UM students come from approximately 50 countries and regions. In this issue, we interview four students, from South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, respectively. They share with us how they met their first good friends at UM.
Miriam Akioma (Brazil & Japan)
Miriam Akioma, a PhD student in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), is a Brazil-born Japanese. Her friends call her Mika. Four years ago, she enrolled in a master’s degree programme in applied linguistics, offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at UM. After graduation, she went on to study in a PhD programme in the same field. Several months ago, she applied to transfer to FHS to study brain and cognitive sciences. Reinventing herself as a science major was not easy. Fortunately, she had the support of her professors and her friends such as Jerry Chen, who is from Fujian province and is now a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
On the day of our interview, Mika and Jerry were practicing volleyball in the Sports Complex. About three years ago, they met each other through some mutual friends. Later, they started playing volleyball together and gradually became best friends. They are both on the Postgraduate Volleyball Team, so they spend a lot of time together, having dinner, playing volleyball, or going to Zhuhai or Hac Sa Beach.
They remember fondly how they used to spend every night by the river in front of the Postgraduate House with another friend, drinking and chatting, often about their research projects. ‘We have different majors, but we can give each other advice, which helps improve our research,’ says Mika. ‘For example, when I experienced a setback in my research, they would give me advice, asking me to use a different method or do a better literature review.’
In December last year, Mika applied for admission to FHS to study a branch of neuroscience that is related to linguistics. With the support of Jerry and her other friends, she made thorough preparation. She improved her research proposal presentation based on Jerry’s suggestions and rehearsed with him before her formal interview with the committee members of the FHS. ‘Their support gave me the confdence to approach my current supervisor, Prof Yuan Zhen, and eventually I was able to deepen my studies on neuroimaging related to the bilingual brain,’ she says.
Stefano Murace (Italy)
Stefano Murace is an exchange student from Rome, Italy. He came to UM in mid-August, and will study here for one semester. In Rome, he was a master’s student at the Free International University of Social Studies (LUISS) Guido Carli, majoring in international relations. Soon after he came to UM, Stefano met George Lin through the PG Buddy Programme. George is a master’s student from Shenzhen, China, who majors in international relations and public policies.
Stefano was pleasantly surprised when he learned that George also majors in international relations, because he always wanted to learn more about politics and culture in mainland China and Macao. He had never been to Asia before he came to Macao. But when writing his undergraduate thesis in Rome, he learned of former Portuguese colonies in Asia, such as Goa and Macao. It happened that some of his friends who had studied at UM highly recommended this university to him, so he decided to give it a try, hoping to see a different China through the unique lens of Macao.
Stefano and George often dine together and like to hang out with their international friends. George teaches Stefano simple phrases in Mandarin and Cantonese, such as ‘Hello’ and ‘Thanks’.
Samuel Oliveira (Cape Verde)
Samuel Oliveira is from Santa Catarina, Cape Verde, and is a second-year student in the Department of English and a member of Choi Kai Yau College (CKYC). He says Portuguese or Brazilian universities are usually the frst choice for students in Cape Verde who want to study abroad, but he chose UM because he wanted to experience a completely different culture. Soon after his arrival, he met his current roommate, Fang Xiyao, who is from Heilongjiang province, China, and studies in the Faculty of Business Administration.
Samuel plays guitar in his room during his spare time, which his roommate enjoys very much. During the past Lunar Chinese New Year, they visited wet markets on the Macao Peninsula to experience traditional Chinese culture. Speaking of their common interests, Samuel says, ‘I love football, and I’m a member of both UM’s football team and the football team in my residential college. Xiyao likes video games. We both like the excitement of games, and that’s what we have in common.’
Sherleen Tan (Malaysia)
Sherleen Tan is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is a frst-year student in the Department of Accounting and Information Management and a member of the CKYC.
She met her new friend, Hua Ying, through an orientation activity. Ying is from Heilongjiang province and majors in business administration. Sherleen says, ‘My frst impression of Ying was “active”, and I was correct. She is indeed an active person. She participates in a lot of activities.’
Both in the same faculty and enrolled in the same course, they often go to class together. ‘We added each other on WeChat, and then we started chatting,’ says Sherleen. ‘I would tell her about the activities I take part in. For instance, the frst time I joined the cheerleading team, I was a bit nervous, so I told her about it.’ Sherleen says Ying also shares with her the lives of her friends in mainland universities, which deepened her understanding of China.
Source: My UM ISSUE 91