Tuesday, June 16, 2015

International Students Farewell Dinner

Assalamualaikum dan selamat sejahtera !

It's gonna be a long post. I warned you. So sape-sape yang malas baca tu, korang tengok jelah gambar erk. Tapi rugilah, sebab korang tak kenal satu persatu kawan aku kat sana. Jadi, cerita dan feeling tu tak sampai.

Sebaik sahaja selesai sesi shooting filem pendek yang aku update tempoh hari, International students farewell dinner took place pada belah malamnya pula. It was held at the Depot on 6th December. The purpose of this dinner is for saying goodbye to those who's leaving. I think more than half of the international students left for the semester.

Psssttt, sampaikan spring semester punya farewell dinner berlangsung masih lagi tak terupdate post for fall semester punya farewell dinner. Dahsyat nya zarep kelembapan engkau dalam menghapdet blog.

Tak semua nya datang masa farewell dinner nie

The students were welcomed to bring food that represents their countries. I just brought candy canes. That was it. I don't know what to cook, plus the ingredients for Malay cuisines were really hard to find in Milledgeville. So i brought something simple and .................... cheap. Kbai.

Antara menu yang ada masa malam dinner tu

That onigiri (nasi gumpal-gumpal) made by the Japanese.
Fried egg potatoes made by Czech Republic students. 
Egg tomatoes made by Taiwanese student. All these were super delicious.

We gathered around 5.30 pm. Balik dari shooting tu, singgah Walmart sekejap beli candy canes. Then balik bilik mandi and siap-siap semua. Terus melulu ke Depot nie. Tak jauh pon dari Wells Hall tempat aku diami. Walking distance je.

Aku masa tu memang rasa macam nak pakai t-shirt je. Yelah even pergi kelas pon pakai santai-santai je, jadi dah terbiasa pergi mana-mana pon comot-momot. Thank god aku memilih untuk dress up sikit malam tu. Aku rasa why not kan put something nice. Aku betul-betul lupa yang dinner nie bukan dinner biasa-biasa. Lulz.

Plus, aku bawak kemeja banyak kot tapi tak guna pon masa kat sana. Hampehh je. Ko fikir kat sana tu macam UPSI ?


They had the name of the students that will be leaving on the wall, so for those who wants to leave a note to the students, they will put it in his/her envelope. I got a lot of notes, thank you very much. It really made me sad reading those notes. At this time, we only had one week left at GCSU. So memang terasa gila-gila lah. Sedih bak hang.

Korang tahu kan kat sana nama aku tinggal Muhammad je. Depa pergi buang nama Zharif tu. Sampai nyah hati mereka. So bila dorang nak bagi nota untuk aku, they were searching for my name. Lol. Same thing happened to the Chinese students. Dorang guna nama English kat sana. So most of us tak tahu nama sebenar mereka. Tapi aku tahu sebab aku prefer panggil nama chinese dorang.





Actually aku cuma nak menyajikan gambar-gambar je, tapi adalah lebih afdhal kalau aku perkenalkan depa satu persatu so that korang boleh tahu dari mana asal usul mereka, dan terpesona dengan ke-international-lan kawan-kawan diriku. Wahhhh gitue tau. 

Let me introduce my friends. Lets begin with Czech Republic students. There are 5 of them. 3 Girls and two boys. But only 4 of them came to the dinner. 

Left is Veronica and at the right is Lenka. 

On the left is Robert and on the right is Stanislov

All Czech Republic students are music major. They are all talented people. I attended their perfomance at a church in Milledgeville once and it was lovely. Veronica, Svetlana (Not came to the dinner) and Robert are singers. While Stanislov plays clarinet and Lenka plays violin.

Veronica and Svetlana are among the earliest person i knew during orientation week.

Now lets move to the next country, Taiwan. Only two Taiwanese students for fall semester. 2 is more than enough instead of one, like me T__T

Left picture, we have Lana and right picture, we have Angela

We met at the airport for the first time, Hartson Jackfield Atlanta Airport. We took the same flight from Incheon Korea to Atlanta, Korean Air 0035. Masa kat Incheon tak jumpa pon, plus kami tak kenal lagi masa tu.

