From Myanmar to the World: My Journey Of Adaptation and Growth

My name is Kelvin, and I’m from Myanmar. Because of the Civil War, all the schools were closed immediately after the coup, so I traveled to Singapore and then the UAE. Most of my friends and I went to study abroad, and some of them came to Singapore with me, but some stayed in Myanmar. The schools reopened after five or six months because the fighting mainly happened in the north. However, there is still a possibility that people aged between 18 and 35 will be drafted for military service, so I chose not to go back. Additionally, the currency has depreciated a lot since the coup, and even the prices of basic groceries have risen a lot compared to three years ago. There is also a possibility that I can't return to Armenia, and there's a lot of danger in some civil war areas over there. All my family members are in Myanmar. I haven’t seen them for quite a long time.

It was the first time for me to study abroad when I went to Singapore. It was only my mom and I abroad, and we faced many challenges. For example, it was COVID-19 at the time, and as I went to a new school, the environment was completely new, and I had to make friends. The school I went to before was also an international school, so I got used to it quickly. Although the schools in Myanmar had older facilities compared to the ones in Singapore, the friends I made in Myanmar were very valuable to me. The school in Myanmar had fewer students than in Singapore, so the teachers can give you more personal feedback. The teachers’ teaching skills are pretty much the same, because I went to international schools in both countries, and these teachers come from all over the world, like England. 

Later, I moved to the UAE. When I first went to the UAE, it was very hot, because it was always summer. I’d never experienced this type of heat before. However, I got used to it fast. I've only done IGCC and IGCSE Pearson at Excel and Cambridge, and they were Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Further Pure Maths, Computer Science, French, and Design Technology. I like Physics and Design Technology the most, because I have an interest in STEM and want to do engineering in the future. Later in the UAE, I did six Pearson subjects and three Cambridge subjects. I got eight nines and one eight. It's a good grade. I also got an award for getting the highest mark in peer Maths in the Middle East. I am planning to major in engineering, such as chemical or mechanical engineering, and I hope to attend an engineering university.

Now, I am in Armenia studying at UWC. I lived in Yan over the winter break because I couldn't return home. I live with three other friends from UWC. It has a traditional vibe, but it’s also quite modern. It is a cool city with many things to do, and it has interesting architecture: for example, the Republic Square, the Upper House, the Cascades, and North Avenue. I'd say it looks more like a European city. However, I still like living in Myanmar better because I'm more familiar with the setting there.

My first term at UWC was so different. UWC has a very complex environment because you have to meet people from different places with different thoughts and opinions. You will also have to live with them every day. The interactions you make can impact your experience here, so you must be thoughtful and considerate. That's why it's a great place where you can learn more about yourself, grow as a person, and develop your mental state. At other schools, after you finish school, you do your clubs, you go back home, and then the next day, you go back to school again. However, here, you're living with all your friends, so you can see their true selves and communicate with them. It’s quite different than in Myanmar.

My first main challenge was that the IB is more rigorous and challenging than the IGCSE, so you must be mentally prepared for that. Also, there are some social challenges. For example, you need to know how to connect with individuals and how to comfort your friends. Among all, time management was the biggest challenge, because at UWC, you're always doing something and have little time to relax. You need to manage when to socialize and when you shouldn’t. It can be mentally exhausting sometimes. That's why you should find a time or a place where you can disconnect from everything around you and just be with yourself. 

The school offers many activities, and you can also do community services. There are sport-related activities, such as basketball, gym, swimming, and badminton. I do robotics, a type of creative class, and photography. You can also do activities you create yourself. You can go hiking on weekends with a supervisor. Last term, we planned to go to a mountain called Maymekh. The first car broke down when we got there, so we had to wait for it to get fixed. It was tiring, but there was so much snow on the mountain, and I had never seen this view before. It was a lovely experience for me. When we reached the peak of the mountain, we could see almost everything in Armenia, like Lake Sevan and the mountain Ararat.

At school, we have a Southeast Asian community here, which comprises one Vietnamese, one Philippine, one Burmese, two Indonesians, one Thai, and one Malaysian. We are very close. We frequently have dinners and hang out together, and one of our physics teachers is also Filipino, so we sometimes go to his house to cook and watch movies. We have lots of similarities with each other because we grew up in the same region, and the countries have connections with each other, since Southeast Asian countries form the Asian alliance, and we can travel to each other’s countries without a visa. We know each other and we're not strangers, which is why we can have a good time together.

Multiple cultures are clashing here. You can learn more about other cultures to have a global mindset, where you can consider things from multiple perspectives. It is a great experience because when people from different countries come together in UWC, something very meaningful and impactful for the community can be created. When you graduate from UWC and university, you can always use your experiences from UWC to create something impactful for the world. I think there are some basic things about you, such as your background, that might be extremely interesting to share with others from different backgrounds. However, having people from different countries can be a double-edged sword. The disadvantages are that you might form misunderstandings. For example, Germany has a drinking age of sixteen, and some countries have a drinking age of 20. There are many discrepancies like that, so there can be arguments, and sometimes people don't fit well together. I’d say sometimes it becomes very stressful because lots of these struggles will come at you all at once, and it can get a little overwhelming.

- Kelvin

Armenia

Letian｜Content curator

Ruihan｜Editor

Ginny｜Translator