One of the things people ask me when they hear I am from Malaysia is, “What is the biggest difference you see between here and home?”

Without having to think for too long, my first response would probably be that people drink a lot more here than I see people do back home.

“You mean they don’t drink at all?”

Heck no. My dad brings out can after can of beers for his friends and drinks with them whenever they drop by to chat.

My brother visited the bars but preferred the roadside “stalls,” like pool halls or the gyro stand on Welch, but with tables and chairs set out as well, that sold local food and coffee.

My friends and I would hang out at places like Hard Rock in Kuala Lumpur and they would order a drink or two, but mostly we would be soaking up the music, dancing or yelling at each other over the noise.

When I first came here, it seemed like drinking was the thing to do.

While not everyone I knew drank, a lot of people did (and still do), and drank every weekend as a matter of course.

The thing I understood the least was how being drunk was so much fun.

Puzzling over this, I have often asked why drinking is such an attractive activity for so many students, and I have often wondered why there is such a difference in our concepts of what is fun when it came to alcohol.

Some of the thoughts that crossed my mind is that in Malaysia, having a high tolerance for alcohol isn’t exactly exalting in the eyes of society.

People who drink frequently and get drunk often tend to be labeled ne’er-do-wells, and those who do get drunk from over-enthusiastic celebrating and need to be taken care of tend to feel guilty and a little ashamed the next day.

Here, it seems like getting drunk is more of a joke than anything. People tend to laugh it off and think it’s hilarious when they talk about how they puked all over the bathroom or had a heavy hangover the next day.

Because so many other people drink, being a person who says “no thanks” isn’t easy either.

When everybody thinks that drinking is “cool,” it’s hard to think otherwise, since a lot of our perceptions and values are shaped by the people we interact with and it’s only human nature to take the path of least resistance.

From a personal point of view, I think that there is nothing wrong with consuming alcoholic beverages.

After all, it’s just another liquid that elicits certain biological reactions, and water, coffee, and Mountain Dew would all qualify.

I do think, however, that a lot of people consume alcohol without thinking about the particular biological reactions it produces.

Of course, when you’re drinking to relieve stress and try not to think about anything, thinking about what the alcohol might do to your system sort of goes against the spirit of it.

However, not thinking about it seems to produce a lot of inconvenience at best, for people who have to clean up, and at worst, it can lead to tragic incidents.

It was appalling for me to learn that in past Veisheas, people have been known to get into residence hall bathrooms and smash everything up—sinks, urinals, everything.

Last year someone was caught smashing up a public telephone for no real reason.

And today I read in the paper that about 80 percent of the people who knew of sexual assault cases said they were alcohol-related. I’m sure we’ve heard the stories.

While I understand that this winter has seemed longer than most and the arrival of spring is cause for a big celebration, I do hope that people will stop to think a little before they take that next drink.

A little bit of thought can go a long way.

Crispina Chong is a junior in journalism mass communication from Malaysia.