It was a very awkward moment at the airport. I was the only guy at that time. We didn't talk that much at the airport. Everybody were very tired at that time. It was 13 hours flight. So you can imagine how exhausted we were. We only get to know each other during orientation.

We were not the only students that took the same flight from Incheon Korea tu Atlanta. There were 5 of us took the Korean Air 0035. Nope, 6 of us. Tapi yang sorang tu sangkut dekat imegresen masa dekat Atlanta, lupa bawak document. Tertinggal dekat negara dia. Nak tahu pelajar dari negara mana ? Keep on reading.

Yang lagi 2 tu merupakan pelajar dari China, Lily and Thelma.

I don't have a photo of us together at the dinner in my camera Tang Jin T____T

Here you are. My dearest friend, Tang Jin (Thelma). She is such a lovely girl. So cheerful. Every time she talks, she talks with full of enthusiasm. Sangat semangat weyh. You will fall in love with the way how she talks. She's so funny.

I met her at the airport for the first time, together with Lily, another student from China.

Left is Lily, right si Qin

Lily is a gymnast. She performed during International Day. Entri International Day dah lama updated yer, jangan cakap aku tak update lagi. Mohon cakna. She is also a funny person. Love her ! BTW, dia nie sangat kaya tau. Budak China lain bagi tahu, kalau dekat China, orang tu tinggal rumah 3 tingkat, means orang tu sangat-sangat kaya. Dan Lily merupakan salah seorang, orang itu.

Qin is a graduate student. She is not an exchange student. She were there for about one year or so i think. She plays piano very well. Very very well. She taught me a lesson how to play piano, the basic one. She even gave me simple music notes so that i can practice at my room. She is a good teacher. Now i can play happy birthday song and few other simple songs. Kudos Qin, thank you so much.

Now, let me introduce my friend from South Korea. His name is BK.


His real name is Byung Kyu ( Sebutan dia biyong giyu). So since it is really hard to pronounce, he simplify his name to just BK. I met him on first day orientation, We were at the Bone House, at that time, i was like "who is this stylish guy, i bet he's from Korea". Yeah, I was correct ! He is from South Korea. From his look, you will never know he is 25. He looks so young >__<

With the existence of him, i am not the shortest one. Thank God we have BK. You saved me. Lol


This is my friend from India. On the left is Wiedhy. Wiedhy is also a graduate student. She is such a lovely lady. She's married. Her husband were there too. I know her through the International Club. We hang out a couple times. I love her English. Her English is so good.

On the right, we have Tanvi. As i mentioned before, she's an actress in India. I didn't know that until Viviane told me, BK and Taka (Later i'll introduce Viviane to you, keep reading). Right after she told us that Tanvi was in the Slumdog Millionaire movie, we watched the movie together. Lol.

But Tanvi never introduced herself that she is an actress. By the way, she is amazingly talented in art. She is an art nerd. I went to her room once, and i saw her drawings at her walls, so amazing. She is so talented. So so talented.

On the left, we have Paula, on the right we have Jessica.

Asyik cerita pasal orang Asia je kan, meyh aku perkenalkan dengan kawan aku yang dari Selatan Amerika nie. They are from Brazil. They both are so nice. We were always having our breakfast together with other international students after Jason's class.

Kitorang ada satu kelas nie, di mana semua dalam kelas tu adalah pelajar international. In that class we studied about American culture. So setiap kali tamat kelas, kitorang terus ramai-ramai serbu kafe bersarapan. Dalam satu meja boleh ada up to 5 countries. Dan dalam masa tengah makan nie lah selalunya kitorang cakap pasal negara sendiri and bertukar-tukar bahasa. I miss those days.

Another Brazilian, Felipe

There are plenty of students from Brazil, can't remember how many. Cuma 3 orang nie je yang aku kenal. Hihi

Now lets move to Germany. Also quite a number jugak students dari Germany nie, Ini adalah pelajar German yang aku kenal. Left bottom, is Viviane. Right bottom is Kathi. I love both of them .


Viviane, i would describe her as undiscovered supermodel. She is taller than me. She is 6ft tall i think. Pernah masa kitorang pergi trip ke Atlanta masa awal-awal baru datang dulu, ada orang nampak dia dekat mall tu and tanya nak tak jadi model. Hebat nya.

