The start of a new adventure!

I don’t know where to begin or what to talk about. I first arrived here in Malaysia about 4 days ago. This was not only my first time abroad but also my first time overseas. I found the idea challenging and frightening. They always said that in AIESEC the idea was to challenge yourself and that’s exactly what I did. Being only 18, it was a gutsy move and irrational as my mother would say. In 4 days, I managed to obtain a touch and go and understand the ways you can use public transport to get around Kuala Lumpur, in face the overall experience is so overwhelming, there are not enough words to describe the feeling of meeting new faces in a foreign land.

When I got here, everyone welcomed me with open arms. I soon found out that I would be living on my own without running hot water, a microwave or a stove, which soon lead to the question of how I was going to survive.

My fridge now consist of water and whole shelf dedicated to chocolate.

The first thing that I noticed here was the prayers that go on every few hours during the day. It is amazing as I have never experienced it before.

Another starling observation about Malaysia is at night, the city lights up orange. I have already forgotten what Sydney looks like.

They weren’t joking about it being humid here in Malaysia and I was not prepared for it. I have enjoyed the food and I have experienced some new ways to eat. I have learnt to eat the like the traditional Malays and that is with my hands.

I am also addicted to the street food that is sprawled out all over the street of Malaysia.

I was inspired about the way that everyone in AIESEC is so keen to help society for the better by educating and creating awareness about HIV/AIDS. There is such a strong difference between how it is treated here and back home in Australia. The topic is not openly spoken about and regarded as a taboo topic. The word sex or condom has negative connotations to it.

Society is changing and to keep up with the changes in perception, people need to be able to change their perceptions and become more open minded but that is always easier said than done. It is not to say that developed nations such as my home Australia are of any exception. HIV here is so commonly spoken about that it is rare to find someone who actually knows beyond surface level.

I am glad to be part of a project that is acting in favour of change and to stop discrimination and to educate others by their own will. People don’t recognise the amount of effort that is contributed in creating change. Creating change takes time and failures. I know this as I have looked over Awatif, Tiara, Puteri, Jaslyne and many other people dedicate their time to this cause whilst balancing their studies.

Change isn’t something that one person should carry. Only with people can change occur. Even here, it is clear that people are ignorant about the topic about HIV/AIDS and I feel a lot of it has to do with stigma and fear. No one should have to feel isolated just because they have HIV/AIDS. They are just as human as everyone else and have feelings. HIV/AIDS is not going to disappear if we sweep it under the carpet and by ignoring the prevalence, the number of cases will continue to grow.

I also learnt that the reason that it is so hard to penetrate the wider community about HIV/AIDS is that it is hard to hit them on a personal level but I feel all we need is love and hope, as corny as it sounds.

Signing off: Lily Cheng xoxoxo