Orient Express: Gabrielle’s adventures in Asia

Journey ends via Singapore

2009-12-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

It feels strange when such an amazing experience comes to an end; I was expecting to get serious re-entry culture shock but since I had some work lined up with a Member of Parliament the transition was little smoother.

Singapore was a great place to finish up as it was so clean and calm. People often say that it is like Perth but I can't see the similarities other than they are both clean but Singapore has an elegance and panash that Perth lacks. It was also the last time to get some decent food before going back to a western diet.

I've been back 3 weeks now and it has been nice to see the folks and friends as well as to finally have access to good coffee but as I reminisce about my time in Malaysia, I begin to plan my next adventure. I just can't help it!

Monash student completes internship at Australian High Commission in Malaysia

2009-12-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 December. Gabrielle Trenbath, a Masters in Diplomacy and Trade student has just completed an internship with Australian Education International at the Australian High Commission in Malaysia.

“Working at the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur was a real eye-opener as it provided a rare insight into the diplomatic community and the mechanics of foreign affairs. It was also great being able to put into practice the skills that I’ve gained at university” Gabrielle says.

“I wrote a pre-departure guide for future interns, looked into what Malaysians thought about Australian Education as well as developed skills in media issues management. The experience has complimented my academic studies and has made them more relevant.”

“Since Malaysia is one of Australia’s closest trading partners and a high number of Malaysians study Australia, spending time there is a great opportunity to learn more about their culture and way of life”.

Malaysia offers a comopolitan cultural environment and extensive corporate environment which makes it a perfect place to gain international work experience, apply skills that have been learnt at university and begin the transition from student to working professional. Malaysia also provides the opportunity to gain an insight into specialist areas such engineering, information technology and areas of emerging importance such as islamic finance.

Gabrielle also took part in events hosted by the High Commission such as a Networking Function, Cocktail Parties at the Head of Mission’s residence and breifings for TAFE students.

While the internship has been the primary reason for Gabrielle for being in Kuala Lumper she has also visited other parts of Malaysia. The food and the people she met are the things that will stay with her forever, she says.

Gabrielle was also enthusiastic about Kuala Lumpur as a regoinal travel hub. Interning in KL provided her with the opportunity to travel on discount airfares to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Gabrielle hopes to continue working in the international arena when she finishes.

For more information about internships in Malaysia, visit http://www.internshipsoverseas.com.au/

Count down to final week

2009-12-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

As the final week of my internship approches, thoughts of life back in Australia start popping in my mind at an ever increasing rate. I am beginning to look forward to things that I've missed while in Malaysia like good coffee, cheese and good taxi drivers. Also I start missing all the things that I have grown to love in Malaysia such as the food, people and my placement.

Finishing up at work has meant finishing up projects and presenting at the staff meetings.

This weekend is the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council end-of-year dinner which should be fun and the rest of the time will be spent going to places that I have visited yet and eating all my favorate dishes.

The benefits of interning in Malaysia

2009-12-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Malaysia truly Asia

As Malaysia is one of Australia’s closest neighbours and trading partners, an understanding of its culture and contacts will stand you in good stead for your future career. With its standard of living being lower than Australia’s makes being an intern or student here more affordable.

Kuala Lumpur's geographic location and its home to Air Asia makes it an excellent base to explore other parts of Asia during your time off or at the end of your internship.

Accommodation was a big problem. There are several options including websites with people looking for flatmates. Depending on the location of your placement, staying in university accommodation could be an option but make sure you give your self plenty time because those spots fill fast. There are also plenty of serviced apartments and while they are more expensive (some are cheaper than the Australia equivalent they are a good place to stay if you are really stuck. While finding somewhere to stay may seem a little daunting, the process defiantly adds to the satisfaction of knowing that you can make it overseas.

But whatever happens, you will have an amazing time is this interesting part of the world!!

life continues

2009-11-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

What has been unexpected about doing an internship overseas is the intensity with which things happen. While normal accordances like moving to new cities (with the challenges that that brings up), starting new job and having accommodation issues might happen over a space of 9 or 12 months, all these things seemed to have been squeezed into the last 2 months. The minute that one thing seems get sorted another problem comes up.

After settling in to life in KL and my new placement, accommodation suddenly became an issue and I had to find something fast. With some networking, research and giving the card a little workout, I went from condo living to expat living on Embassy row.

Living in downtown KL means that I can walk to work (past all these embassies that look more like nuclear bunkers) and work off the rich Malaysian food.