Kathi is a very funny and friendly person. She is grreeaattttttttt ! That is her trademark. I miss hearing she said that word. Dia nie pon sangat ceria dan bersemangat. Dia suka dress up. Cantik-cantik style dia kalau pergi kelas.

Lagi sorang, nama dia Anna. Gambar nombor 5 a.k.a second group photo. She was standing besides me. That is her. I don't have a picture of us together. She is also from Germany. She has been stayed in America for years but she still fluent cakap German. She has doll eyes weyh. So beautiful !


Left is Janik, he's also from Germany. Dia nie sangat comel lah aku rasa. Perangai dia and kelakuan dia pon sama. Dia kalau tengok perlawanan apa-apa atau main game ke, bila benda tu tak seperti apa yang dia mahukan, dia akan start mencarut. Dan ianya sangat kelakar. Seolah-olah dia macam bertukar karakter.

Right  picture, the guy in the middle pon Germany student jugak. Nama dia Max. Dia nie aku tak rapat sangat cuma kenal ala-ala je. Kitorang satu kelas Jason tu. Kelas yang aku cakap dalam tu semua ada budak international tu. Dia nie tak banyak cakap sangat. Tapi bila dekat-dekat nak berpisah nie, banyak pulak dia cakap, siap boleh bergurau lagi. Identiti sebenar baru nak keluar. Tapi dah terlambat bro.


Okay, now kita berkenalan pula dengan pelajar dari Spain. Ada ramai pelajar dari Spain yang aku kenal and rapat tapi yang lain tak datang cuma dia sorang je. Nama dia Tris. Dia nie kan mirip sangat-sangat macam Lady GaGa. Dia nie pon jenis kelakar jugak. Suka nyanyi dan suka anime.


Seterusnya, kita berkenalan dengan pelajar dari Sweden. Left picture is Carl, Right picture is Erika. Carl is known as the giant. He is a super tall guy. If he come to my university, i bet he will be the tallest guy in the campus. Aku yang ala kadar nie je pon ada masalah dengan kepanjangan katil dekat KHAR tu, ini kan pula kalau dia. Tak tercapai akal aku membayangkannya. Lol.

He kept his beard for the Game On movie. Right after finished shooting the movie, he shaved it. Last day on campus, i finally see his face without beard again. It has been a long time kot. Seriously jambu terus muka dia. Nanti aku tunjuk gambar dia masa hari last day dekat entri akan datang which aku tak tahu bila lah akan terupdate. Harap sabar naa. Worth of waiting i guarantee. And, perempuan-perempuan America banyak tergila-gilakan dia tau. Untunglah tinggi, bermata biru, rambut blonde, ramai orang suka.

Erika, i know her while we were picnicking at a lake near Milledgeville during orientation. She is a very nice person. Dia lah yang turut bekerjasama dalam pembikinan filem Game On Movie tu. Walaupon kami jarang jumpa, sebab dia tinggal dekat west campus, plus kami tak ada kelas sama. Tapi still kami rapat lah, bila berjumpa boleh berborak-borak macam dah lama kenal. Aku suka borak dengan dia sebab dia jenis pandai berborak.


Okay, yang nie pulak berasal dari Australia. Her name is Kaitlin. She is my neighbor. Satu dorm and siap satu aras lagi. Bilik dia dekat hujung. Tapi dekat sangat dengan bilik aku. Dia nie seorang gymnast tau. Handstand posing kaki terlentok-liuk semua dia boleh buat. Lepas entri nie, aku akan update satu entri dinner bersama Wells Hall family. Ada benda yang aku nak ceritakan pasal dia nie. Aku sangat tak sangka dia begitu ambik berat pasal makanan aku. Aku akan ceritakan selanjutnya nanti. Tunggu naa.

Banyak sangat kenangan dengan dia sebab kami berjiran. Main prank-prank pon ajak dia. Study sama-sama. Aku jugak ada buat presentation dalam kelas dia pasal Islam. Dia mintak tolong aku terangkan pasal Islam dalam kelas. Memang cuak lah nak kena speaking dalam kelas yang dipenuhi omputih. Tapi Alhamdulillah berjaya walaupon ada beberapa isu aku tak patut sentuh. Ini pon aku akan terangkan panjang lebar dalam entri untold stories lepas semua cerita America aku dah habis terupdate.

