The conference this time was held in Penang at Batu Feringghi. A quick check on Google revealed that it meant Foreigner's Rock. I wonder why. Perhaps because of its name, foreigners flock to this stretch of the beach in throngs every year just to see the Pearl of the Orient.
During the conference, I was one of the few Malaysian participants. Naturally, participants of the workshop who were from overseas assumed that I knew the general information they seeked about Penang. For example, the length of the famous Penang Bridge , whether we could take a U-turn at the end of the bridge, its famous tourist spots as well as popular places to wine and dine.
Unfortunately, I am a bookworm and a workaholic. I do not know much about KL, my home state - Perak, nor myself. How would I know how long the Penang Bridge is? or the best place to shop in Penang? In my feeble attempt to disseminate these information, the best that I can with statements that began with "I suppose..." and "Ohhh... I'm sorry... I think you have to ask the taxi driver about that." , we gradually diverted to other topics such as work and politics.
It is, suffice to say, a little embarrassing if one didn't know about one's own local states. For a person who spent 99% of my time in my home country, I ought to know the rough estimate of oil production rates in my own country, the demographics as well as remember its famous sight seeing spots.
All of a sudden, I realize that, when we attend these international conferences, we not only represent ourselves, our families, our organization, but at the same time, we also act as ambassadors of our respective countries. Hence, under these circumstances, in any international meetings and conferences, alternatively, we may also term ourselves as delegates . So, we need to live up to our names, sweep every corner, and sharpen our knowledge on every inch of the country.
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