Dr. Schatz has worked for the Asian Development Bank and lived all around Southeast Asia. After earning a degree from UW, he joined the Peace Corps, which gave him the chance to live in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo for three years, 1966-68. Since then, Dr. Schatz's work (and play) have allowed him to return to Sarawak many times. In 2007 he simultaneously taught and conducted research at the public university in Sarawak called Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, or UNIMAS, through a Fulbright sponsorship. This past summer, when I was visiting during the Fourth of July, he proposed the idea of me studying as an international student at that university, and I liked the idea.
This is the backstory to answer the question, "Why Malaysia?" The short answer is "Because Dr. Schatz made it possible." But there are many benefits I can see of studying abroad at UNIMAS in Sarawak, Malaysia:
- Nowhere else could I study abroad and have the kind of personal connections I'll have through Dr. Schatz. I doubt, in fact, that UNIMAS would have accepted me had Dr. Schatz not instigated contact with them on my behalf. (See "UNIMAS Makes Room" post)
- English is commonly spoken throughout the country and is the medium of instruction used at UNIMAS. In many other countries it would be more difficult to communicate without knowing another language.
- Malaysia is 60% Muslim (and, some argue, an 'Islamic state'), and I will value long-term exposure to Muslim people and culture. My studies at Whitworth combined with my own personal endeavors to learn about Islam have given me a basic knowledge of the religion and a desire to dig deeper.
- I'm just flat out attracted to Asia. I've lived all my life in the West; this is a chance to experience the East.
- Sarawak has great cultural and religious diversity: Malays (Muslim), Chinese (Buddhist, Christian, other), Indians (Hindu, Christian), and indigenous people (Christian, Animist). I'll worship God with fellow Christians, as anywhere, yet in a different setting and manner from those I'm familiar with.
- Malay, the official language of Malaysia (as well as of Indonesia and Brunei), is relatively easy to learn. It uses the same Latin alphabet as English, has no accents or special markings, and there is no conjugating of verbs, as in French or Spanish. "Saya boleh cakap Bahasa Malayu sidikit" = "I can speak the Malay language a little".
- It's unique. How many people do you know who've been to Malaysia?
- It's inexpensive, especially when compared to a semester at Whitworth or in Europe. Round-trip airfare, room, board, tuition, and about 25 days of travel around the region (after the semester ends early May) will amount to less than I would pay if I stayed at Whitworth for spring semester.
This recently finished fall semester has given me the luxury of time to prepare for my trip. I did an independent study with Dr. Schatz that we called "Political Economy of Malaysia". Really, it has involved tackling an ad-libbed collection of material - books, articles, current events, and even research papers written by Dr. Schatz himself - about Malaysia and specifically Sarawak that constitutes what I should know before leaving. (See "Things I Studied Before Going" post on Malaysia-prep material covered this semester)
In summary: Why Malaysia? Because of Dr. Schatz, because it sounds really interesting to me, and because it'll be a good deal both financially and academically.
