By Sarah Saw
Edited: Katherine Chiu
I'm Sarah Saw a Malaysian student doing my second year in Bachelors program (nursing) in Latrobe University in Bundoora. I used to study at RMIT but wasn't too happy.
I arrived in Melbourne last year and stayed in a place in St Albans (zone 2). I am Malaysian and I wear the the Hijab. Last year many people made fun of me at school and some after dark hurled racial abuse at me. I felt like I didn't belong at RMIT. I tried to access help at RMIT but could not. There was a male working at the student union and not many females at the union so I felt funny to talking to them about the racial discrimination.
Finding friends in Bundoora was hard as most of the societies were based in the City campus. There were a lot of boys in Bundoora and I wasn't so used to that.
I had so many casuals teaching me that year that they did not know what to do with me.
I work at Safeway until 9pm sometimes at night. And then I'd catch the the train home. More often than not I'd be really scared and sometimes a drunken youth or two will racially abuse me. No one else wanted to help me. In fact I felt like they wanted to be rid of me.
In St Albans there was many of the food that I used to eat back home in Malaysia so I was home right here. And Footscray market is nearby.
I am a Muslim. I pray about 2-3 times a day both at home and at uni.
Very soon after I came here, I started crying. I missed my parents very much. I used to be able to talk about everything with them and now I can't mainly due to the time constraints and differences. In Malaysia it be 9am and in Melbourne it would be 12pm. By then I'd be attending classes and they'd be just getting up. Also I could only really talk to them for an hour.
In the end I was so stressed that I ended failing my exams. I was not very happy with RMIT's action of not wanting to help me so in the end I transferred to LaTrobe who were more than happy to have Muslim students.I ended up joining a few societies and was very happy there. In fact my cultural stress went away now that I have found friends.
Edited: Katherine Chiu
I'm Sarah Saw a Malaysian student doing my second year in Bachelors program (nursing) in Latrobe University in Bundoora. I used to study at RMIT but wasn't too happy.
 |
| Image courtesy of Ready4work.my |
I arrived in Melbourne last year and stayed in a place in St Albans (zone 2). I am Malaysian and I wear the the Hijab. Last year many people made fun of me at school and some after dark hurled racial abuse at me. I felt like I didn't belong at RMIT. I tried to access help at RMIT but could not. There was a male working at the student union and not many females at the union so I felt funny to talking to them about the racial discrimination.
Finding friends in Bundoora was hard as most of the societies were based in the City campus. There were a lot of boys in Bundoora and I wasn't so used to that.
I had so many casuals teaching me that year that they did not know what to do with me.
I work at Safeway until 9pm sometimes at night. And then I'd catch the the train home. More often than not I'd be really scared and sometimes a drunken youth or two will racially abuse me. No one else wanted to help me. In fact I felt like they wanted to be rid of me.
In St Albans there was many of the food that I used to eat back home in Malaysia so I was home right here. And Footscray market is nearby.
I am a Muslim. I pray about 2-3 times a day both at home and at uni.
 | |
| St Albans station courtesy of web.stagram.com |
Very soon after I came here, I started crying. I missed my parents very much. I used to be able to talk about everything with them and now I can't mainly due to the time constraints and differences. In Malaysia it be 9am and in Melbourne it would be 12pm. By then I'd be attending classes and they'd be just getting up. Also I could only really talk to them for an hour.
In the end I was so stressed that I ended failing my exams. I was not very happy with RMIT's action of not wanting to help me so in the end I transferred to LaTrobe who were more than happy to have Muslim students.I ended up joining a few societies and was very happy there. In fact my cultural stress went away now that I have found friends.
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