4 years and never been to the tin cake

I've lived in Wellington close to 5 years now, and yet I've never been to the ol tin cake - The West Pac Stadium - for anything. I guess, the sport itself is so different to my one true sporting love of football or soccer as some would call it here. It's not easy to follow the EPL because of the time difference and access to it. First, one must have satellite or cable network service and then, most common games that runs around 8pm in Malaysia...Well, we have to add 5 hours to it. So games have the honor to a very late broadcast time of 1am if I'm lucky.

So this weekend, I turn to rugby instead. And it would be my first to the Tin Cake for a live game. Admittedly , I am excited and looking forward to it.

Wellington is really a small town. But guess what, it is also being invaded (to loosely put it and in light of humor). Through my experience, when I first came here to study, you can count in one hand the number of foreign students here. Then slowly, NZ universities hopped on the Chinese market band wagon. Now it seems, Malaysians are taking Australia and NZ by storm. Who ever thought that education is not a business...Well, go stuff yourself.

How lucky these Malaysian students are. They have a strong foundation of friends. They are a company in force. During my time (which was only 4 years ago), there were only 18 of us at most given time. Today, times that by ten at least. "The more the merrier" some might say.

But my theory is the total opposite. The more in number, the less in quality. No, I'm not being biased. I happily flunked my first year and a half while I underwent a rampage of alcoholism, binge drinking, what ever term you want to call it, paid my tributes to whichever higher being that conjure up in my head when I'm high. I partied too but I also learned to appreciate education...at least the bit that interests me the most.

Back to the new Malaysian students...I fear that for many of them, it's their debut sojourn from home. Typically, many won't mix with the local culture and those who do, do it for 'coolness' and for all the wrong reasons. I suppose, you live and learn.

On the eve of my graduation, I've come to realize that this age of being a student, away from family rules, regulation and obligation really make you or break you as a person. It's a survival of the fittest really. You learn more about yourself than anything else at the end of the day. We all now know that for most of us, what ever academia we earned during tertiary studies is really not practical studies. The practical bit comes in during our fledgling career debut.

And so yesterday, friends of mine happen to bump into a couple of large/loud groups of Malay parents attired in the full on songkok and seemingly lost in this small town of Wellington. It's bad enough roving in a large group but being loud is totally unneccesary wouldn't it? Then again, it's typical that within aa large social group, there tend to be a leader or someone who offers assuarance to the rest and they are loud and careless. Why? because within a group we feel safe and we are comfortable. It onnly costs a small subscription fee of comforming to the group's exceptable social norms.

Ahh those pesky Malaysians....Ahh...to think I was once like them.

Then again, I was never really one to conform to anything. For that, my punishment was to be seen as 'different'. Finally I conformed to certain things in my socially accepted group of friends by respecting them. I learned that it's not necessarily "It's our way or the highway" but this largely depends on the people in that group. Solution is simply to accomodate others. Then again, leadership is occasionally a crime that I cherish but no, I'm not the leader type. I'm more of the "Let's-see-what-happens-if-we-push-this-button" type. Try my luck and push it as far as it goes. Which at times is unhealthy.