Left is Yusuf , Right is Ramsha

Ini lah kawan-kawan Muslim aku. Yusuf asal dari Moroccow dan Ramsha berasal daripada Pakistan. Aku present pasal Islam tu dengan si Yusuf nie lah. Alhamdulillah, dia banyak membantu aku masa tu. Ramsha pulak aku kenal masa nak pergi fellowship. Masa tu tengah tunggu pengangkutan yang akan angkut kitorang. Berkenalan time tu, terkejut jugak bila dapat tahu dia Muslim. Tak sangka.

Left is Thomas, right is Chuk

Thomas asal dari pada Denmark. Aku tak ada lah rapat sangat dengan dia nie pon actually. Kenal macam tu macam tu je. Dia nie mulut boleh tahan tau. Senang sentap lah. So adalah lebih baik aku tidak rapat sangat dengan dia. Hahahaha. Chuk pula berasal daripada Nigeria. Dia nie sangat peramah. Dia ada jawatan dalam International Students Club. So selalu jumpa time meeting. Btw, nama sebenar dia confirm korang susah nak sebut. Panjang gila. Terbelit-belit lidah. Kalah nama BK.

Takafumi and Eri

Aku rasa, sudah ramai yang mengenali pasangan ini. Blog, instagram dan facebook aku semua stok gambar mesti ada mereka. Alhamdulillah, aku dapat kawan macam dorang nie. Dorang merupakan among my best friends in the US. Tak ada dorang nie, aku tak tahu lah kehidupan aku kat sana macam mana.

Eri lah orang yang tersangkut dekat imegresen tu. Kitorang tunggu dekat airport tu 3 jam kot tunggu dia. End up, orang yang ambik kitorang a.k.a Jason, decide untuk tinggalkan dia. Biar dia diambil oleh trip satu lagi. Eri nie makwe si Takafumi. Dorang start bercinta masa kat sana. Dorang berdua nie memang such a cute couple lah =)

Takafumi is the friendliest person i've ever met. Dia datang lambat dua minggu daripada yang lain sebab dia disyaki ada kanser. So dia tunggu jawapan doktor sama ada dia positif or negatif. Bila dia dapat tahu yang dia free from kanser, dia terus ambik direct flight from Japan to US. Aku kenal dia masa dia tengok movie dekat bilik suitemate aku, Tavaris.

Masa tu, Tavaris perkenalkan kami berdua. Masa tu aku baru selesai solat maghrib dan masih lagi berkain pelekat. Actually aku memang selalu berkain pelekat sebab sejuk. Then aku pon pergi bilik Tavaris untuk jumpa si Takafumi nie. The first question Takafumi asked me was, "Are you wearing skirt ?" Lol. That was hilarious.


Then berkenalan lah and tanya macam-macam. Lepastu dorang ajak join tengok movie sama, tapi aku menolak. Masa nie aku masih lagi kera sendep yang ingin berseorangan. Malu-malu dan rasa murung jauh dari keluarga. So aku banyak tolak pelawaan orang. Malas nak bersocialize.

So that is how we know each other. Since then we became close. Pergi mana-mana pon nak sama-sama. Aku mesti nak kena ada dia. Sejak dia ada, baru lah aku ada partner makan dekat cafe. Kalau tak memang sendep lah aku sorang-sorang. Dan dia dengan terbukanya bercerita pasal kisah sedih dia tu sebelum nak datang America. Siap menangis-nangis weyh. Plus aku baru kenal dia kot. rasanya baru 2 hari kenal.

Aku nie kalau orang menangis, aku tak tahu nak react macam mana. Nak peluk kah ? Nak apa kah ? Aku keliru. Terharu tau dia cerita benda tu dekat aku, sebab dia tak cerita se-details itu dekat sape-sape.

Btw, budak dari Japan ada 3 orang, lagi sorang nama dia Shiori. Yang nie pon aku rapat tapi dia tak datang malam tu.

Enough with the international students, now nak perkenalkan my American friends. Kawan America aku ada ramai. Tapi yang datang nie cuma yang join international students club je.

