My memorable M’sian trip
SOMETIMES it’s easy to forget that there’s a world outside the country you were born into.
However, with the ease of travel and communication across the world, there’s really no excuse to stay in one place anymore.
In September 2012, I left Lancaster University in Northern England to take part in an international cultural exchange that would see myself and a group of fellow students spend three weeks in Malaysia at Sunway University.
Having already met some Sunway students when they visited Lancaster earlier in the year, I was excited to see what the country would offer.
I am however ashamed to admit that I knew embarrassingly little about Malaysia, and had little idea of what to expect. But that’s part of the joy of travelling and I was certainly not disappointed.
With Sunway staff and students as our guides, we went around the university campus and Kuala Lumpur (KL).
Our schedule was a packed and varied one. We attended talks on how to be successful in business, visited the Finance Ministry and learned about Malaysia’s political system. We also gained an insight into academia at Sunway; touring departments from business and management to psychology and arts.
There was also time for community-based volunteering where we planted trees in a national park and visited several homes for underprivileged children with the StART Society.
All in, the rich range of activities gave us an exposure to Malaysian life and culture while allowing me to see the differences and similarities between our countries.
Initially, the thing that surprised me the most about Malaysia was the apparent “westernisation” of many aspects of the country.
Visiting malls and bustling city centres, there were times when I felt that I could have been anywhere in the world.
With the gigantic Sunway Pyramid shopping mall and the theme park Sunway Lagoon, it was apparent that a huge amount of money had been invested in places like these.
We had no problems finding directions, signs and products in perfect English, and there were plenty of familiar brands and advertisements displayed throughout shop windows.
I had been fully prepared for language barriers and culture shocks but there were few in these places.
Thankfully however, not everything in Malaysia was Westernised. If there is one thing the country has in abundance, it is diversity.
The greatest example of this for me was the food. We were introduced to all aspects of the Malaysian food scene during a “food tour” of KL. We tried Chinese cuisine, Nasi Lemak, and visited Brickfields for banana leaf rice — my personal favourite.
It soon struck me that Malaysia has a little bit of everything; Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western culture, food and language, and a bit of urban and rural elements.
The history and culture is as diverse as the food as different influences collide and combine to make something unique.
It became apparent very quickly that good hospitality was something to be taken seriously here. As guests, we were warmly greeted and spoilt with good food.
One weekend was spent at a homestay experience in a kampung to help give us an idea of the rural side of Malaysia. The host family I stayed with, despite speaking very little English, was extremely welcoming.
By this point, I had picked up one or two words of Bahasa Malaysia, and exhausted myself saying terima kasih and makanan sedap.
The students from the varsity were great company throughout the trip, and we appreciated having friends to show us around. Any culture barriers or communication difficulties seemed superficial at most, and we soon felt at home.
There is a contradiction here though. On one hand, I found Malaysia a diverse, different and totally unexpected experience. On the other, I found it familiar, welcoming and easily accessible for a non-local.
Clearly, there are many different aspects to this country — probably far too many to experience in a three-week trip.
And that’s all the reason I’ll need to make a return visit. I’ll certainly recommend visiting Malaysia to other English students.
And I’ll go with them; because sitting here in my freezing cold hostel in dark and rainy Lancaster, I’m already missing the weather, the people, and of course, the food.
The writer is a student from Lancaster University who visited Malaysia in a student exchange programme with Sunway University.