Malu tapi terpaksa...

It was a few months back... i received an email from IGPAS office, rasanya semua student international dapat.. ada program baru, khas untuk undergrads..for those yang baru nak further study.. degree in faculty of science are so lucky you will be exempted on tuition fees and akan dapat pocket money sikit, from the program itself, it's not much tapi cukup2 makan.. a very good program i guess and can find out more at Tohoku University website. Ok berbalik pada hal tadi, in order to promote the program, they wanted to interview all of us about our experiences and opinions.. ishh malunyaa..u know me..i kan pemalu...ahaha..really..it's true.. but then i still need to step up.. my love plak ada seminar at that time so i have to go alone and i was thinking maybe there will be other international students and it wouldn't be that scary and maybe i can slip away and skip.. alangkah remuk hancur kachiwanya..hati ini bila masuk ke ofis IGPAS..it was just me and a guy from Physics.. huhu.. so he interviewed went quite ok...i think i looked nervous, the other guy was so clam and serene and full of confident.. i received an email containing the script and my picture as well, it's in the web..dah la gambar candid huhu..malu2..muka tak siap bak kata Sya.. huhu.. here goes our scripts to share and my tak siap photo haha..

ish2...why do they have to candid? huhu..

Hanis, a teacher of chemistry at the University of Malaysia Terengganu, was sent to the Tohoku Graduate School of Science by her university to study organic physical chemistry. “Few of our faculty specialize in this field, so when I go back to my university after graduating from here, I will use this experience and the knowledge I have gained to the undergraduates in the Department of Chemical Sciences,” says Hanis.

Ever since her childhood, Hanis had wanted to visit Japan, so she searched out several Japanese universities on the Internet. “Tohoku University’s website was friendly, informative and had information in English on the subjects I wanted to know about,” says Hanis. “And I got a fast response from my supervisor who helped me enroll.”

She says that though the research has been hard work, everyone has been helpful. Overall, she rates the student support system “as very good, beyond my expectations,” and she is “very impressed with the equipment.” In Malaysia, all the instruments and equipment are shared by all the students, she explains. But in the Graduate School of Science each lab specializes in a subject. “So we don’t have to wait in long queues to use the instruments and other equipment.”  

As for life in Japan, Hanis is enjoying herself. “Japan has a rich culture and many festivals, so I go to see them whenever I have time. It’s a lot of fun. And Sendai, though a city with all the facilities you need, also has plenty of parks and other open spaces. Beautiful countryside is very accessible.

Here's the other international students..

Ramsey Lundock was a physics major in the United States when he came to Japan on an undergraduate overseas study program “and absolutely fell in love with Japan.” So when the opportunity arose to study astronomy at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Science, he seized it with both hands.

Now in the fourth year of the 5-year program and with a master’s degree to his credit, Lundock is making the most of travel opportunities to conduct research in the field.

“I’ve been able to travel all over Japan,” says Lundock. “For example, I’ve used the East Hiroshima Observatory to do astronomical observations. And we’ve also conducted observations in Hokkaido, where I’ve also attended annual astronomical meeting each year, with the travel costs paid for by the university.”  

He also rates the quality of his classes highly, higher than the classes he took at his previous university in the United States. In the American graduate system, he says they make things difficult in order to weed out the less academically inclined students in order to have them quit. “But the Japanese graduate program aims to provide the students with tools to help them learn on their own. It’s a much more student-friendly atmosphere.”

When it comes to living in Japan, Lundock is impressed with how he can live comfortably in a small apartment, using minimum resources and without a car. “When it comes to resource use, I’m able to support a standard of life that would take double or triple the resources in America. And I love Japanese popular culture, their video games, comic books and anime.”

And he wanted to work at anime company...all of us were shocked because his major was in astronomy..anyway..good luck.. he's my super senior..living here for almost 5 years and he can speak really fluent japanese..i envy him huhu..