Left is Ansley, right is Jessica 

Ansley juga merupakan jiran aku. Kitorang satu aras. tapi dia jarang join aktiviti-aktiviti budak Wells yang lain. Jessica pulak merupakan connection partner Eri. So kami kenal dari situ. Aku tak join connection program pon sebab aku nie bukan peramah sangat nak berkenalan dengan orang-orang baru nie. Connection program nie kira macam buddyz program lah. Orang yang guide and bantu kita while kita kat sana. Lebih kurang macam tu.

Left is Alex, right is Clay 

They call Alex as Jesus because of his kindness. He is very kind. Aku stay dekat rumah dia masa Christmas. Nanti aku cerita pasal hal nie lebih details. Alex nie peminat tegar budaya Jepun. Dia juga minat anime. Minat sangat-sangat. Clay pulak, connection partner Takafumi. So aku kenal dia dari situ. Dia nie ada masalah penglihatan. Dan pengetahuan dia pasal Islam sangat banyak tau. Salute lah kat dia.

Left is Joshua, right is Reid 

Joshua nie lah pengarah untuk filem Game On tu. Dia nie baik dan rapat lah dengan budak-budak international yang lain. Kadang hujung minggu dia ajak budak-budak international lepak rumah dia. Aku tak pernah pergi sebab aku tak nak terlibat sama. Tak nak cerita lebih details apa dorang buat. Nanti korang terkejut pulak. Hihi. Reid pulak aku kenal since dia join team basketball budak-budak international tu. Sebab kami berlakon sama dalam movie Game On tu, so kenal pon macam tu macam tu je, aku tak lah rapat sangat pon dengan dia nie.

Left is Sophia, right is Kelly

Sophia nie timbalan pengarah international club. So kenal dia dari situ. Dia nie cakap super laju tau. Kelly pulak, rasanya tak perlu nak kenal kan lagi kot since dia pon banyak kali muncul dalam facebook, instagram and blog aku. She is so nice and very kind. She always help the international students. Dia suka ajak pelajar-pelajar international ke rumah dia. Masa Thanksgiving aku stay rumah dia seminggu. Dia nie half Filipino. Mak dia asal Philippine. So aku rasa sebab tu kot dia agak gemar dengan budak-budak Asia nie. Taste makanan dia pon ke arah Asian gitu.

Lagi satu, dia nie mudah sangat menangis. Dia menangis masa dinner nie. She was sad coz everyone is leaving. Not everyone, but most of the person she was close with lah. Dia nie memang baik sangat ! Aku rasa seronok bila ada orang macam Kelly nie kat America. Aku sangat rapat dengan dia, she is also one of my best friends in the US.

Okey dah siap perkenalkan satu persatu. Now aku sajikan the rest of the pictures that have in my camera.





So much happiness in one photo 



Lady in purple scarf is Susanne. She is one of the staff in Bone House. Bone House nie pejabat yang uruskan pelajar international GCSU. People in Bone House are such a great people. Dorang lah yang menjaga kebajikan para pelajar antarabangsa nie. Sebarang masalah regarding imegresen ke, apa benda ke, dorang akan tolong selesaikan. Sebarang lawatan semua dorang uruskan.

Left is Jason. Right is Jarris. Dorang pon staff dekat Bone House.

Jason nie merupakan professor aku. Dia lah yang ajar subject American Language and Culture tu. I love his class. Very relax and enjoy. Dia nie jugaklah yang pick up kitorang dekat airport. Semua kerja dia sapu. Sangat baik orang nya.

Jarris pon sama. Very nice and very warm person. She is very helpful. Selalu pergi trip, dia yang drive. Hebat tak hebat. Bawak van panjang boleh, bas pon dia boleh bawak tau.






So that was it, the International Farewell Dinner. Malam tu, lepas je habis dinner, dorang ajak tengok movie dekat rumah someone. Tapi aku malas nak join. Penat. Satu hari shooting movie Game On tu. Malas lah nak keluar. Lebih baik aku luang masa dengan budak-budak Wells Hall.

