Tom Pepinsky

Category: Teaching

  • Brainwash Camp

    Lindsey and I (jm) had quite an adventure today.  We went along with my boss from work to talk with 35 Malaysian students who are heading off to the States for college soon.  They are all being sponsored by the National oil company, Petronas, and they get a four year free ride, all expenses paid, and a $1000/month stipend.  All they have to do is work for the government for 10 years after they graduate.

    We had no idea really where we were going, we thought it was out near the airport somewhere.  But our driver kept going and going until we were convinced we must have missed the place.  There were palm plantations as far as the eye could see, which actually did make for some fun wildlife watching from the car.  First we saw a bunch of monkeys foraging by the road, then we had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting a 4 foot long moniter lizard who was crossing the road very slowly.  Luckily the car behind us saw it at the last minute too, and we were spared watching a sad accident out the back window.  The lizard eventually made it across, but I fear at the rate he was going he wasn’t going to be able to outrun the pythons that live in the plantations (they feast on the rats, who feast on the palm nuts).

    We finally go to where we were going after almost two hours, and it was a compound like place in the middle of nowhere.  While driving around trying to figure out where we were supposed to be, we came across a pretty view and all of us did a double take.  Turns out we had reached the ocean, which was weird, especially since it was fenced off and there was no access to the water even though it was about 10 feet away.  We finally found the right spot, and there was no electrical outlet for our computer for the presentation because the New Zealand students and reps had the big auditorium.  So we just stood outside and winged it for an hour and answered some questions.  Most of the kids are going to the Colorado School of Mines, so Lindsey got to tell them all about that area which was very cool.

    Before we left, I asked the coordinator lady exactly what this place was that we were at.  She said it’s a camp where they do programs to "brainwash the kids about how good the Malaysian government is before they go abroad so they’ll all come back after graduating."  I kid you not.  This was quite a funny way to put it.  So after sputtering to try and come up with a reply, we made a pretty quick getaway (except our driver was a little lost and had to come back to get us).  The rest of the day was spent browsing at the fancy mall in the middle of town and eating yummy food.  We leave for Lankawi tomorrow morning, so we’ll write more when we can.

  • Laziness and Telephones

    We have a little bit of a problem at MACEE.  When trying to convince students that the US really is a great place to go to college, we have to overcome several obstacles.  The first is that America is "so far away" compared to the UK.  It’s only about 3 hours longer to LA than London, and once you’re past 12 hours on a plane, adding a little bit more doesn’t seem like such a big deal.  Another problem is the, "I went to the UK for college, so I’m sending my son/daughter to the UK for college" excuse.  That plus the, "what if they get married, stay there and never come back" arguments seem kind of weak to me, but what can you say?  That they’re just as likely to get married to a Brit and never return?  They’ve usually stopped listening by then.

    But I think that the biggest problem we face is that it takes quite a bit of time and effort to apply to and get into college in the US.  It’s a big process for Americans, and there are even more obstacles for international students.  The education system here leads nicely to the UK and Australian systems, and the kids are all familiar with those colleges and applications.  For both of those countries,  there are common applications (none of this each school has their own separate application) and there are more services that just match up kids and schools.  We of course can’t do that though, so when they come in expecting to get everything done in  30 minutes flat we have a problem.  On numerous occasions, I’ve had parents on the phone or in person asking me for THE list of scholarships, and then getting really mad at me when I tell them there is no list and they have to look around on their own.  Another problem is the visa process- granted the forms are a little bit complicated,  but never in my life would I expect to call somebody up on the phone and go through every single question on three forms with them.  But I’ve spent much of the past month talking people through the forms question by question when I can hardly understand them because they are in a car and have bad reception.  It’s like they can’t do anything by themselves at all sometimes.  One of the advisors from our other office has been doing this for years and has given up.  She just tells them that they better figure it out on their own and deal with it, and that they better get used to doing things on their own because nobody is going to hold their hand in America. 

    Don’t get me wrong, this is not the case with everyone I meet. I do also get to talk with some delightful, highly motivated students of all levels.  And one thing that Malaysians are very nice about is thanking you for your time.  No matter whether they are arguing with me or listening and asking very good questions, they always thank me for my time. 

    While spending all this time on the phone, I’ve slowly realized that phone etiquette is somewhat different here than at home.  I always answer "Good afternoon, MACEE" and then pause.  Almost every person will introduce themselves, and say where they are calling from (often where they work, their position, and the city that they are in).  Then they stop.  This is part where I get confused.  Sometimes they expect me to know them because they’ve called before.  Sometimes I think they are waiting for me to introduce myself, but they invariably start talking before I’m done with that.  Sometimes I just say hello, and they say hello back, and we go around in circles for a while until they decide to ask me a question.  It’s highly entertaining.