This reflective report summarizes Mélanie Poncet's experience studying abroad in Malaysia through the TAR College program. Over the course of her placement, she observed and analyzed key cultural differences in the areas of religion, management values, school environment, and living environment between Malaysia and her home country of France. Through her travels prior to Malaysia and this semester abroad, she has gained a greater openness to different cultures and appreciation for experiencing new places as a way to broaden her perspectives.

1. COVENTRY UNIVERSITY
Reflective Report
Module leader: Marie Hardie
Module code: 2008SSL
Submitted by: Mélanie Poncet

2. Module: Study abroad
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Table of contents
I. Before travel
My experience
Why Malaysia?
My expectations
II. During Placement
Religion
Management Values
School environment
Living environment
III.Future & personal development
Challenges
Surprises
What I have learned
The changes I made
IV. Conclusion

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10 281 kilometres. It is the number that I
choose to face when I decided to come in
Malaysia for my studies. It is the number
that separates my house in France, my
comfort zone, and my apartment in Kuala
Lumpur. At the end of my first year of
bachelor, our school offered us to study one
semester abroad. We had the choice between
England and Malaysia. The aim of this report
is to reflect and to analyse this travel, not
just as a trip between friends, but as a real
cultural immersion. No one of the pictures
present in this report will be referenced
because I took all of them. I there are some
people present on the picture, they gave their
consent to be stated.
I. Before Travel
My experience
« De toutes les folies et aberrations qu’on
rencontre dans l’humanité, celle qui me
paraît la plus inconcevable, c’est que,
l’homme, pendant son passage sur la terre,
n’ait pas la curiosité de la connaître tout
entière. » (Of all the follies and aberrations
that one encounters in humanity, the one that
seems most inconceivable to me is that man,
during his passage on earth, does not have
the curiosity to know it entirely.) (Alain
Gerbault cited in Ludovic Hubler 2015: 44).
This quote is good to illustrate my will of
learning thanks to travel. I started this
learning 9 years ago. At 11 years, I did my
first little trip of two days in Germany. It was
a little travel, with my classmates, but it
brings a spark that never left since that day.
During the next 2 years, I benefited from my
school opportunities to go back to Germany.
To travel, at this age, is more like an
achievement. To be able to leave my own
family for a few days requires strength,
support and motivation. 3 years after my first
school trip, I did something I will never
regret, something which contributes to my
life learning. I left my family and my school
to study, alone, in Germany for 3 months.
This cultural immersion has been the trigger
of my will of discoveries. I started to write
my own blog, to keep my friends informed
of my immersion. Year after year, I took each
and every opportunity to travel, to exchange
and to learn from other cultures. I went back
to Germany for 1 month, but in another city
this time and I went to Portland in the United
States, for an exchange. I also participated in
Erasmus project. Our goal was to make an
international recipe book in collaboration
with students from Spain, Germany and
Poland. This project drove us crazy
sometimes, but we did it, and we were
finally proud to show everyone that, besides
cultural differences, we could gather our
ideas and join our forces in the same
perspective. Until now, I almost always
travelled for studies so I decided to make
another step. I joined a humanitarian project
in Madagascar in order to help children from
the local population. For 1 month, I created
and animated a summer camp for
disadvantage children. This project showed
me a lot about a new continent and totally
different culture from our western culture.
My last travel, before Malaysia, was
different again. I decided to do workaway.
The principle is to volunteer in exchange for
a place to sleep and regular meals. So I left
for 2 months, in a little Greek island, with
only my 20L backpack with me. It was a
challenge because for the first time I had the
impression to be really alone. I did
hitchhiking for 2 months, and it has been an
entire experience. To do hitchhike, it is to
discover the world inside a car. I met people
from different backgrounds, maybe people
that I would never have spoken in normal
times. During these 2 months, I volunteer in
a breeding and conservation centre for
Skyrian horses. I worked with people from
all the world: Irish, Americans, English,
Spanish, German…even Serbian! All theses
different experiences allow me to open my

