Wednesday, July 18^th marked the start of our home-stay at the FELDA community in Ayer Hitam, about an hour north of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Read more about the Federal Land Development Authority and why it was established in 1956. While becoming a part of the FELDA community, American students/teachers were paired with a student from UTM and placed with a family who expressed interested in hosting. I was paired with Yazlin and together we were placed with Mr. Abd Rahman Bin Md Basri (Rahman), his wife Maruyah Binti Mohd Irsat (Mar), and their family. 

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the leader of the community and the liaison for our trip, Zol. After being introduced to our host parents, our group of US students/teachers and Malaysian students gathered our bags and travelled to our new home for the next 4 days. On the short drive to our home, Yazlin started conversation with our host in Malay. Usually I am very conversational, but suddenly I realized that the next 4 days would challenge me as I would need to depend upon Yazlin’s translations to communicate with my host parents (which I became more and more thankful for as the night went on).  

Mar's oldest son, his wife, myself, Mar, and Yazlin

Our first night consisted of refreshments at 5:00 pm (i.e. a small meal between larger meals), then preparing to visit Rahman and Mar’s oldest son at his home in Ayer Hitam, a short 10 minutes away at 9:00 pm. I quickly learned that evening activities (including the night meal) start much later than in the United States.  Other members of our #AgEd2Malaysia team enjoyed visiting their neighbors, going out to eat with their host families, or watching the popular catfishing tournament. I experienced a variety of emotions while enjoying our meal that night—happiness, awkward silence, confusion, and anxiety. Slightly nervous about the social dynamics during the rest of my homestay, I quickly agreed to go shopping for make-up (at 10:00 pm) with Rahman’s daughters. This experience really helped to break the silence as we shared our interests in shopping.

The next morning consisted of nasi lamak (coconut rice) served with a fried egg and a friendly conversation over the photo album I brought from home. I am so glad I got the idea to bring photographs while reading I Will Always Write Back. The pen pals in this book always enjoyed viewing photos of each other’s family, so I thought this was a great idea to share photos with my host family. I left the house for our scheduled group tours with a renewed confidence that I had found a way to have conversation with my host family.

As we continued to share more meals and participate in the evening activities scheduled by the FELDA community liaison, I felt more accepted and we continued to swap stories about our families and interests. I felt like a part of the family when Mar loaned me her traditional Malaysian clothing to wear for a party that evening and Yazlin helped me pin my hijab in place. Rahman must have been proud as he insisted that we take a family photo before leaving for the party. 

Becoming a part of the FELDA community for a short 4 days has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences in my travel experiences. Perceived obstacles such as cultural norms, a language barrier, and multi-generational homes quickly faded as I was greeted with genuine hospitality and a family willing to teach me about their culture while I shared about my culture. This experience has allowed me to realize that most important facet of life is the people we encounter and the relationships we have the chance to cultivate with them. I will never forget the Basri family and hope that somehow I can repay the hospitality they’ve shown me in the future.