Work has been great, I have been doing a bit of media monitoring where it has been interesting to see which issues turn into dramas and which fizzle up and die without a trace. This week I officially turned into a geek and have started using Access to record and manage the details of Malaysia’s Polytechnics and Community Colleges. It's a little bit of a challenge to start the database from scratch but it has been fun. Also, got to do a bunch of little things like write a media release, chair the staff meeting, write a exit survey and look up random information for people which was all good fun. I also got the pre-departure Guide for interns ready for checking and comments!!

It has also been a few weeks of farewells with a function at the High Commissioner’s House to say goodbye to the education section boss and welcome the new one. It was great to meet the many people that AEI-Malaysia has contact with as well as others who work at the High Commission and as is tradition in Malaysia my pockets soon filled with business cards. The other goodbyes were to Sarah, a fellow intern and to other collages in the AEI office but that’s life at the High Commission where its community is transitory.

Last weekend I managed to go to Batu Caves and thankfully the rain stopped the minute I got off the bus and started again as I got back on. It was great exercise walking up all those steps and the view from the top made it all worth it. The monkeys were also very entertaining.

An Intern's journey enters new phase

2009-11-04T02:25:00.001-08:00

Phew, what a week!!

As of last week, I am now based at the Australia's High Commission in KL where I'll be working with Australian Education International. They are primarily the international arm of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and operates to promote Australia's education abroad and develop cultural exchange opportunities through their Internship programme, Endeavour Awards and Student Mobility activities.

My first week has been a blur of activities and adjusting to new security levels and processes. One of my first tasks has been to research Malaysians views on Australia's education system in the blogosphere and online forums. I have also been assessing the potential use of blogs as a method of providing peer support for Australian Interns as well as writing a Pre-departure Guide.

Life at an High Commission has been a real eye opener and one that I'll never forget. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that it is all about attending function after function and that promoting Australia's national interest overseas is just a small side show. However, the staff do really put in the hours to make sure that the tax payers benefit.

Having been here a while now, I am finally feeling that life in Malaysia is starting to make sense. It does take a few weeks to get over from the homesickness but the fun that I am now having and the exposure that I'm receiving to the mechanics of Foreign Affairs makes it all worth it.

Pearls of the Orient: Discovering Asia's Pearl Necklace I

2009-11-04T02:13:00.000-08:00

Many places in Asia seem to refer to themselves as "pearls of the orient" and at first I thought that there had to be only one but after second thoughts there is no reason why there couldn't be a string of one pearls to make up a necklace

An unexpected beak in my internship programme was a great opportunity for a spontaneous trip to Hong Kong. Luckily, there were tickets available for the following day's flight and soon enough I was flying out to Hong Kong and very excited to explore this great metropolis.

A quick and hassle free transit was a pleasant change from the usual KL dramas filled ones and set a positive tone for the next 5 days.

The day began with a quick coffee at the local coffee which actually wasn't bad considering it wasn't Australia. The following few hours were spent hopelessly lost exploring Sheung Wan with its meandering streets and with shops selling Chinese herbs and medicines while giving out a very potent smell.

Next stop was The Peak which was a great way to appreciate the sprawling sky line and defiantly lived up to its name.

Hong Kong Museum and Art Gallery truly transported you back in time and took you on a journey through history was also done. A beer from Belgium in a German Beer Cafe with Balinese Decor and French Cafe music on Hanoi Street was a good way to finish off a day sightseeing.

With so little time in this fabulous city, every minute was accounted far. A trip to Kowloon was planned for day II and the local park was explored with its Tai Chi practicing locals and amazing horticulture.

Soon it was the start of another day and there more parks to visit and places to explore. The Tea Museum was great and it was good to be reminded that the Chinese had a handle on tea long before the British

The next adventure was a trip to Macau. You only seem to hear about Macau's casinos but there is so much more to do and see than gamble. With its Portuguese history, it could really be any part of Europe with it winding streets and old buildings but the Chinese writing and lanterns defiantly remind you that you're in China. On a few occasions you would see things written in English, Portuguese and Chinese which was challenge to my previously held opinion that it was only the Swiss that had 3 dominant languages.

Dinner at an Irish Pub with friends from Perth and the light show that lights up the sky line was the perfect way to end a trip to a pearls of the orient.

Soon it was time to go back to Kuala Lumpur and leave this cosmopolitan city. Being a city girl through and through seeing the skyline through and through brought a tear to my eye but I will be back.

Pearls of the Orient: discovering Asia's pearl necklace II

2009-11-03T03:01:00.000-08:00

Soon enough the Mum arrival day dawned and she was picked up and almost instantly whisked away to Penang where there a whole town waiting to be explored.