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mind, to be more aware of differences
between people. Because thanks to culture,
nobody approach things in the same manner.
Why Malaysia?
As I said before, our school offered us to go,
either in Coventry University (England),
either in TAR College (Malaysia). I took
only one second of reflexion to know that I
wanted to leave for Malaysia. Because I
wanted to feel like a stranger. I wanted to be
stared because I am not a citizen of this
country. Malaysia, it is another continent,
languages, skin colour, culture and food.
England is still a western country, so even if
there are still many differences, the culture
shock cannot be equivalent to what I was
going to feel in Asia. It will also be the first
time for me in this part of the world, at this
time, Asia was a mix between cliches and
stereotypes. Going to Malaysia was also a
new challenge. New continent, first time so
far away (Portland in Oregon was at 8.000
km from Lyon, Kuala Lumpur is at 10.281
km), longest travel (at least 4 months).
Moreover, it was an opportunity that I did
not want to let escape. At our level of study,
it is a great luck to have these partnerships
between worldwide schools.
My expectations
When my departure started to approach, for
the first time since 2010, I felt something
different. I felt something in my stomach, I
felt apprehension. I felt fear. Because, for the
first time, I did not know what to expect.
When you decide to go one week in Spain,
you know what to expect because a lot of
your friends or even family went there
before you and told you about it. Sun,
beaches, dances, music and sangria. If, now,
I ask you about Malaysia, what can you say?
Nothing, and that is the point. I started to
read everything on the internet. Regarding
the food, about the customs, manners,
religions. I was expecting things I have read
in travel guides. As a girl travelling alone at
the beginning, everyone was telling me to be
careful because it is (mainly) an Islamic
country, women do not have the same rights,
they have to wear large clothes, to respect
the opposite gender… I am used to travelling
alone but my entourage started to create a
sense of apprehension. But an author whom I
like, wrote “Le monde est le miroir de nos
angoisses…si on a peur, il montre les dents.”
(“The world is the mirror of our anxieties…
If one is afraid, it shows his teeth.”) (Hubler
Ludovic 2015: 57), so I decided to see things
more objectively.
First of all, I was expecting to speak English
more often, because my level was not
excellent. Secondly, I did not know exactly
what to expect about our future university. In
France, I was studying in a little school of
500 students…TAR College has 22000
students. It is not just big, it is an entire
community. Maybe I was expecting more
classes and a higher level from the students
and the teachers. I was also thinking a lot
about our way of living. 9 girls in the same
apartment with only one boy…the war will
be declared. Finally, our apartment share is
going very well, even if we are 10, we learnt
a lot about sharing things, planning cleaning,
be careful to each other. Not easy everyday
but very enriching. For those who are going
to live alone for their internship, it is going
to be very different.
My first local
friend!

