I never really thought about it much, but this last trip to Malaysia really showed me how, in the twenty years I’ve lived in Perth, I’ve become very much assimilated and used to Australian cultural norms. I told Deputy Uber Boss, who’s the one in charge of my trip and the whole project, that because of my cultural background, cultural shock wasn’t one of my difficulties last week - and it wasn’t especially, but I still had a few moments when I had to pause and regroup, so to speak.
For example, while at the College last week, I had a moment of minor shock when I needed to use the toilet and found that all the toilets were the traditional squatting sort. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it, but it took me a few seconds to reconcile myself to the fact that if I was going to have to go, this was how I was going to have to go! I was quite amused at myself, because it’s not as if I hadn’t used innumerable squatting toilets during my childhood years (and at least Malaysian toilets afford their users privacy - someday I might tell you my wonderful experience in a public toilet in Beijing). It wasn’t that bad once I got over the initial eep! feeling - there’s actually something very natural and even comfortable about squatting when you have to go!
Oh, and I’m never moaning about Perth public transport ever again. We have such a great system here - prices are clearly marked, services are regular and the vehicles well-maintained. D and I were remarking on the horrific traffic in and around Kuala Lumpur, and then realising that we never saw any public buses anywhere! No wonder everyone has to drive. And the taxis in KL! Not once did I get in a cab that ran by its meter - you had to negotiate the price every single time you got into a cab, which is quite a hazardous procedure for an ignorant tourist. The discrepancy in prices was huge too. For example the price to get from Point A to Point B might be X ringgit, but for the return trip, the price could be almost double - the reason: “Traffic very bad, lah!” The Light Rail Transit system is a definite plus for KL!
Speaking of the traffic, the number of people who openly flouted the road rules was scary! And I’m not even referring to those drivers who ignored the marked lines on freeways (so that it was not uncommon for a road marked with three lanes to have four or five lines of cars squeezed in!) and kept weaving in and out of traffic. I never saw so many people parked at corners (weren’t they worried someone would hit them?), at fire hydrants, on yellow lines, or in wheel clamp zones, or people running red lights or stop signs, or not indicating… This is not to say that Perth drivers are perfect (try morning peak hour traffic for examples of charming behaviour - not!), I just saw so much bad driving behaviour in KL. The Malaysians whose cars I rode in had a range of theories to explain this: “Everyone wants to get the better of everyone else, so you have to join in…” or “People here just don’t care!”
I’ve become so used to the fact that smoking is banned in public places in Perth (and Australia generally). So you would never see someone smoking in the lobby of a hotel, for instance. I got pretty sick of the smell of smoke while I was in Malaysia. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, and if there’s one thing that I’m pretty intolerant about, it’s cigarette smoke. Ugh! /rant: I still get a bit peeved with many Perth restaurants, where the smoking areas are the outdoor areas, so that if you want to enjoy the outdoors while having your meal you also have to put up with cigarette smoke. It doesn’t make sense to me - seeing as smokers enjoy their smoke so much, why shouldn’t they alone have to put up with it? Let them sit in an enclosed space so that non-smokers don’t have to inhale their pollutants! /rant (Okay, so maybe this last point has little or nothing to do with having lived in Australia for twenty years…)
I’m not trying to Malaysia-bash, because there’s a lot about the country that I genuinely like. The amazing variety of amazing food, for instance. The atmosphere: the sights and sounds and smells. I loved waking up every morning to the low whistling call of an unidentified bird. The people too are generally so friendly and warm - and I love being able to speak Malaysian English (or Malay, or Cantonese, or Mandarin). 
The picture on the right is a view from my hotel window; I enjoyed looking at the lush green and wondering what the unidentified bird must look like…
I suppose my experiences of both Malaysia and Australia are common to many migrants. When we arrived in Perth, I was a sulky teenager who desparately wanted to fit in, and I resented the fact that I look and sound different, and that my childhood memories were so different from those of my peers. Skippy the Bush Kangaroo? Young Talent Time? It felt wrong to admit that I had never eaten a sausage roll before coming to Australia.. Errr.. what about Cumi dan Ciki, Rasa Sayang (that tacky kids’ variety show on tv every festival), Mamee (a snack that Mum didn’t like me eating - too unhealthy!)…
Now I like the fact that I can function in both societies, and I like my role as cultural interpreter and translator! I had a fine time explaining the morning (and afternoon) tea concept to Aunty I. “How can Australians eat so much?” she said. (The idea of having a cuppa and a snack at 10 or 10:30am, not long after breakfast, was bizarre to Aunty I.!) I pointed out the Malaysian love of going out for “supper” a few hours after dinner. And the Malaysian ability to eat anything, at any time of day. (I could go on and on - perhaps a topic for another post or two.)
Categories: travel, culture, Australia, Malaysia
A shot of the two of them together!
