Studying in Malaysia: between metropolis and jungle

My time at Asia Pacific University in Malaysia

5 months on another continent, in a country I had never been to before: Malaysia. During this time, I got to know a new culture, nice people and myself better. Looking back, it was the best experience I had during my studies and I would always choose to do it again.

My name is Lea-Mariel and as part of my International Business bachelor-degree, I was able to spend one semester studying Business Management at APU in Kuala Lumpur. I always wanted to study abroad, but I couldn't imagine it financially. When my university added Kuala Lumpur as an option, the dream suddenly became a reality, because the cost of living is lower and I could afford the rent.

With the organisational support of World of Students, I flew from Hamburg via Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur at the end of August. After the long flight, I actually missed going through the right passport control, but I knew immediately that I did something wrong and got my visa stamped. In hindsight I would have kept a reminder on my phonescreen.

At APU, I took the courses Operation Management, E-Business, Behavioral Science in Organisations (BSO) and Managing Finance. At the same time, I had to complete a practical project online with other international students from my semester. BSO was my favorite because I found the lecturer the most likeable and was generally interested in the subject. It was particularly exciting when we looked at the differences between the leadership styles of men and women. I found the study workload to be somewhat higher, as we had to write assignments in all courses, as well as a final exam at the end and an additional presentation in 3 courses. The campus there is much bigger than the one at my university in Germany and you meet lots of new people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Students from over 130 countries are supposed to come together at APU, which was really nice to see. Especially at the Culture Night, where the different cultures were celebrated. People were dancing, they organised a fashion show, everyone sang and there was a good atmosphere from start to finish. Definitely my highlight at university!

I opted for a room in a hotel between the university and the city, which we booked via Airbnb. At Kommune Living & Wellness we had the advantage that it was cleaned weekly, but you were also right next to the park ‘Permaisuri Lake Garden’. There are not that many parks in Kuala Lumpur and it was the perfect place to go for a jog in the morning before the midday heat. There are also delicious & cheap food spots nearby, a cute café (Diastole) and now also supermarkets. As there were also other German students living there, it was always easy to share a Grab (=Taxi), which saved costs. Public transportation was not always easy to reach. At the end of our stay, we got familiar with the trains, as the station is about a 25-minute walk away. I recommended to use it, especially if you're planning to go into the city on your own and don't want to book an expensive Grab. There are also special sections for women only. You also avoid the traffic, which can make the journey time longer at peak times.

In the City, you can go shopping in various malls, e.g. Pavilion or in the Mid Valley Mall, which was really nice. Kuala Lumpur is a particularly good place to eat out. I had one of the best pizzas there, but also tried recommended vegan restaurants such as Towzen (ramen) or Kusa Vegan (sushi). As a vegetarian, I didn't have it easy at first because sometimes there was meat in nasi goreng, but after a while I knew what and how to order. I miss my favourite restaurant ‘77’ near the hotel the most, where they prepared various dishes with tofu on request. Roti Telur or Roti Pisang at mamaks are also a must-try!

The city is also really beautiful at night when Merdeka 118, the Twin Towers and the skyscrapers in general are light up. It’s worth it to check out when the next light show is at the KLCC. At the Central Market on Katsuri Walk where lots of sweet stalls are, I tried cendol once. It's not really my thing, but we got chatting to the two owners. Later, they invited us to their Christmas dinner, which was funny, but we didn't keep in touch.

During my semester abroad, I stayed in Malaysia, although I also went to Borneo during the semester break. I took short trips to Georgetown, Ipoh and Melaka, which are easy and very cheap to get to by bus. However, it was also possible to travel further away during my studies, especially as we had Fridays completely off and therefore, had an extended weekend. I really enjoyed the short trips, as I did them with other German students that I got to know during my first few weeks at APU.

All in all, I am really grateful to have had this experience and will definitely return to Malaysia (not just for the food, haha). The semester abroad gave me the opportunity to experience a completely different way of life and gain many new impressions through the different cultures that Malaysia unites. My personal life lesson was probably: Don't stress yourself out so much. Not that I don't do it anymore after my semester abroad, but in Malaysia I had the feeling that everything will work out somehow and that you can take your time. I want to take that feeling with me to Germany and I'm excited to see where my next trip will take me.