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II. During Placement
Religion
Aldous Huxley said, “to travel is to discover
that everybody is wrong.” in 1926 and I
agree with his quote. Before my travel,
people told me a lot of things, not
necessarily right so I had to experience the
culture to discover the real differences.
“Do not believe in anything simply because
you have heard it. Do not believe in anything
simply because it is spoken and rumored by
many. Do not believe in anything simply
because it is found written in your religious
books. Do not believe in anything merely on
the authority of your teachers and elders.
[…] But after observation and analysis,
when you find that anything agrees with
reason and is conducive to the good and
benefit of one and all, then accept it and live
up to it.” said Gautama Siddharta
(ThinkExist Buddha quotes). This is with
this quote that I want to start my analysis of
cultural differences.
Religions are a curious mix, here, in Kuala
Lumpur and the country turns into a mosaic
of cultures. Malaysia is composed of three
main ethic groups: the Malay (60% of the
population), the Chinese (20%) and the
Indians (15%). But we can find many
subgroups, especially in Borneo: the
Kadazan Dusun, the Bajau and the Murut are
present in Sabah (north state); the Iban,
Bidayuh and Orang Ulu are in Sarawak
(south state).
But all theses different ethics groups do not
have the same religion. Almost all the
Malays identify themselves with a religion.
Fifty-five percent of the population is
practising Islam, it is also the official
religion. Buddhism is practised by 17% of
Chinese (mainly), Taoism, Confucianism and
Christianism are also present, but less
represented. According to Ludovic Hubler
(2015: 487), “La Malaisie est le pays
musulman le plus moderne et le plus
prospère au monde” (“Malaysia is the most
modern and prosperous Muslim country in
the world”). France is a little bit different on
this point. More than 50% of the population
practises Christianism but 40% do not have
any religion. It does not have the same place
in our way of life.
Management values
Moreover, there are a lot of differences in
culture, at school or at work. Malaysia is a
collectivist country, people have a high
concern for others and are relationships
oriented. They use “we” and they are easily
integrated into groups. To pursuit his own
interest can be defined as a deviant
comportment. However, France is and
individualistic country, people tend to think
of themselves first and after, they enquire
about others. In Malaysia, there is also an
important respect for the elders. The
anthropologist Edward Hall founded the
field of intercultural communication with his
book The Silent Language in 1959. He
highlights the fact that Malay and Chinese
people need to build relationship before
getting in serious business. In Malaysia,
inequalities in power are considered as
normal, that is what is called high power
distance. France is considered more as a
low-power distance country. If there are
some major differences in culture, there are
also many differences in management. A
survey on Malaysian management values has
been created in 1992 by the Malaysian
Institute of Management. It shows how
Malaysia is influenced by our western
management techniques (Asma, 2001) and
how it deals with them. The table 3 shows
some differences between Malaysian values
at work compared to western values.

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Table 3.
Comparison between Malaysian and Western
Values
Source: Asma (1992)
School environment
At school, there are also many differences.
The teachers are more open to the students,
they are closer too. According to each
teacher’s culture (Indian, Chinese…), they
won’t use the same speech space. In general,
people stay in the social distance to interact
with each other.
TAR College has been created by Chinese
people and now, 90% of the student comes
from Chinese families. Contrary to Malay
students or locals, they are very shy with us
and they do not talk a lot, even during the
groups work.
One thing about the way of being here, when
people or a situation is awkward, people will
react with a laugh. I have been disappointed
by the level of education. Maybe because
TAR College is a university, but we do not
have so many classes as in France: 8 hours
compulsory in TARC contrary to 30 hours in
MADE iN. The teacher does not expect so
much from us, as we are not local students.
At the beginning, it was a little bit hard to
deal with the differences of language. For
instance, the accent. Asian people speaking
English is absolutely not the same as
European people speaking English. We
needed some weeks to use to it. But one day,
a Scottish man came to talk about education,
to hear “real” English was so relaxing. No
need to concentrate all the time to
understand what people are saying.
Sciences campus tour
Malaysian values Western values
Difficult to say ‘no’ to
superiors
Cannot take ‘no’ for an
answer as anything can
be done with adequate
resources
Face saving and keep
the other
Assertive, up front and
speak
person’s feelings in
mind
one’s mind
Informal relationship Formal Structure
Flexible and
accommodating
Procedure bound and go
by the book
Generalities Specificity
Patient and able to roll
deadlines
Time bound and
deadline driven
Indirect use of
intermediary to
Direct and to the point
when
convey the negative
news
giving feedback
Relationship and
group oriented
Task and individual
oriented
Respect for hierarchy Equal treatment for all
Non-confrontative Confrontative

