I don't know about you but, for me, time slows down during summer...
As the heat and humidity fills the air, everything goes by in slow motion. As if time expands with rising temperatures....
And it is during this time of the year when I lose all my mood to do anything at all,
Time of the year when lecturer starts to get serious with my work...
Time when a mundane lifestyle stick to you like sweat, where days of the week don't make sense anymore..
Especially now when my friends who were doing medic just graduated...requiring me to call them doctor when I'm still in the process of pursuing my degree...
It is time like this when I start thinking up nonsense....
"What if I had known that it would turn out like this, would I still apply for Japan?"
If I had the superhuman ability of being able to the future, and I knew that it would turn out like this, taking 7 long years just to get a degree...would I still apply for Japan??
Although I do have a lot of fun in Japan, and I met a lot of interesting people and I do gained a lot of experience...but....honestly, I don't think I can give a 100% yes to that question.
I mean, 7 years IS a long time if it's just to get a degree....and as much as anyone would say about my fluency on Japanese, that still doesn't cut it as English is still the mainstream language of global communication.
So, what have I been doing all these years?? I mean, I don't feel particularly "extra smart" for being able to study in Japan....in fact, I actually think that I could have performed better elsewhere...
So,
"What if I had known that it would turn out like this, would I still apply for Japan?"
I somehow recalled my conversation with my friend, Kenny's father. He advised me against going to Japan as it takes too long to get a mere degree. I can always take up Japanese lessons and I can always go to Japan for holidays. It was quite a career-prioritized advise and it didn't feel all that appealing to my immature mind at that time...
Same thing goes with my trusted teacher/adviser/mentor in highschool...
And with a lot of other adults...
I was thinking "No way I'm letting this go!! I want to see the famed mini skirts of Japan"
But now, I'm seriously thinking "What if....."
It used to be said that Japan is more technologically advance and that we should learn from them....and that's why Dr. Mahathir started the "Look East Policy".
But what I learned is that, in order for Malaysia to be technological advance, all we have to do is lessen the number of "coffee breaks"!!! Malaysians here fair quite well academically...and why not since our brains are of the same size! It is the attitude, the mentality, and the dedication that sets us so far apart.
But as you all know, Malaysians can be quite dangerous, aggresive and unrelenting when it comes to cutting down teh tarik breaks....
YES! The existence of teh tarik and karipap is keeping us back in the technology world!
So, even I manage to absorb the essence of Japanese greatness, and I don't deny that being in Japan changed me in some way....how am I to change the infamously stubborn Malaysians?
What, then, is my value??
What, then, is the purpose of me being here in Japan?
What.....if I had known that it would turn out like this......
would I still apply for Japan?
