Cheered on by a boisterous gathering of the Fifth Formers of 1978, the late Brother Director of St Xavier’s Institution, Charles Levin, shares with us his life story during a reunion dinner in a heritage restaurant in Penang on 4 June 2011. the St Francis Xavier’s School for boys, established by a French priest, who also started a school for girls. The medium of instruction in the schools in 1787 was Malay, a language that the French priest knew. Brother Charles, who had a flair for languages, spoke about the importance of adapting to change – including in the medium of instruction. That said, Brother Charles noted Malaysia does not live in isolation.