Memorable green summer of Malaysian students

Malaysian students with the support of Ho Chi Minh City students interact with children in an English class in Binh Chanh district (Ho Chi Minh City) - Photo: BINH MINH

I am happiest when I see the smiles on the faces of the people I have helped because I know that I can contribute to society through my efforts to give.

FAIRUS (Malaysian student)

Not only contributing to the community, Green Summer also creates opportunities for young people from both countries to make friends, exchange cultures and learn from each other.

Volunteering is happiness

Arriving early at Tan Nhut Primary School (Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), a group of Malaysian students prepared for their English class. This class has been held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the past month for children.

Instead of teaching in the traditional way, international volunteers integrate foreign languages ​​into terrarium experiences using soil, plants, shells, etc. collected from the surrounding environment, and then make presentations using Microsoft Powerpoint.

This creative teaching method, along with the energy and enthusiasm of the Malaysian students, makes the classroom space very fun. They interact with students through body language, eye contact, combined with the support of students from Ho Chi Minh City. So even though it starts at 8am and lasts until noon, it still keeps the children interested until the end of the class.

George Ningkan Anak Surang said that despite many difficulties due to language barriers, weather, and new activities, the Malaysian volunteer group had a meaningful time in Binh Chanh district.

The day they worked on the park in Tan Nhut commune, it was pouring rain, and the group had to work with wet clothes. But when thinking about creating a neat and tidy playground for the local people, George said there was nothing more joyful.

"Looking at the results, we forgot all the hardships and fatigue. I will surely remember forever the feeling when I lit candles with my friends to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives. I felt the meaning of this activity when I knew that they were the ones who protected and maintained peace for Vietnam" - George expressed.

Meanwhile, Fairus Noor Balqis Binti Mohamad Fauzi could not hide her emotions when talking about the opportunity to participate in volunteer activities. As the president of the volunteer club at a university in Malaysia, Fairus said she loves these activities because of the feeling of fulfillment when helping others without expecting anything in return.

Cultural exchange and experience

At noon, students from both countries gathered at the home of the Vietnamese Heroic Mother to cook together. The meal was five courses, with Fairus making soup and fried eggplant.

While adding vegetables to the boiling pot of water, Fairus introduced a typical Malaysian dish. It was a traditional and familiar soup from her hometown, with the main ingredients being cabbage and coconut milk. Then she added some spices she brought from Malaysia to taste.

Muhammad Daniel Bin Abdul Rahman - a student at Pendidikan Sultan Idris University - said that this trip helped him realize many interesting points between Vietnamese and Malaysian cultures. Besides the similarities in space and scenery, Muhammad said that Vietnamese people take longer lunch breaks than Malaysians.

"We have prayer sessions during the day and that time leaves us with little time for lunch breaks like our Vietnamese friends," he explained.

George was impressed with the sugarcane juice mixed with lime to make it more delicious, which he only discovered when he came to Vietnam. "We only drink pure sugarcane juice, so the taste of sugarcane juice in Vietnam is very delicious and unique to me. Not to mention that the same amount of juice in Vietnam costs only 10,000 VND, which is very cheap," George laughed.

Muhammad said he enjoyed the culinary exchange between the two countries the most and enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese pancake for the first time. "The dipping sauce for the pancake is extremely attractive. We made and introduced Malaysian boiled chicken to our Vietnamese friends. That was my happiest day during this trip" - he excitedly said.

Working and supporting the Malaysians, Mai Quang Thanh Nhan (International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that this is the last year of his student life and he has his first experience with Green Summer after missing out on last year's campaign. Although he has to travel back and forth between his rented house in Binh Duong and the team's base in Binh Chanh district, which is quite far away, Nhan always arranges to be present for the activities that have been agreed upon by students from both sides.

Nhan said that although he had not gone yet, he had heard many friends talk about the team and the opportunity to volunteer with Malaysian friends, saying that this was a permanent team with a long campaign period, plus many interesting things as well as opportunities to learn from each other, so he was quite excited. "I decided to spend my last summer as a student to register and that is the reason I am here. Luckily, I did not miss out on the beautiful experience of my youth" - Nhan confided.

Extremely responsible and serious

Enthusiasm and dedication are probably the common spirit that Malaysian students bring to Green Summer Ho Chi Minh City 2024. Student Truong Thien Trang (International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University) shared: "The clearest feeling is that they are so enthusiastic that they don't care about rain or shine. And when assigned any task, they do their best."

Thien Trang said that despite being exposed to the rain and sun, everyone was tired, but they never let anyone worry and always showed their efforts to integrate and adapt. "At the end of each day, they focused on writing a report on the day's activities before doing their own work. I found them to be extremely responsible and serious," Thien Trang said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mua-he-xanh-dang-nho-cua-sinh-vien-malaysia-20240730232445635.htm