When My Life Changed
Given an opportunity to travel to another country of choice, it is not uncommon to choose the furthest country possible. This was me, on the 19th of January this year. It was my first time out of the continent and was eager to see what Malaysia had to offer.
With all this excitement of visiting new lands, I was really disappointed to be harassed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport by an Immigration officer who I suspect had other ulterior motives. After a two hour confrontation with the officers I was finally granted entry into Malaysia.
The AIESEC team welcomed me well and I instantly felt at home; just like Mombasa. Everything was the same; well apart from the skyscrapers and very short people. Being the only African in the entire group I stood out quite a lot as people were very interested to know about me and to find out whether all the stories they had seen on CNN about Africa were true.
I was very happy to share pictures of my motherland and show them how beautiful my country was. Personally, this was a reflection point as I was able to express all the things that I am proud about my country and my Africa.
During my 6 weeks trip, I managed to attend the Malaysia Youth to Business Summit. At this 5 day conference I managed to meet and interact with all the exchange participants in Malaysia. We were 45 of us, from all corners of this planet. It is during this week that I made very good friends. One thing that stood out was a certain girl of confessed to having never ever spoken to a black person. It came as a surprise as I thought by this day and age people would have interacted and managed to meet various races. She said she feared people of my colour, they were thought to be dangerous; associated with crime and violence. She was glad that I had changed her perception about all that and she is currently one of closest foreign friends.
Malaysia was an awesome experience; the food deserves a mention in this article. There was so much variety and for one who loves spices it was food heaven. The nightlife was great too especially when I met some of my Kenyan friends, they really made me feel at home. I managed to travel to many places such as Batu caves, Penang Beach and even crossed borders to Singapore. Singapore was quite memorable, especially Sentosa Island; one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.
Reading this article someone might think I was on holiday, this was not the case, I had travelled to participate in an ‘Electronic-waste’ project known as TechCycle . We collected old electronic devices from malls and peoples’ homes, refurbished them and distributed them to the poor. We then proceeded to teach them how to use computers and had workshops to educate children about electronic waste.
I cannot describe the tremendous experience in one sitting. To summarize it all up, I can say that because of this trip I plan to travel more in and out of the country. Travel in your youth. Meet people and explore what the world has to offer.
Thank you AIESEC for this opportunity!!
