my cute little juniors….
no, this is not about me finding a gf among the newcomers who came last week….
only one week here in russia and they have became the topic of discussion among the seniors during out free time in class…
they sure know how to attract our attention, in a rather wierd, funny, or you can even say "embarrassing" way…..
i dun really know how to comment on this, coz even being in the 4th year staying here in russia, this is the first time i’ve encountered this phenomenon, one which i have no idea how to react : to cry, or to laugh……..
maybe it’s the gap generation, coz i seem to find this group of juniors having a seriously wierd fashion sense…
read this line carefully : THEY WEAR THEIR WHITE LABCOAT EVERYWHERE THEY GO! TO THE SHOPPING COMPLEX, TO THE BUS STOP AND EVEN IN THE BUS!!! EVERYWHERE I TELL YOU!!
imagine a medical student, wearing a labcoat, walking around in the shopping complex choosing which chicken to buy, which grape is cheaper, and which toilet paper has better quality. i dun know bout you, but the thought of it now makes me malu….seriously…if i have a brother doing that, i would disown him right away…
even in msia, i dun think the med student do that right…..
or have i been in russia so long that i have lost track of the latest trend now??
whatever it is, they are in russia now and they should menguak/mengembek like everyone of us here…
i can assure you that it’s not me alone who thinks this is wierd, coz i heard of several complains from other seniors as well….which share the same opinion…
and the worst part is, they are ignorant of this fact, even after our advice to them…..they walk in their labcoat on to the bus without shame, even with the russians looking at them in the wierd way….
still don’t see the problem with all these??
well, first of all, it’s not hygienic. you might bring infection if u go back to the hospital later….(of course this reason doesn’t sound concrete, but trust me, it’s very important)
in case somebody needs emergency help on the street, judging by how proud they are with their identity as a medical student, they will be the person of choice to be asked for help…being in the first year, i’m quite sure there’s nothing much they can do…..as a result, it would affect the med academy as a whole, and ruin our reputation as a malaysian….
mind you that not only doctors wear labcoat in russia. even the washing lady in our hostel wears it ( i do not mean to be discriminative). so while they are wearing those labcoats on the street being very proud of themselves as a doctor-to-be, the image projected in the russian’s eye might not be the same….
i can understand that they are anxious and all excited to "serve the community". and this might be their first time wearing a white lab coat. but while they are drown in their fantasy, i hope that they could be more concerned of the whole image and reputation…..they are to be kept and kept well. as a proud malaysian, i do not wish to project the image of jakun in the russian’s eye….
above all, i think the main reason is they are attracting too much attention by being the odd ones wearing such a "striking" outfit. in russia, as a foreigner, we do should keep low profile, esp when you are new and don’t know how to speak russian fluently.
i do not wish to see new students being beaten up again and we have to strike again like what we did 2 years back….
if u really love your labcoat so much, i suggest you wear another jacket on top of it….making it less obvious that you asre trying to show off that u are a medical student….
speaking of attracting attention, i recently went on a bus with the group of the 1st years coming back from their lecture. once boarding the bus, they start to speak to each other at the top of their voice, each with their mother tongue….and as usual u can see the russians looking at them with the bo song face….
this however, is not a new thing for us, coz every year the same problem happens.i believe when i first came we were like this also….in time, i think they will learn their lesson…
on a side note, you will always know when another malaysian is on the same bus as u, coz malaysians will be the noisiest ppl in the bus….with the familiar BM/manglish/mandarin/hokkien/ canto/ tamil….etc…
another thing worth mentioning about the juniors is that they have grumpy faces.
yes, when they first came here…the first impression i got when i saw them is that : have i accidentally killed their cats??
it’s as if we seniors here owe them or something. from arranging transport for them from the airport, settling their accomodations, carrying their unbelivably heavy bags up to 9th floor, cooking dinner for them for the first few days, to bringing them to go aound for grocery shopping, it’s like what we do is an obligation, something that what a senior should be doing. they did not show any sign of appriciation, just recieving what is given without any guilt.
of course, i can’t say this on behalf of all those seniors who helped, because i didn’t participate in all of it, mainly because i had to prepare for my exam…..but the feedback i got from many ppl about them are not so positive…
we do not demand respect, just asking you to be polite. it’s for ur own good. being a newbie here, it’s not wise to piss off your "elder" so early….you WILL need their help sooner or later, in one way or another….no matter how great you are in your studies, or how independent you are, it’s always easier to live with some guidance here…maybe one day when your wings are hard enough and able to soar in the sky by your own, you can forget about these juniors…
we don’t expect you to give a japanese bow, just a simple smile and a friendly "hi" will do…:)
we can give all the advice, but the final decision is up to them. we can’t control them. it’s their choice to wear what they want, and even to act what they want. they can continue to live here choosing to ignore our presence here…..to be rude and all. but when it comes to offering help, we have a choice too 
( this post might seem harsh to some ppl, and maybe none of them could see this, but i sure hope they do, and i hope they do not take it the hard way…peace!)
p/s: i wonder if this post is longer than liang’s "world longest post"??
