My first 10 cultural "wow" elements

I consider myself an open person when it comes to different cultures, traditions…. internationalism. Anyways, that does not mean that because of that, the cultural shock will run away from me. I have learned about this so many time ago, experienced it at a smaller level, but now I can say that I am living it at it’s fullest. 

I came with no expectation regarding my adaptation here. I might be a good thing or a bad thing, I do not know yet. I just wanted to see how it will be if I just go somewhere without over analyzing and over thinking it, just “going with the flow”.  First time without a back up plan in my life :)

I have been here for 3 weeks, and this is what I discovered so far about Kuala Lumpur and the life of a foreigner here.( European or not). 

1. Prepare the unexpected. This is my first advice. Do not think of what you could have here, or how it could be, just embrace it, do not question it much and deal with it. Things will be different, it is normal and you want that also, so just go with the “normal” of life here. 

2. Communication skills.  There seem to appear more post and articles about the fact that you are more communicative when you are all alone in a different country. Guess what, it is true! You do not give a damn about your past here, as much as people around you do the same. They just care where are you from, if this is the first time in Asia, where are you staying and how long do you think you will be here.  You will soon see that there are people who planned to come here for 6 months and are here after 3-4 years also. That is it. They do not care what day you are born in, what your favorite color is, or what is your background. They will get to know you if they want. If not, no. It is that simple.

3. People: Be prepared to meet a lot of nationalities here. I have met only 2 Malaysian so far, and a lot of internationals from India, Uruguay, Czech Republic, France, Mexico, China, Vietnam,  Poland,Canada, USA, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela…. and more. So, a very international city, where you will see a Muslim culture accepting the “weird and extravagant ” other cultures. 

4. Traffic. Prepare for chaos. I mean it. If you are a pedestrian, you are screwed. They do not have crossroads, so that means that you just have to cross the street “Indian style” how I like to call it. To make it even more challenging, there is no speed limit except the highway, and there are a lot..and i mean a LOT of motorcycles in the traffic just to make it more interesting. Oh, yes….they also drive London style, so pay attention. Be extra careful when you cross the street.  You have to look for the cars, not the cars for you. But, the good news is that you get used to it. I have to cross a highway of 6 lines to work every day, and I stopped being panicked about it. 

5. Food  Hm, where to start from. I though that coming here, I will be able to eat healthier and that they cook raw food and all that. So totally wrong. Malay cuisine is based a lot on deep fried stuff. Mainly everything that can be deep fried, they will make it. Also, be careful at the spicy.  My advice, do not go all macho at all the foods which are spicy, just try them at first. Some are very spice, some are acceptable.  If i’s very red, it is very spicy! 

Learn eating with your hands.  This is actually very cool and you will for sure do it, so just enjoy it. 

Knives. Well, remember that when you go to a restaurant they give you spoon, forks and knives. Yes, not here. You only have spoon and fork. The spoon will be your new best friend, as you will use it to cut your food. Crazy, I know, but it works. 

Plastic cups and plastic dishes. You will only find these at the local food place in the corner. 

I will have to come back to you about the food  here, as there are so many things to say. My advice: Just try everything! 

6. Indians, Chinese and Malays. Mainly, this is what you will pop into here. Malays work in the official governmental positions or the high level of education, Chinese work in the manufacturing things, costumer related or anything else, they are very helpful and usually they have also high education, and Indians work in low paid jobs. The local cheap places to eat, called Mamak, have only Indian employees. 

7. English of the locals. It is an adventure sometimes. They will understand you, but you have to be very very very attentive when they talk back. It takes a little time to get used to it. I am trying out an experiment now, to see if I can handle myself 1 month without learning any Malay words. So far…so good. :)) I use a lot of body language and looking them into they eyes and it works. 

8. When you do not know what to eat, follow one of your friends. At least, at the beginning it is easier ans safer. Just remember to ask them if their food is spicy. 

9. Liquids…. well, here it was a weird thing to see. There is ice tea and milk tea everywhere, but be careful when you ask for water. Malays drink also hot water at a meal, because they consider it healthier. You can give it a try, more when you have a sour throat, it works. Also, pay attention to the syrup which they use a lot. About alcohol here, there is also a tricky part.  In case you didn’t knew, it is a Muslim country, so no alcohol allowed to them, therefore expensive alcohol. You can not have alcohol on the street, as they will arrest you. You can find it in shops or in bars. 

10. Taxes. It’s crazy and unfair from my perspective, but what can you do. There are 2 types of taxes which I was amazed by. The first one is to the government, which are taking out of your salary and giving it back after you staying here 6 months. They want to encourage foreigners to work and stay here more than 6 months, and that is why they are paying you back the 20% they are taking you at the beginning. Interesting logic, what can I say.  The other tax which I totally hate is the “service tax” which you pay at a restaurant or bar. You will find the price in the menu, and at the end there is a 16% or 11% service tax, which you have to pay. It’s like tip, but more annoying. For example, when you are going out for drink and you have to split the check, you will see people taking their phones out to calculate the 11% or 16% of their total bill to pay.