Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Life and School in Malaysia

Malaysia is a country with a population of 25 million people. It has thirteen states and the capital city is Kuala Lumpur. It is located near the equator and the weather is hot with heavy rain throughout the year. Malaysia’s neighbor is Singapore to the south, and Thailand in the north. Malaysia’s population is made up of Malay, Chinese, Indian and other ethnic groups. Bahasa Malaysia is main language but Chinese, Indian and English are widely spoken.
Each race has their own special kind of food so there are many kinds of food being sold here. Some of the food is hot and spicy but still delicious to eat and most food shops are open 24 hours a day. Besides the local food, you can still find Macdonald or Burger King being sold.
The three types of schools found here are governments, private or international schools. The children goes to school everyday from Monday to Friday when they turn seven years old. The school terms start from January till November with three midterm breaks. The children in Malaysia stays in school till they reach seventeen years old before going to colleges. Students going to schools here have to wear uniforms and school starts at 07.30 am and finishes at 1.00pm with 20 minutes break. The main subjects taught are English, Mathematics, Science, History, Religious Studies and Physical Education. The schools have their sports day at the beginning of each year and school concerts in November. Football is a popular game in schools and the school will have matches with other schools in the neighborhood. Private schools children spent longer hours in school but they learn the same subjects as the government school students. International schools are for expatriates only.
The children here likes to play video games and cyber cafes are popular especially during the weekends. Going to the movies are also very popular and the theatres would have the latest movies especially during the school holidays. Listening to music is another way of how the children here spent their free time. They would download the songs from the internet or buy CDs from the music shops. Since the weather here is hot, the children do not need thick clothing but they still dress up in the latest fashion as other kids their age do.