While KL doesn't try to pretend it is any kind of jewel , Georgetown does pride itself on being as such even though its a little decrepit. Its old colonial building gave the place a little grandeur even though the British had long gone as well as making it well worth the visit. Like Macau, it was interesting to see the Dutch, Portuguese, British, Chinese and local Malay influenced this Malaysian town and the role that it had in the spice trade.

Two days later we took the coach back down south for a whistle stop visit to Malacca. Although not appointed a pearl, like both Georgetown and Hong Kong had also been strongly influenced by the Dutch and British.

But what really struck me about about all of these places was that their charm really stems from international trade and colonization. While these topics are seen as the source of the world's problems and equalities, their impact on cultures and societies, is what makes Hong Kong, Georgetown and Malacca such pearls. I can't really pick a favorite pearl so I prefer to regard them a a string of pearls.

Have you eaten yet?

2009-10-14T00:44:00.001-07:00

Apart from saying “lah” on a regular basis, a true sign of becoming a local is also developing an interest in food that boarders on an obsession. Food is one of Malaysian’s favorite topics and whether you have eaten yet is a commonly the first question that friends ask when meeting and tonight’s dinner begins to be thought about shortly after breakfast.

Since my arrival here in Malaysia, almost every meal has been an adventure which has been worth framing and keeping forever. The curries have been amazing, the noodles are to die for, the Laksas are unforgettable and as for the Satays…...

The Malaysian breakfasts beat the Australian breakfast any day with their rice, hard boiled egg and what tastes like curried fish.

One of my favorite places for food is Central Markets, not only because it plays a lead role in my dreams from about 4 am onwards, but because the food is good, cheap and hasn’t yet caused stomach dramas, which is very important when living away from home.

My local area has offered up a mass of places including one called “Marmalade”, while this café could almost pass as an independently-run cosmopolitan venue for mums and their babies in Glebe or St Kilda, on closer note it does disappoint. While the murals are good and the light furnishings are great, the decoration budget seems to have run out leaving the rest of café a little forlorn. The menu isn’t bad though and the fresh juices are certainly welcome after coming in from the humidity.

As with many other suburbs, chain restaurants have made their presence felt. “Secret Recipe”, while being midrange does good Asian, Fusion and Western meals while reducing the likelihood of having to drive a porcelain bus for the next 24 hours. It is also a good place if your taste buds have sensory overload and need some bland western food.

Unlike Australia, where there are many independent cafes and Starbucks has defiantly made its mark on my local “village square”. Being seriously addicted to coffee as well as devotee of the café culture, I was glad to have somewhere that provided an opportunity to caffeinate and watching the world go past while a cool environment. Their drip coffee certainly makes up for their consistently bad espresso brews.

Someone once wrote “don’t eat what you can’t pronounce” but if people took this seriously their lives would be the poorer for it. Malaysian food is often hard to pronounce but is amazing and completely justifying their obsession.

Selamat Datang

2009-09-28T01:04:00.000-07:00

No amount of poetry would describe that feeling of flying out on that cold Perth morning, not because it was September 11 but because of the adventure that was about to begin.

The activity at the start of this adventure are two internships, one with a policy insitiute and another with the Australian High Commission. It is a programme organised but the Australian Federal Government to get students engaging with Asia.

While saying goodbye to Perth is easy, saying ciao to the goast of homesickness and culture shock is a little harder. Thank goodness my Malaysian SIM card wouldn't let me ring home and chats with other backpackers soon helped to send this homesicknss ghost packing.

After his departure, a quick tour of the local area with a fellow visiter was the order of the day. The National Mosque, Islamic Arts Museum and the old railway station were all visited and admired.

As the weekend drew to a close and Monday rolled around, a visit to the Australian High Commission for an orientation briefing remined me of my reason for being here. Soon, the much anisipated first day dawned where there my mind soon started growing with a new facts about Malaysia.

One of my first tasks was to attend a CSR and Sustainabilty Summit which was an interesting introduction into the organisation's work as well as where Malaysia is at in this area.

People new to KL are always struck by the multicultural mix of its citizens and how Malay, Chinese and Indians all live side by side. While such a food being central to all cultures, Malaysians are famous for its love of eating. Not only food is thought about a great deal but it is often the first question that you get asked is if have you eaten. The minute I soon started think about what I was going to have for dinner soon after breakfast, which is a sign (so I am told) of being more like a local.

Looking back on my first 10 days I am filled with excitment about where I'll be living for the next three months. Having been inspired to explore more the South East Asian region I can see that it will be an oriental express of tastes, sights and smalls as well as an adventure of a life time.