Enews236 高雄醫學大學甘比亞生物醫學學士專班畢業前感言

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高雄醫學大學e快報第236期　健康科學院專題

高雄醫學大學甘比亞生物醫學學士專班畢業前感言

MY EXPERIENCE IN TAIWAN/ KMU

My name is Saidou Nyang (梁善道), a Gambian final year student of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, majoring in Biomedical Sciences. It was October 10th 2010, that we touched down at the KAOHSIUNG INTERNATION AIRPORT. Everyone was so exhausted after a three days journey with a lot of transits but on the other hand excited. We were picked up by Rosy Tu, our former course assistant, Bintou Jallow, a Gambian who was doing an Msc program in the same school as well as a bunch of students from our department. Basically, our coming from a different continent, with a diverse culture caused some of us to have cultural shock here and there during our first year. Talking of food culture, back in the Gambia, the commonest diet is rice and sauce and It’s also a tradition for families to cook a big meal and eat together, because we believe that eating together as family creates unity, love and caring within the people. Our first two or three days was great because we made some new friends among the local students but as the weeks and months go by, they started disappearing and sometimes won’t even say Hi when we meet in the school, which was a bit strange due to the difference in culture because back in Gambia, we have this culture of exchanging greetings when we meet one another, whether we are familiar to each other or not but I found out that people here don’t talk to strangers so I had to adjust myself and move with the rhythm because it is said that “if you go to Rome, do as the Romans do”.

The first Semester of our course was so busy that some of us started to get discouraged and had this feeling of going back but with the help our course assistant, Rosy Tu who was always making sure that we live a happy and comfortable life by inviting her Church Pastor to talk to us or taking us out for fun by organizing class trips. Hey!! And our previous student advisor too, Professor Pei Yu Chu; She contributed a lot towards our settlement by organizing a one on one counseling so as to know each and everyone’s troubles and constraints; giving us courage and letting us believe that the road can be rocky now but there will always be happiness at the end. These two people and the entire staff of our Department are the reasons why we are able to reach this far without been home sick or getting dispirited with the academic workload. Bintou Jallow, the only Gambian we met studying here, introduced us to different verities of Taiwanese foods from local restaurants, Local Street stands around the school as well as some famous night markets in Kaohsiung like Liouhe and Rayfong Night Market. But in the beginning, most of food had a very weird taste and smell because it was our first time trying something of that kind. At the time of writing this article, I found out that Taiwanese food is one of the healthiest diets in the world because it contains all the basic daily nutrients and most of it is not oily.

My first experience of Taiwanese food was on the plane from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung; although it was a very short flight of two hours, we were served with some delicious meal but unfortunately it contained pork, and by the time we know it, some of us have already started enjoying the meal. Ha ha ha!! As Muslims, it’s forbidden to eat pork so it’s always hard to choose what to eat here as most of the food contain pork or is prepared with pork oil. Some of my favorite Taiwanese foods are Fried rice炒飯with chicken/beef, beef soup noodles 牛肉麵, rice with cheese 焗飯, Taiwanese/Chinese buffet 自助餐 (便當) and teppanyaki 鐵板燒. The one I hate most and can’t even breathe its smell is STINKY TOFU臭豆腐. After eating a great meal, one must wash it down with a nice drink and I must mention that Taiwan have different kinds of teas and fruit juices but my favorites are Banana with milk香蕉牛奶, papaya with milk木瓜牛奶, watermelon juice西瓜汁, green tea綠茶, black tea紅茶 and soya milk 豆漿which I drink almost every day for breakfast. Second year of studies was so hectic that all we wanted was to go for summer vacation at the end of the academic year so as to see our families and at the same time help with the busy malaria season. That been the case, the Director of Center for International Affairs (CIA) through the School Administration helped us achieve this dream and it was so great to unite with our families and love once after two good years of absence. That was the best moments of our four years studies because everything happened as a dream and it was so fast that before we know it, the time to board that airplane and come to join the marathon was up.

Third year happened so fast, like the blink of an eye that I really don’t have a lot of memories about this time of my four years of reading. This could be due to the fact that am just from home that summer break so all I was thinking about is finishing studies and going back home because there is nowhere like home even though I love it so much out here and had loads of fun. The final year came with the biggest blow I could ever have imagined while living in Taiwan. While everyone was so happy and eagerly waiting for June 7th, 2014 which is our graduation date, we got this bad news about the break of Diplomatic ties between Gambia and Taiwan. It was such a worrying moment for all The Gambian students studying in Taiwan because everyone thought that we will go back at the end of the first semester but the University administration stood by our side and were able to convince the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue our scholarship. And we were so happy to learn from the school authorities that the University was willing to offer us scholarship if MOFA decided to stop our scholarship. This news made us feel more proud of the Kaohsiung Medical University and its administration. That been the case, we can’t wait to be call KMU alumni and it was just last week that we had our white coat ceremony and now ready for internship. I must conclude this article by saying that Taiwanese are the coolest people I have ever met in my life time. They are so humble, friendly, and peaceful. You won’t believe it but I have personally never seen Taiwanese having a physical fight since my arrival to this beautiful island, which is a good sign of the peace and harmony prevailing within them. I will miss this country so badly after going back home especially the Night Markets and the yummy food. Love river, central park, Chijin Island and of course Brickyard are some of the places I enjoy hanging out or taking a walk so am really going to miss those place a lot. Taiwan is my second home and I will sure come back to visit after returning home. God bless the Republic of China and its people.

Prepared By: SAIDOU NYANG