An American Boy
at the V.I.
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My first impressions of the VI as I can remember them from that first rainy June morning were perhaps some of the most humbling I had ever felt. Crawling through the Form One and Form Two students on the wet floor of the V.I. Hall, I felt as if I were some unexplained phenomenon. Those at whom I smiled merely shot back unfriendly glances, not unlike those of an animal whose territory is threatened. Life at the Victoria Institution looked unfriendly, and I did not look forward to it. On the first day at afternoon lines, I was called to the back and greeted later by what I can now see was a very friendly prefect. He asked me my name and if I had any questions, and formally advised me to get a badge and a name tag.
I was called later a few more times and thus was acquainted with the Malaysian system in which students are the overseers of discipline. As time progressed, I grew to see the prefects as inhuman (not inhumane), somewhat immortal beings whose domain ascended beyond the privileges and niceties of even teachers. At times, this awe bred hatred, but respect dominated, and I came away to admire this system in a great way, as it was something entirely unfamiliar to me in America. After morning assembly on the first day, Puan Salha escorted me to the class in which I was to stay for the duration of my exchange: Lower Six BM1. After a few days, things became cemented for me. I figured out where things were and, most of all, I made friends. Being only sixteen years old, and in a Form Six class posed no problem to me, even until now. However, I wonder how things would have been like had I stayed in a Form Four class with students my age. I certainly would not have been able to meet any girls! One big frustration for me was that, in the United States, I had met an Old Victorian who had become a doctor and was a friend of my father's. As he had been a V.I. student before independence, the school was then still run by the British and so the medium of instruction was British Standard English. Hence I had come to Malaysia with the idea that I would be able to participate in the school as an active member and to further my studies in a different system. Thus I was quite dismayed when my chemistry teacher told me that I should "enjoy the culture of Malaysia and not worry about school." Though it was good advice, it was disappointing and gave me a few regrets.
Though it is not good at all to lament on and on about various regrets, I feel it is necessary to voice them for future exchange students, as I am sure, many Victorians will later study abroad. First, as I have mentioned, I regret not being able to seriously study. However, as I later came to realize, it was quite impossible for me to have a command of Bahasa Malaysia in only two months, let alone one week. Thus, this has ceased to give me any further problems. Second, I regret not getting more involved in various societies and after-school activities. There is really no excuse for this. However, this regret stems directly from the third: I deeply regret not staying for a full year. As many students, parents, staff and taxi drivers have told me, two months is a very short time. When I was filling out the application in the U.S., the period of two months seemed logical and fitting, whereas the period of a year didn't appear even as an option for me. However, now I see that it is really a short time, though there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, with one day left of school. These are really the regrets I will take back with me when I depart this Sunday. Though only a temporary student I found myself increasingly prouder and prouder of the V.I. Having heard rumours even in the United States of the prestige the V.I. carried, it was no wonder that I was proud to be a Victorian. As I became used to B.M., I came to find that when people asked me how I liked my school, I would proudly say, "Sekolah saya, Victoria Institution, ialah sekolah yang terbaik." Though this pride may seem commonplace to most Old Victorians, I find it interesting, because the primary pastime in the United States is criticizing one's school. So the pride I developed for the Victoria Institution is something that I have grown to enjoy and love, something so drastically different from the school spirit that I had known before.
I would like to extend special thanks to the V.I. Interact Club for taking me to Alor Setar, a time during which I first experienced my V.I. patriotism. The five Interacters who went with me became such close friends to me that I am sad I have met them so late, leaving just as our friendship began. Of course, I have many thanks I would like to extend to Encik Shuib and Puan Salha and to all the teachers at the V.I. I would like to thank the prefects for their amazing tolerance (I was late to school today for the first time!), and my classmates and friends for making this stay enjoyable. Without their assistance, my stay would have been difficult and unhappy. As it has turned out, it was easy and went by so very quickly that time spent here seems so unrealistically short. So this is the end, and it makes me sad. I know I will return to the V.I. in the future, for I am drawn to it by an allegiance so strong that I find it very difficult to leave. Russell Farhang 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After V.I. Russell Farhang returned to the United States and finished school. He graduated from Princeton University in 1996 from the School of Public and International Affairs and moved to New York City. After a brief stint working as an engineer at quant firm D. E. Shaw and at Citibank, Russell spent several years performing, touring, and recording as a full-time professional jazz violinist as a key member of the Howard Fishman Quartet. In 2003, he returned to quantitative finance to focus more on people, operations, and general management. Russell is currently a Partner and Chief Talent Officer at PDT Partners, a leading quantitative investment firm. Russell lives in Connecticut and New York with his wife, Cynthia von Buhler, and their dog, rabbit, three cats, 80 pigeons, 10 chickens, and two pigs. In 2009, mindful of Russell's experience in Malaysia, Russell and Cynthia hosted an exchange student from Thailand for the year. After almost a quarter of a century, Russell kept his promise to himself and visited the V.I. again in December 2024. He tried to get in touch with someone to meet with but did not succeed. So he walked around the Old School a bit by himself.  
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