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Living environment
If there are a lot of differences in the
working environment, there are also many
differences in the living environment.
Globally, people are happier. Maybe it is due
to the more colourful environment. As Pierre
Dac said “Si la matière grise était plus rose,
le monde aurait moins les idées noires” (“If
the gray matter was pinker, the world would
have less black ideas”). At school, in the
lectures classes, chairs are made of every
colours, for the Batu Caves, the stairs are
painted with the colours of the rainbow,
creating a magnificent colours gradient.
Stairs of the Batu Caves
Colours are also present in the religion. In
Hinduism, the temples, clothes, ornaments
are made with many different colours,
creating a feeling of happiness.
Maybe due to the mix of religions, people
seem more open to new cultures. We have
been invited to a local wedding, people
wanted us to try the food, to join them. In
France, nobody would ever invite strangers
to his wedding. But I exchange with local
friends, and it seems to be very unusual.
Maybe it is due to the fact that they are
living in a collectivist country, but when they
go out, only one person pays for everyone.
And the next time, it is another person.
When we arrived at the restaurant, each of us
asking to share, they laughed at us. Also,
when a girl and a boy are hanging out
together, the boy will pay, almost always. In
France, we can be used to share the bill.
Here, street food is common. Many young
people eat more often outside than at their
place. We can find a lot of canteens, little
restaurants or stands where you can buy your
meal to take away. Very efficient and not
expensive. Also, the food’s price here is
incredible. Compared to France, where you
can find a good meal for 6€
(approximately), here, you can have your
dinner for 1€ (4 ringgits) and at 1,5€ (6
ringgits) you have a good meal! The
standard of living is very low compared to
some of the western countries.
When we go to school, sometimes, in the
morning, we see people waiting for the
public buses. They are in one single file.
Something I never saw in my life, except
when I was 4 years old. And you can’t to
pass in front of them, unless you want to be
poorly regarded. A few words about food
too. You can have in the same meal:
potatoes, nuddles, eggs and rice…this is
incredible! You will never have this in
France!
The last thing I want to talk in this part is
respect. It can be linked with religion, ways
of living and also with education, that is why
it is the last one. There are a lot more of
respect towards women here than in France.
I went out, alone, a lot of times, in short and
tank top, like in France and I never received
a single word, comment or remark from a
boy. It is a thing that would never happen in
my native country. At the beginning of my
travel, people were telling me to be careful
because people are different…I am not
saying we should not be careful, but
sometimes, maybe due to religion or
education, people can be more respectful
than in our own country. And we need to
learn from that.

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III. Future Development
Challenges
I faced a lot of challenges during these 4
months. Sometimes, I though I will not be
able to face them, like the spicy food. I
would definitely never be able to eat a
proper curry before the end of my time here,
but I still can eat “a little bit” spicy!
The second challenge I faced is hanging out
alone. If living with 9 other French friends
was a real benefit, it was also a big
disadvantage. By being surrounded by
French, you cannot speak English easily. So
I decided to hang out with locals, alone with
them most of the time. At first sight it was a
challenge because I did not know if I would
be able to lead a conversation, but as we get
along, it was easier. A very good friend
taught me about religion, politics, royalty, a
learn much more about the operation of the
country with him than at school. To really
understand a culture, we need to live it, so
we need to meet people. I had the
I went to national match with local friends too!
opportunity to meet a reporter, she shared a
lot about her country, her food and her
hobbies!
Surprises
The first surprise I had was that people are
almost all speaking at least 2 languages.
Locals are very good in English because it is
the only common language between all the
different ethnic groups. For instance, Bryan
talk English, Malay, Iban (Borneo language),
Chinese, Bidayuh, Kelabit, Kayan and a little
bit of Indonesian. And he is not the only one,
some are also speaking Thai or Vietnamese.
Due to very close nations, people need to
adapt so they can handle differences easily.
In the same section as the language. There is
an illocutionary particle, “lah” used by
everyone. Thanks to this particle, people can
soften or harden what they are saying
(Goddard 1994).
My second surprise was the fact that there
are public holidays at each event in each
religion. But it is only one day. One day for
Christmas, one day for a prophet birthday,
one day for the new year… the only
exception is the Chinese new year, they have
2 days (but everyone is doing it)! Like this,
everyone can practise its own religion
without being disadvantaged.The expatriates
live in a kind of little village. You cannot
enter without showing an identity car/
passport. This is another surprise. They live
in a very different way, almost separated
from the local culture. And there are guards
everywhere, at each condominium entrance,
there are people watching, very different
than France. The first thing people say when
they know you are French: “You won the
world cup, right?!”…and they are often
happier than you. France is an exception for
cars too. I already noticed it in the United-
States, but many of the cars, here, are using
automatic transmission. Contrary to France
were most of the cars are still using manual
transmission.

