Well well well, where should we begin… Malaysia is… different. Different to our hometown in Germany. It’s different in language, mimics, gestures, clothing, food, it’s different in every kind of way.
We arrived late at the airport after both of our flights got delayed. The first thing that hit us was the heat. This temperature… after almost four weeks we still didn’t get used to it. The problem here is the humidity which we don’t really have in Germany.
One thing that we realized throughout the weeks is this open mind everyone carries here.
The people might stare at us because we’re from Europe and that’s kinda new to them but as soon as you just smile at them or need help they’re here and the best conversations developed out of those situations. Another thing we had to get used to is the lack of walking to your destinations… wherever you go, you take an Uber. Because of the humidity it is almost impossible to walk around for even just twenty minutes. But lucky us Ubers are super cheap and it doesn’t hurt your banking account too much.
The first week of university was super fun! We met all of the first semesters since they were new to the Limkokwing and we were too so we got put together into orientation week. The aim of this week was to get to know each other and the Limkokwing University. We played games such as Spelling bee or Treasure hunt around the campus and went on a trip around Cyberjaya, to Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, the Capital of Malaysia which is half an hour away by car. In this week we made a lot of new friendships and even managed to go on a little vacation over the weekend to an island called Penang. Penang is known for its amazing food which we can totally agree with. We went there by bus and that was the best bus ride we’ve ever had. We drove through Mountains and the view was just incredible.
Back from this vacation we were able to start this semester relaxed and with a lot of excitement. After a few issues in the beginning with a schedule that contained classes which were on a higher level than we could take, we were extremely happy to see our new schedule since we had classes to learn Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. The lecturers are amazing. They are super friendly and really funny. Plus they understand that we’re only here for a few months so for them it’s no problem if it happens that we won’t make it to one class because of traveling through the country. Of course we will try to avoid this since we’re here to learn something but it’s good to know that they’re not handling this too strictly.
One aspect you have to keep in mind if you’re thinking about coming to Malaysia is to set the bar of your standards very low which is not always a bad thing. Like when it comes to food… we’ve always had the best food whenever we didn’t care about hygiene or the looks of the restaurant/stand. Local street food with local people who might look at you strangely is the best.
There are some things that might be better to know before you choose to come to Malaysia. Such as this rare mystic thing called toilet paper. There is no toilet paper in any bathrooms anywhere. That’s not a thing here… just like tampons for the ladies out there… not a thing and hard to get. The hygiene in this country could be better in general.
The men over here mostly the Indian parts don’t cut their little finger’s nail. It’s some kind of fashion for them which is kind of strange to us but whatever floats their boat I guess! If you ever ask someone if the food you’re contemplating buying is spicy and they say just a little… it is. It’s hella spicy so don’t try or otherwise you’ll walk out of that place looking like Kylie Jenner with freshly made lips. In the end we all agree that this first month was amazing with a lot of ups and downs and cultural shocks that made us grow together as a group and individually aswell and we can’t wait for what this future in Cyberjaya holds for us.