It’s me again, your favourite orang putih / ang moh student here. Just wanted to share a thought I had recently while talking to my friends.
I’m a big fan of the “Harry Potter” series, so I kinda started to compare studying in Malaysia to studying in the magical world. It sounds absurd, yup. Malaysian uni similar to Hogwarts? How come?
Well, I look at it from a different perspective. Here’s how I see it:
1. The magical scenery!
Malaysia has no castles (besides maybe Kellie’s castle in Perak), that’s a fact. But it’s the magical scenery that I’m talking about! Around my campus there’s a “magic tree” which is apparently inhabited by the ghosts. Other campuses have legends or “local” ghosts, that live on the campus itself, just like the ghosts of Hogwarts. Then, you can also explore the lakes nearby the campus, or local forests. Some of them have a couple of interesting legends connected with their locations and the non-human inhabitants…. How interesting is that!
2. Quidditch
Yes, if you’re studying in Selangor, you can join a real quidditch team! There’s a Malaysian Quidditch Association that’s pretty active. Damansara Dementors and other teams meet up for games around KL, and you are most welcome to join them! If you’ve always wanted to experience how it is to play a game while riding a broom, this is the moment! How cool is that, Malaysia?
3. The Great Feast
Did anyone say chocolate frogs? No thanks, I prefer my frogs in my Malaysian porridge for dinner 😉
The typical feast which we have for Chinese New Year with my hostel mates is just as awesome as the feast Harry Potter used to have in the Great Hall. We do a potluck, so with 10 people attending, you get over 10 dishes, and one of my friends always brings… the frog porridge from a nearby stall. And yeah, a tall glass with bandung in it looks a bit like a magic potion!
4. Rons, Hermiones and Harrys of Malaysia
The characters might be most famous because of the book, but come on – we all know friends on the campus, who behave just like the heroes from “Harry Potter”. Like my friend Nur, who’s absolutely like Hermione, but with a hijab. She literally reads all the books required in the syllabus – including the additional reading materials! I have no idea how can she do it. And then there’s my brave friend Jason, who lives in the hostel nearby. He knows all the haunted places around, and he visits them often, trying to meet ghosts and spirits. He could be an auror!
5. Studying in the middle of nowhere
Hogwarts was located pretty far away from London or any big city. The only attraction was the Hogsmeade village nearby. I bet some of you from UTP, UNMC or any other uni can relate – studying away from a city could be a bit “Harry Potter” style! Meaning: chilling out in the campus, and just occasionally visiting the village or magic forest. Or whatever else is nearby 😉