March 21, 2016, by Lisa Chin
So what’s it really like?
This post is written by Oppong Kyekyeku Appiah, MSc International Development Management candidate, School of Politics, History and International Relations.
I still remember arriving Kuala Lumpur International Airport after an 18-hour flight from Accra, Ghana, seemingly clueless of the future that awaits me in a place far away from home, but embracing each passing second with pure optimism and a strong desire to succeed.
Hi, my name is Oppong Kyekyeku Appiah, a Ghanaian and I am doing my Masters of Science in International Development Management in the School of Politics, History and International Relations.
Adjusting to a different country or society can be quite challenging especially in my case where I had to overcome an 8-hour time difference and also embrace a new culture. I can still remember sleeping around 7am in my first few weeks here in Malaysia. Nonetheless, it is worth the pain especially if you find yourself in such a beautiful country which provides a perfect opportunity to learn the cultures of other people. Malaysia symbolically presents the perfect expression of Asia one can never get with a perfect blend of cultures.
Oppong Kyekyeku Appiah, at the KLCC Park.
I am not the ‘travelling-around’ type, however I have explored very much the beautiful Kuala Lumpur city, from the famous Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Park to the elegant Islamic Arts Museum. Hopefully, I will be able to visit certain places outside Selangor, especially the islands that have touted before my stay comes to an end later this year.
One of my most memorable experiences as a postgraduate student was at the Graduate School’s Christmas party last year where I won the candy guess game. The candy guess game was one of the side attractions aside the normal feasting and merry making that usually characterise Christmas parties. Postgraduate students were asked to predict the number of candies in a jar. Luckily and to my surprise as well, my guess was the closest to the actual number of candies in the jar. My award, the jar full of candies, still sits in the room of a colleague who believes he should have won the prize because he took the pain to count the candies one by one.
The MSc International Development Management programme along with the MA International Relations constitute the two masters programmes in the School of Politics, History and International Relations. I am one of the four representatives of both programmes at the University Learning Community Forum, where the concerns of students are channeled to the appropriate authorities for redress. I am also a member of the University’s Swimming Club.
My major conviction in life is that wherever you find yourself your life should positively impact on others and that you should always be a solution to someone’s problem.
I believe as postgraduate students, we are being trained to bring out solutions to numerous challenges facing the world and the University of Nottingham provides the perfect teaching and learning in this regard.
It has been exciting and memorable journey in both my academic and social life in Malaysia so far, long may it continue.
*Featured image – Oppong Kyekyeku Appiah with Professor Graham Kendall, Vice-Provost of Research and Knowledge Transfer, during the Graduate School’s Christmas party held on 18th December 2015.
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