Better Learning Opportunities in Malaysia?

It was a very cold day. Temperature was between 9˚ to 11˚C. It rains occasionally throughout the day and on top of that, the wind was terrible. I was trembling the whole journey walking from the hosp to the bustop. When the bus finally came, I hoped I wont have to get down of it, it was so warm inside.
On the way, I saw some cows outside and thought, "How can the cows stay outside on the grass, eating comfortably when it is freezing cold?! Their fur is so short and thin, not anything like the polar bears' "
And I started imagining cows trembling while eating grass, just like how I was trembling and trying to jump around, producing heat while waiting for the bus. I chuckled at my own imagination.
Oh how I wish I can run and walk around wrapped in my duvet.
And it even rained ice that night! Weather forecast agency reported it as rain with some snow. Snow? I didn't see any snow.

I've just ended my first week of REAL study. As I've mentioned before, our first month was wasted spent on various repetitive introductory lectures.
Anyway, my hospital experience so far is not good.
That got me into thinking, would I get better learning opportunities if I were to complete my medical course in IMU Seremban, Malaysia instead of flying 9000 miles across the sea and Asia to Manchester?
My answer was almost an absolute yes. Pathetic it may sound, but I'd be braver and more confident if I am in my own country. I do not have to struggle understanding what these English ppl are saying (How I hope they speak with subtitles coming out from their mouths).

I tend to minimise my interactions with people because I often stumble for words and found it hard to understand what (some) of them were saying.
And my group members weren't helping.
Two of them tried to ruin my day in the ward, insisting that I should not be with them, when the consultant was doing the ward round, when in fact I was fully entitled to be there as much as they were.
It was a long story but suffice to say that they felt the consultant and his teachings "belonged" to them, and my presence somehow "divided" the knowledge imparted by the consultant into three instead of two. They kept giving (under their breaths) nasty comments on how big the ward round group was, just because I joined them and they hoped I'll get the message and leave. Stubborn as I usually was, I stayed put until the ward round was over, pretending to be deaf and mute, to them at least. Ouh! I cant believe just how childish they were behaving! I don't think anyone will dare to do that to me if I am in Seremban.

Surprisingly (or not), very few things are expected of third years here.
Seniors and sometimes consultants asked me medical questions, and while I was taking some time trying to search for the answer in the little sea of knowledge in my brain, knowing I've studied it before, they will think that I do not know the answer and continued with "It's okay if u do not know this". No, it was not because I came from IMU. The same response was given to all third years generally; that it was okay for us not to know some stuff. Those stuff however, was already taught in IMU. If I were in IMU Seremban, as a semester 6 student, not knowing the answers might result in a furious lecturer.

I know my semester 6 friends in Seremban has started their studies, are doing well, and enjoying it. And most of the times I found myself silently hoping I am there with them. Every time I browsed through my IMU friends' pictures in facebook, I felt a sudden sharp psychological pain. How I miss them and how I wish I was there when the pictures were taken.

This is not a regret however. A far cry from regretting my choice to study in a foreign country.
Studying here means I get to widen my non-academic knowledge, learn how to be far from family, how to manage my money, tolerate with (some unbelievably nasty) people, and to be more independent than I ever was. Sooner or later, if I want to expand my medical career, I'd have to come to this side of the world. It's better for me to come now, than later.

Looking from the bright side, I have been here for only one a half month. There are ample time for me to adjust myself, pluck my courage and re-build the confidence I had in Malaysia.
Life has its ups and downs. This might be my down moments but it will be over soon :) And by the time I know it, I will be savoring every second I have here :)
Another positive point, I am going to be quite a good cook, heh...
I invented quite a few new recipes, Asian style but Western ingredients. All the recipes are the result of my trying-to-prepare-the-quickest-cheapest-edible-meal :D

-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com