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What I have learned
As European, we are not always aware of the
luck we have. It is a list of little things that
makes us aware of it. As a “tourist”,
nightclubs were almost always free. People
are often kinder, but it is maybe not
objective.
Also, I learned about the different way of
working. That each culture has a different
way of managing appointments and
decisions. Japan and the United States will
not do the same thing and it can create
cultural conflict.
The changes I made
Before coming in Malaysia, I was thinking
that I was open-minded. But now I
understand that we can always do better. To
live in here taught me a lot about different
religions, ethnic groups…I meet a number
amazing of different nationalities: French,
Malay, Chinese, Dutch, English, American,
New Zealander, Indonesian, Swiss man,
Brazilian, Scottish, Japanese, Thai. And all
of them in only one country.
IV. Conclusion
This semester abroad is more than a simple
travel. It is a whole human experience. I
learned about others, but I also learned about
myself. When I travel, I need to find
solutions to the situation I would never face
at home. When I travel, I learned to leave the
superfluous behind me. It was a little bit
different in this case, but it is still an
important point. By travelling, facing
challenges, I became more confident in
myself. I had to try new things: I did not
know I would be able to order, in Malay, a
menu!
To be able to study abroad is a big step to do,
but the profits we can have from it are often
bigger than what we were expecting.
This opportunity to come here, in Malaysia,
I was waiting for it since my first year of
Bachelor. And if I had to do it again, I would
do it again!
I want to finish this report with a quote of
Théophile Gautier: “Un des grands malheurs
de la vie moderne, c’est le manque
d’imprévu, l’absence d’aventures. Tout est si
bien réglé, si bien engrené, si bien étiqueté,
que le hasard n’est plus possible.” (One of
the great misfortunes of modern life is the
lack of an unforeseen, the absence of
adventures. Everything is so well regulated,
so well meshed, so well labelled, that chance
is no longer possible.)

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Acknowledgments
This travel would never have been possible without the help of TAR College, who welcomed
us for one semester.
Thank you, Ming for your help and your patience.
Thank you to Ariane, Hermine, Capucine, Zoé, Flore, Elena, Manon, Capucine, Antoine, my
housemates, it would not have been the same without them.
Thank you to all the locals I have met, for everything you teach me about your amazing
country. The pictures present in this report are with friends who agreed, we shared a lot of
precious moments together.
Thank you to my family, who always supported me in my ideas.

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References
Asma, A. (1992) ‘The influence of ethnic values on managerial practices in Malaysia’.
Malaysian Management Review, 27 (1), 3-15.
Asma, A. (1996) Going Glocal, Cultural Dimension in Malaysian Management. 2nd edn.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Institute of Management
Exploring Beyond (2000) Aventurier-voyageur [online] available from http://exploring-
beyond.com/apropos/a-propos-de-ludovic-hubler/aventurier/ [5 January 2019]
Goddar, C. (1994) The meaning of Bah: Understanding “emphasis” in Malay (Bahasa
Melayu). 1st edn. Honolulu: The University of Hawai’i Press
Hubler, L. (2015) Le monde en stop: cinq années à l’école de la vie. French Edition.
Brest: Géorama
Huxley, A. (1026) Jesting Pilates. 3rd edn. Paris: Petite Bibliothèque Payot
La Croix (2017) ‘Répartition éthnique et religieuse en Malaisie’. La Croix [online]
available from https://www.la-croix.com/Journal/Repartition-ethnique-religieuse-
Malaisie-2017-07-12-1100862241 [5 January 2019]
Malaysia Travel (date unknown) People [online] available from http://
www.malaysia.travel/en/my/about-malaysia/culture-n-heritage/people [5 January
2019]
Neese, B. (2016) ‘Intercultural Communication: High- and Low-Context Cultures’.
SouthEastern University [online] available from https://online.seu.edu/high-and-low-
context-cultures/ [5 January 2019]
ThinkExist (1996) Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism [online]
a v a i l a b l e f r o m h t t p : / / t h i n k e x i s t . c o m / q u o t a t i o n /
do_not_believe_in_anything_simply_because_you/12103.html [5 January 2019]

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Thank you
Submitted by: Mélanie Poncet