The first thing 13-year-old Nur Sahirah Sharul did when she heard of her mother's posting to Mozambique, Africa, was to Google the location of the country and the exact area where her family was going to stay.

Unlike her younger siblings Hazman Akmal, 12, Hamizan Akmal, 10, who were all fired up to move, this top achiever who was Petronas Best UPSR scholar in 2006, wasn't as excited.

"I was initially reluctant to leave my friends at SMK Kota Damansara," she said, adding that her mother had accepted the Finance Manager position with Petronas Carigali in Maputo, the country's capital, last August.

In fact, her mother, Norazira Harun, 39, had decided to leave Nur Sahirah behind in Kuala Lumpur with her grandmother, but with dad Mohd Sharul's constant prompting, she decided to follow her family.

"Only for one year, that's all," Nur Sahirah warned her father, convinced that she would return home.

"I had not even heard of Mozambique prior to my mother's posting and my impression of Africa was one of a vast desert, with lots of beggars and undernourished children on the streets."

Now, the Form Two girl, who scored straight As in her UPSR, and who is currently enrolled at the American International School in Maputo, says she loves schooling in Mozambique.

"It was difficult initially to adapt to a new environment at school. While we talk to each other in English, we have different accents - British, American and African, and sometimes it is hard to decipher what they say," she said.

Although, she's now used to the different "slangs", she still loves the Malaysian accent best adding that it is "unique".

The education system at the international school is very different compared to that of Malaysian schools.

She prefers the American system as the students are not cooped up in classrooms all day.

"Our classes are held at different locations which allows us to get out for some fresh air before we walk into the next classroom ... it's a university-like setting, totally different from Malaysia where the teachers come into a class for a lesson," she said.

"We are also expected to do presentations in class which involves hours of research on the Internet. Presentations can be difficult, but over time it has given me self confidence," Nur Sahirah said.

The Internet is used extensively in class to keep up with the times. School assignments are also e-mailed to individual students.

"I think it is an excellent tool as I don't have to carry exercise books to school. As soon as I am finished with my assignments, I can immediately send them to the teacher," she said.

In just a few months, Nur Sahirah emerged as the top scholar in French, Mathematics and Art, which are among her favourite subjects.

Her other subjects include English, Social Studies, Drama, Music, Science, History, Geography and Physical Education.

"The classes are smaller, there are no more than 12 students in a class compared to the 30-odd students back home," she said adding there could be up to 500 students in one form alone.

"With smaller classes, there is more interaction among classmates and that's how I've forged strong friendships with Juliana, who is of Indian origin, Baylea, Victoria and Ally, all from the United States and Paola from Belgium."

On weekends, she spends nearly almost all of her free time chatting with her friends in Malaysia, either via e-mail, Yahoo Messenger or MySpace.

She also makes time for her 71-year-old grandmother who lives in Kajang, Selangor, by chatting with her on most Saturday mornings over the Yahoo Messenger, using voice and video, adding that it is just a six-hour difference between Mozambique and Malaysia.