Wiltshire-KYUEM

What happened on the last week of semester would be a week I would remember for a long time to come. A group of students from Wiltshire, England came to KY for a week under the 'Leadership Conference' sponsored by HSBC. It was a program that transcended borders, religions, skin colours and age. As cliche as it sounds, it's true. We walked away from it, more alive than ever with new knowledge being gained and new friendships being forged.

We went to see bits and pieces of Malaysia; Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur and Pangkor . The Wiltshire students experienced a pretty big part of KY as well by being involved in some of the end of semester activities. From the Diwali Night to Christmas Party to End-of-Semester dinner as well as the epic basketball friendly match. We all had a taste of what each other had to offer.

And the people were just amazing. There was a nice blend of good humour, intelligence, sincerity and kindness in this group of people. And we were all just blessed to have had the chance to get together for a week.

A little note on each one of the Wiltshire peeps.

ESTHER. You're a beautiful girl who came to Malaysia with an attitude that I highly respect. You were determined and excited on trying on the different Malaysian foods and drinks, getting to know more of our local cultures and mingling well with the people in KY. I remember giving you the tour around the Islamic Art Museum and I was impressed by your keen interest on the Islamic and Malay culture that was on display. Made you all the more easy to talk to :)

VICKI (in the similar flowery maxi dress). Going shopping with you in Central Market and hanging out on the sandy Pangkor beach were probably one of the best moments we had together. You have such a good sense of humour and a bucket load of excitement and smiles. Make sure you're there to host me when I come around your town, someday =D

IMOGEN. Your laughters still ring through our ears. I've not seen anyone who could laugh as hard as you do! The sincerity and love of your friendship could clearly be felt and you're a dear friend we would all miss. Especially Zack!

ROSIE. You seem very quiet at first but behind all that quietness, there's that lovely girl who has the heart of gold. Your pretty hair-dos made the girls turned awe in envy. Please oh please, get yourself on Facebook so we can catch up on each other every day.

ROBYN. You have such an amazing voice! I love hearing you sing on the bus trips with the rest. You first struck me as Kelly Osbourne's doppelganger. Coupled with your bubbly personality, you've become someone so lovable. You're a good source for gossips too. Hehe ;)

EMILY. I loooveee your bohemian fashion sense. You're a bubbly girl as well and it's hard not to get along with you in a short period of time. Make sure you come back to Malaysia sometime soon.

BETH (in pink, on the left). Ohh, your non-stop chitter chatter and excitement kept us going for the whole week. It made me laugh every time you broke into never-been-heard-before songs like 'Chicky Chicken' and others (which I can't remember the names now). And missy, you need to get yourself on Facebook too!

VICKY (in white t-shirt). Vicky with the Y! I like how daring and spontaneous you can be sometimes. Your profile photo with you kissing the fish head cracks me up! I just wish I had spent more time with you to get to know you better. Next time, perhaps :)

ELEANOR. There's this harmonious relation between beauty and brains in yourself. Definitely so much more than just a pretty face. Go on and become a genius in the Science world so you can prove to everyone it's possible to be both; beautiful AND smart.

ALICE. You're such a talented musician. I wish you would have played the violin for us during your stay in Malaysia. And you're so sweet and adorable too! I wish you all the best in whatever you're doing. Next time you're here, make sure you play us some tunes okay?

LAUREN. You're a girl with a big heart. You probably had a rough life judging from the bits of stories you told us. But you turned out better than anyone in your situation would and that is definitely something to be proud of. Keep on going strong, girl!

TIMOTHY. Tim, oh Tim. You're so funny and full of expression! Your rendition of 'Telephone' is the best I've seen so far. You're different, stay that way. The world doesn't need another plastic around :)

BEN (the one being turned into a sand angel). Goofy. The first impression I had of you. I think that tall wizard hat you wore on the first night helped with the impression. Your jokes while at times were awkward, still made us laugh. Thank you for your goofiness :)

ETHAN. You can be a little too quiet sometimes but we still enjoyed your company throughout the week. We've found our version of Justin Bieber right about here. Do the Bieber flip!

WILL. It's a wonder how does a 17 year old know so much about a lot of things. I enjoyed our intellectual group discussions and you astounded me with the maturity of your thoughts. You look like someone who could end up on Downing Street one day. We shall keep an eye on that.

RHYS. What a cool, funny guy you are. It was such a pleasure working with you and I like how you are up-to-date on the current issues. Made conversations and discussions easier to flow between us. Thumbs up for that!

GREG. That 'Na na na na....Shifty!' tune has been stuck in the head for quite some time now. Thanks to you! But otherwise, you're a nice guy with a lot of wonders. Like a few others, I wish I had more time to get to know you better. More reason for you to come back next year then :)

CHRIS. You made talking about weather and snow a lot less dry and boring. You seem like a funny guy and I shall remember that cowboy hat you always put on. Keep me updated with the snow news there while I keep myself warm with the awesome hot Malaysian weather here ;)

And some photos from the week. In no particular order.

Farewell dinner at Headmaster's bungalow on the last night. Tears and songs accompanied our goodbyes.

Wet times on the beach in Pangkor.

Team Seamaster! Niesh, Will, Rhys and I.

Our topic of presentation: Overpopulation

Jumping high! With Qeela and Zack.

The whole gang at the Dutch Fort, Pangkor.

I love our bright pieces of clothing. Imogen and Vicki.

The climb up to the BOH Tea Plantation. Wasn't an easy one!

The Wiltshire basketball team

They played well against KYUEM

And ended up with such scores. Whooppss!

Enjoying the lush green view of Cameron Highlands

A trip to the Islamic Art Museum, Kuala Lumpur.

Queuing up for KFC On Wheels. So cool okayy! I never had my chicken directly from a lorry/truck before.

A shot before we went shopping around KLCC

Esther getting into the local culture by eating with her hands.

Diwali Night in KY.

Babes on the beach ;)

Showing off the biker henna tattoos they had from Diwali Night. Shifty Greg, Eleanor, Will, Rhys and Chris.

Cultural Performance brought directly from Wiltshire, England.

A photo-op with Cameron Highlands in the background.

We parted ways, wondering if our paths will ever cross again. Surely they will, one day. And if they didn't, there were these beautiful memories we had together to keep the paths lighted up. Till next time, peeps! :)

XOXO