Many people have asked me...why do you come back to Malaysia for your research when you can do it in the USA? Well....mainly because I want to expand developmental psychology research in Malaysia and hopefully work here after I graduate..... and then the next question will be...."Why work in Malaysia and not the US?" Let me tell you why(besides the fact that my family and closest friends being here)................
1. Malaysian warmth and hospitality!
You might be thinking....how would you know...are you a tourist? No, I am not...but I feel the warmth and kindness of my friends around me to others and with one another. A good example would be how my friend Kendra from the USA, who is currently living with me gets treated by ALL of my friends. They not only include her in all of the activities we have but welcome her as one of us within weeks! Thanks guys for being such great and friendly people!! Now....when she is not around...everyone usually asks...."where is Kendra? How come she isn't joining us today" :)
Hope you are feeling the love:)
2. The variety of food in Malaysia
I loooooovvee to eat! If someone videoed me and asked me..."what do you love about Malaysia?" My first answer without stopping to think would be "The foooddd!!". Yes, as a typical Malaysian ......I miss Malaysian food when I am in Hawaii and think about it alot! Malaysia not only has good food....but we have different types of food which can be found easily, and they all taste good and are authentic....from Chinese food of all types of dialect, i.e.Teochew porridge, Hokkien mee, Hakka lui cha, to Mediterrean cuisine, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean....and many many more! The best part of it is that you don't have to sacrifice an arm and a leg just to eat in a fancy restaurant!
From mamak food
To fine dining...we have it all:p
3. The best of both worlds
For a typical city girl, you would think my ideal living situation would have to consists of tall buildings, many shopping malls...basically a concrete jungle. Nope, suprising as it sounds, I love nature too, looking at greenery, smelling fresh air and not smog, etc. And......Malaysia is a great mix of both. I like how in a city like Kuala Lumpur, you are still driving under canopy of trees, and you get to see greenery too. We have world class shopping malls, great night life(Amazing actually), and beautiful places to wine and dine(better than many places I have been to in first world countries even). On the other hand, if you drive just about 45 minutes to an hour away, you get the view of mountains, hills, rivers, waterfalls.... and great weekend retreats and getaways..where you don't have to blow your budget to rest and relax from the chaos of the city. I just did that the past weekend at Janda Baik...and it was amazing!Watch out for the next post.
4. Great opportunities
What do I mean by opportunities? In alot of ways....given that Malaysia is a developing country, I have come to realize that there are many opportunities for new ideas to grow and take fruition. If you were to try and set up a business, there will be a good chance for your business to expand and boom in Malaysia because the economy is growing really fast, which leads to many job openings. I have known many friends who came back from Australia, USA and the UK because the economy in those countries were bad and they couldn't find a job...and when they got back here... they got jobs easily...some even within weeks! So...if you are business minded...take the chance and you might just be a rich person in a year!
5. Kindness and family values
One thing I realized about Malaysians is that many of us are deeply ingrained with good moral values. It could be our parents teaching it to us and possibly what we learn in moral class from the age of 6 up untill 19(even in college), but many Malaysians are very courteous. First of all, we were taught from young to respect our elders. You will not see a a young person calling someone much older by their first names but rather as "Uncle" or Auntie", as a term of respect because they are more senior. Second, I can see that many Malaysians still care about their parents even when they are busy...many make it a point to have dinner with their parents after a long day's work! And...Malaysians are generally kind people and others actually abuse it. For instance, there are many beggars going into coffee shops and restaurants asking for money...and many Malaysians tend to give, hence there are foreign syndicates profiting from begging! A friend once told me...both him and his friend experimented when they were kids to ask for small change from people because they wanted to make a phone call back to their parents, they manage to collect RM50 within hours! I think it is great to donate to beggars...just make sure they are not syndicates.......
There are many other reasons(e.g., not to mention how cheap it is to travel from Malaysia) why I would not hesitate when asked whether I would work and live in Malaysia in the future! Of course I would....Yes, I don't deny that there are crimes in Malaysia, and the fact that it might not be the the cleanest, but when you think about it? Doesn't the benefits outweight it's demerits? Well..that is for you to weigh.....but this post is my way of telling you that I love living in Malaysia.....and have no regrets opting to come back to continue my research:)
xoxo
Meiz
