Excursions

Beyond the Overseas Training Program

Taira Furuichi, Department of Mechanical Engineering

I was one of 15 students from Toyohashi University of Technology who took part in an overseas training program in Malaysia from September 1^st to 7^th, 2013.

I was very surprised to find myself in Malaysia because I had never been overseas before. This was indeed my first visit to another country.

We traveled to the city of Johor Bahru in Malaysia via Singapore by bus. This was also the first time that I had crossed an international border on land. Although I was a little worried, we entered Malaysia without any problems.

On the night of our arrival, we walked a little around the downtown area of Johor Bahru. Malaysia was not as hot as I had imagined. So, it was pleasant to stroll about. I was surprised to learn that English was understood everywhere in Malaysia.

From the 2^nd day, we joined a workshop at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The campus of UTM was larger than I had imagined and I was very surprised—it can take 30 minutes to walk from the dormitories to a lecture room! The students of UTM were very frank and it was easy for me to talk with them.

In the workshop, our group discussed the issue of climate change. In Japan, when we discuss climate change, we tend to only focus on topic of global warming. However, as the Malaysian students began to talk about the heat island effect in their country, I started to understand the differences of culture and the environment of Malaysia. On the final day of workshop, each group gave a presentation.

After that, we visited various places, such as Nusajaya and Tanjung Piai. We were able to experience traditional culture during our stay in a village in Tanjung Piai for a night.

Through this overseas training program, I once again realized the importance of the English language. For me, these 6 days were a memorable experience.