kajecik Rozmowa
Interviewer : Tomasz Chady
Celine ( eng .)
Celine Wong is a student from Malaysia who has visited our school within student Exchange program
AFS . It is an international organization dedicated
to spreading international awareness , which means it organizes and funds many international trips , like Celine ’ s one . Celine is staying with us till the end of the school year
Why did you choose Poland as a place to visit , since there are lots of as interesting places as Poland closer to Malaysia than 12000 km .
Well , the reason why I chose Poland was because I didn ’ t know anything about it . I didn ’ t even know that it was part of Europe , or , in fact where it was situated , and I didn ’ t knowthat was so close to countries like Germany and Italy , which is where people go on holidays , and I didn ’ t know anything about Polish culture , so I was like : “ It ’ s probably more than halfway across the world , so why not just go ”.
Actually Poland is halfway across the world from Malaysia . What did you expect from this visit to Poland , do you have some kind of goal ?
Well , before I came here the students from the previous years of exchange had offered me this advice , not to expect anything , because if you do you might be disappointed . So just go with an open mind , learn new things , so I don ’ t have too many expectations , I just want to experience something different and I think that I ’ m beginning to feel that difference between Malaysia and Poland .
I ’ m glad . Do you like it here in Poland , tell me about your first minutes in Poland .
Yes , I do like it in Poland , the lifestyle is very different , it ’ s very calm and peaceful , unlike in Malaysia , where students are always rushing to places , from after school activities to extra classes , because our education system is not the best , so we have a lot of extra classes and we don ’ t have time for friends and family .
Wow , that does not sound very good . What are the differences between Polish culture and Malaysian , do people often act differently ?
People do act very differently , for example , Polish people when they see their friends say hi and you are excited to see them , but in Malaysia , if you see your friends you just walk past . I ’ m serious . We are really not that friendly . I guess Polish people are more open minded .
What are your favourite Malaysian dishes , and which Polish dishes are your favourite ones ?
My favourite dish in Malaysia is actually a traditional Indian dish , because , it ’ s not spicy , and I don ’ t like spicy food . My favourite Polish dish is pierogi .
What is going to happen when you go back to Malaysia , will you have to retake a year or are you going to start university ?
I will be starting university , because in Malaysia we graduate at the age of 17 , and I don ’ t have to retake a year , because we graduate in December . That is why I came here in February , and I start university in September , so I ’ m not going to miss anything .
I ’ m quite surprised , because in Poland we end a school year in June . What does school look like in Malaysia , is it a lot different ?
I ’ s very different , because of hot weather we don ’ t have the indoors closed , so our school is open-air one . It is just a big block of buildings , with no closed windows , and there is no air-conditioning , heaters . Only fans . That is what a typical Malaysian school looks like .
Do cities look different too ?
In Malaysia you have more skyscrapers , but in Poznan you have more historical buildings , which is kind of beautiful , it ’ s very different .
I have been a journalist of school newsletter for two years , so I was wondering , do you have a school newsletter in Malaysia ?
Sadly , we don ’ t because Malaysians mostly don ’ t like to write . We don ’ t have a big interest in writing , even though I ’ ve written for newspapers before , but sadly we don ’ t have school newsletter .
What is the major difference between Poland and Malaysia ?
Definitely the weather . In Malaysia it is mostly summer all year long . There is only sun or rain , and in Poland there are four seasons , so it ’ s the first time I have ever experienced snow . It was really fun for me .
What was the journey like ?
17 hours , but surprisingly I didn ’ t suffer from any jet lag , and people asked if I was tired , and they were surprised to see me that energetic .
Do you have some kind of Easter in Malaysia ?
Sadly we don ’ t , because in Malaysia Christians are actually a very small percentage , so when it comes to Easter , we don ’ t celebrate it as much as in Poland .
Ok , thank you for the interview .
kajecik
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