Assalamualaikum and hi!
I am back after deleting some of my previous blogs and posts. These days I can hardly commit to writing since I have my twitter and instagram to rant about my life.
However, I decided to start writing back that InshaAllah can benefit others as well.
I always imagine myself having my write-by-its-own-journal, yknow like some sort of thing that can record all of the things that happened in my life (because I am bad with taking pictures, videos, and much worst in writing).
Alright anyway, let me introduce myself and the purpose of having this blog.
My name is Manirah binti Mahmad. I am currently enrolling in Oregon State University as an undergraduate student with Environmental Science major and Environmental Health and Safety minor/specialization. This is my second year but since I was transferring from Intec, my current class standing is Junior and hopefully I will graduate on time (mid of 2018).
Oregon State University.
It is one of the campus town in the US that is located in Corvallis, Oregon. Ask me what I love the most about it? The campus during school days and all seasons. I really mean it because when there are holidays and such, this town will be super quiet and not as cheerful and crowded. That is the main reason why I travel a lot during breaks (winter especially) and be back to Malaysia for summer. There is nothing much to be done around here unless you have a car. But I can guarantee that the education here is one of the best that I ever get. I finally figured out the differences between learning and memorizing. Here I LEARN a lot of things. Oh ya, not to forget, we have three Thai restaurants along Monroe st. (Main street near campus) and yeah that is how I figured out that I can survive living here without my best friends *sobsobsob* (no, I don't eat outside everyday as we can cook at home and cooking is cheaper). And halal foods, worry not if you do not have allergies or something like that. Here I always opt for seafood and some restaurants like this one mid-east restaurant is totally halal and some other restaurants have halal options too. We also have supplies of halal chickens, Asian markets, and halal market. Since I think cooking is the best way to suit my taste, I cooked the dishes that I crave at home *not a really good cook and still learning*.
There are around 50-60 Malaysians here, not as many to compare with other universities and I think only a few of us are either MARA or JPA sponsored kids.
There are always pros and cons of having less or many Malaysians around.
And, I also worked here to earn some money for myself. Allowances from JPA is always enough and I never experienced shortage of money. I think it is always good to have some money that can be I used to work as a cleaner of Memorial Union building for a term (yep, it is pretty common to hear students working for Building Services). After getting my SSN with that job, I became determined to get myself a job that can help me to improve some skills and communication. Alhamdulillah, I got a job as a lab computer assistant on International Living and Learning Center. So, I mingle with many students, fellow co-workers, and other staffs that came from different countries, cultures, and background. Which I really love it.
I think that's it for now. For the next post, I will write about university applications and hopefully, that will help you guys to apply for universities in the States specifically Oregon State University.
