I have been studying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia almost three months now. Time has passed very quickly. I have five different courses at the uni and I feel like some of them are similar that we could have in TAMK. In TAMK we do almost everything in groups but here we have more individual assignments which I prefer more.
I spend my spare time usually with my friends, the other exchange students. There are approximately 70 exchange students, mostly from Europe but also from the United States, Mexico, and Australia.
I have been traveling quite a lot around Malaysia so far. Almost every weekend I have been to different places inside Malaysia and it has been a lot of fun. I have visited for example Georgetown in Penang, Perhentian Islands, Tioman Island, and Langkawi. All the trips have included many hours on a bus. I still have many places where I want to go to Malaysia. During the past month, I have been visiting also in Cambodia, Borneo, Brunei, and Singapore.
During the weekends I feel like there is not that much to do at home. Sounds crazy- I live in Kuala Lumpur. However, I live quite far from the city centrum and you have to go by car every time you want to go somewhere because there are highways all around. There is not that option to walk from one place to another. That is something, what I really miss from Finland.
I live in a student house where most of the exchange students and local students are living. It is ten minutes walk from the university and a mall, where there are places to eat. In my opinion, it is cheaper to go to eat than cook food yourself. I usually eat at least once in a day in a restaurant at the university area. In Finland the student lunch is 2,60€ and here you usually pay approximately the same amount of a good meal.
This is my second time in Asia so I already had some experience with cultural differences. I think you will really get inside the culture and habits after years of staying somewhere. Malaysia is a Muslim country and you are able to see that in your everyday life, for example, women wearing scarfs and the Islamic call to prayer. At the university, I feel like some things are more strict, like the way you talk to the teachers and the dress code. It might be also because it this is a private university and students have to pay for their studies and also because some of the students are so young.
Overall, this has been a great experience and I still have one month to go!
Love,
Maria
All pics taken by me 😊
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