobile numbers. Their doors are always open” she said.

Ms Thong said since the class sizes were smaller students received more attention from teachers.

“My grades there were very much better. I had High Distinctions and Distinctions there and I was so shocked,” she said.

Things like accents and use of language can also take some getting used to.

“It was a bit difficult for me to understand their accents at first. And some terms they use differently from us. In Malaysia we say ‘just now’ as in ‘I just passed it to you just now’. But they use it in the future. So they tell you ‘I will show the graph to you just now’. But I enjoyed studying there very much” said Ms Thong.

“It’s very different there” agreed Ms Sabrina. But I got to meet a lot of people from different cultures and I got to learn what food they eat and what language they speak and how they live”.

So, would they recommend the exchange to other students? “I don’t regret it, it was definitely worthwhile but when I recommend it to someone I’d make sure I give them as much information as possible so they’re prepared” said Ms Sabrina.

“When I was there I was like ‘when I go back to Sunway I’ll never complain about taxis again’. But even though the traveling was kind of expensive, I was like ‘when am I going to come to Africa again?’”

On her part, Ms Thong said: “Yes. I would recommend it to other students because it’s a very different experience, so when you come back you look at things differently and have a different perspective on things”.

Sabrina Islam and Celine Thong (right) sightseeing in South Africa.