Malam tu, aku duduk dekat community room, tempat di mana suitemate and roommate aku selalu study sama. Lepak lah dengan dorang. Sambil duduk-duduk tu, aku pon bacalah ucapan-ucapan yang aku terima dalam sampul aku tu. Menitik jugak lah air mata aku. Sedih kot.

Tak sangka ramai terkesan dengan kewujudan aku kat situ. I was expecting yang aku nie bakal jadi kera sumbang kat US tu, but i was not. In fact, aku sangat active dan friendly kot kat sana. Luar biasa.

Beautiful Maria

Lepastu, kawan aku yang nama Maria nie pon nangis. Dia macam tak percaya lagi seminggu dia dah tak dapat jumpa aku. Terus menangis teresak-esak. Sedih sangat kot bila ingat balik. Maria nie seorang yang sangat special bagi aku. Dia sangat-sangat baik dan sopan santun. Dia rapat dengan roommate and suitemate aku.

So Tavaris photobombed us

Lepastu kitorang pergi main game dekat ground floor. Ambik gambar dengan grandma Paige. Ada sebab kenapa kitorang semua panggil dia nie grandma. Nanti aku cerita erk.


Lepastu, malam tu jugak, roommate aku si Austin nie tetibe cakap, "Zharif, aku nak ambik gambar dengan kau malam nie". Agak terkejut jugak lah bila perkataan tu keluar dari mulut dia.

Seriously, aku rasa sedih sangat kot sebab semua nie akan berakhir tak lama lagi (dah berakhir pon). Yelah masa nie aku tinggal seminggu je lagi duduk dekat GCSU tu. So perpisahan tu akan berlaku tak lama lagi. Sedih dia lain macam kot. Nak tinggal kan kawan-kawan kat Malaysia pon tak sedih macam nie tau. Sebab nya aku tahu, aku akan berjumpa dengan dorang lagi. Tapi kawan-kawan dekat US nie ? Almost mustahil lah nak jumpa lagi ramai-ramai macam nie. Aku rasa memang mustahil lah.

Ya Allah, rindu nya lah. Serious rindu sangat dengan semua nie. Pengalaman paling manis dalam hidup aku.

- T A M A T -

Btw, entri nie aku start karang since awal Januari lagi. Tapi baru hari nie aku publish. Fuhh lama benor nak complete-kan entri nie. Plus, aku actually tak confident nak tayang entri nie. Korang sendiri boleh agak kenapa kot kan ?

Apa-apa pon, jumpa lagi post akan datang. Jangan bosan menunggu tau. Tengah minggu exam nie. 6 paper dah berjaya ditumbangkan, tinggal 2 paper je lagi. Nie ada gap 4 hari tu yang ambik peluang siapkan entri nie.

Doakan aku tau. 

12 comments:

  1. best nya zharif, love reading your student exchange experience & your blog..
    first time comment ni..haha
    All the best untuk exam ko ye - fahmi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. terima kasih yer. teruskan membaca =)
      Btw nie fahmi yang aku kenal ke yang aku tak kenal nie ?

      Delete
  2. So much fun in one post! It's must be amazing to have many friends from different country.

    ReplyDelete
  3. lamanya peram entry ni. btw, lucky u to have many international friends.
    p/s: robert tu ensemm. haha and BK too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sangat lama. Lama sebab takut nak publish. hahahhaa
      yupp, robert memang handsome. dah lah handsome tinggi pulak tu. Jelesnya >__<
      BK biasa-biasa je . hihi

      Delete
  4. With the existence of him, i am not the shortest one. Thank God we have BK. You saved me. Lol



    ok lawak...akk tengah down pon boleh gelak zarif....goodluck exam tau :D akk insyaAllah beraya tahun ni pun dekat Jerman lagi... xpe, tinggal sikit jer lagi dah nak abes...next year dapatlah puasa dengan raya Malaysia insyaAllah :D doakan akk abes cepat2 tau :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. good luck akak =)
      insyaAllah semua urusan akak dipermudahkan. Jangan down2. chill je kay =)

      Delete
  5. Kalau kau yang tinggi terasa pendek, cuba bayangkan aku yang pendek ni macam mana. hahahahaha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perempuan rendah okay je rasanya, except for too short lah. Lelaki nie hah kena tinggi >__<

      Delete

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