Program Description | Host Family & Community | Community Service Placement | Travel | Orientations | Eligibility
Program Description
Experience the magic of Malaysia—a rich collage of cultures, modern buildings next to traditional spice markets, and rainforests teeming with rare and endangered species. Imagine how your résumé will stand out from the rest of your peers with an experience in this fascinating South China Sea nation!
AFS’s Community Service program gives you the opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of a community in Malaysia by living and working alongside its members in a community-based service organization.
You will be placed with a host family and immersed in community life and your work placement. It will prepare you to face the challenges you will meet throughout your career. Community service placements include volunteering with orphans, the elderly, children with disabilities, people with AIDS, and many more.
Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
Language
The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Melayu, but English is a compulsory second language.
Host Family & Community
Forty percent of Malaysia, the more industrialized portion, is located on the Southeast Asian peninsula. The other 60 percent is on an island shared with Indonesia and Brunei, 400 miles across the South China Sea. The variety of people in Malaysia makes for a very interesting mix of cuisine—spicy Malay dishes, Chinese food, India cooking, as well as local Nyonya and Portuguese traditions.
Host families in Malaysia, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to participants in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.
Malaysians
Because Malaysia’s population is so diverse, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and other holidays are observed throughout the country. Your host family may belong to any one of the main ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese, or Indian. Regardless of which family you are placed with, you will enjoy multicultural festivals celebrated throughout the year.
Extended families often live together. Elders are highly regarded and respected. Malaysians have a relaxed attitude about time and punctuality.
Meals
The variety of people in Malaysia makes for a very interesting mix of cuisine — spicy Malay dishes, an endless variety of Chinese food, exotic cuisine from North and South India, as well as local Nyonya and Portuguese dishes. Western cuisine is also easily accessible, and there are many international fast-food chains. Traditional Malay food resembles Indonesian and Indian cooking: most dishes are characterized by the liberal addition of spices, chilies and coconut cream. Fish is made for any occasion and in many styles.
Meals are important family time, which offer great opportunities to get to know your host family. Food on the table is shared by all the family. It is proper etiquette not to finish everything, and to break and eat a small piece at a time. Remember that using your left hand to eat or pass food is considered offensive!
Community Service Placement
You will be placed with a host family and immersed in community life and your community service placement. It will prepare you to face the challenges you will meet throughout your career. Community service placements include volunteering with orphans, the elderly, children with disabilities, people with AIDS, and many more.
At the organization, you will be asked to pitch in and offer assistance in whatever capacity might be needed and to share the knowledge and experience you have gained from your home culture in the process.
No one expects you to be an expert with all the answers to local problems or the ability to change local conditions. Rather, you are expected to be a willing participant in a process of mutual discovery. This experience will present you with innumerable learning opportunities both personally and professionally.
Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
Travel
You will receive a Travel Notification email about 6 weeks prior to international departure with your international flight itinerary and detailed instructions for when to arrive at the Gateway Orientation site in Los Angeles. At that point, you may arrange your domestic travel. In Los Angeles, you will join other AFS-USA participants for an overnight Gateway Orientation before you travel together to Kuala Lumpur.
International airfare is included as part of the tuition, but it is your responsibility to get from your home town to the Gateway Orientation site.
Your Arrival
After the Gateway Orientation in Los Angeles, you and your fellow AFSers will travel together to Kuala Lumpur, where AFS staff and volunteers will be waiting for you at the airport. After a 1-3 day Arrival Orientation, you will travel with AFS volunteers either by bus, train or plane, to your host community.
Your Return
You will travel together with the other AFS-USA participants back to Los Angeles from Kuala Lumpur.
Orientations
In addition to the orientations that you will participate in domestically (the locally held Pre-Departure Orientation, the Culture Trek online orientation, and the national Gateway Orientation), you and your fellow AFSers will have several orientations while abroad.
These required orientations are intended to help you maximize your AFS experience, prevent culture shock and to gain knowledge, skills and a global understanding.
Arrival Orientation
The first orientation will take place upon your arrival in Malaysia. This will be a 1-3 day orientation that is intended to prepare you for your first weeks abroad. This will be an international orientation and your opportunity to meet participants from around the world. In addition to covering the rules and safety tips, there will be an emphasis on approaching your experience from an intercultural learning perspective.
Mid-Stay Orientations
About 4-8 weeks after your arrival in Malaysia, you will have another orientation that will be organized on the local level. This will be a 4 day meeting and will focus on cultural and school adjustment. You will meet with AFS staff and volunteers to evaluate your first few weeks and be offered guidance to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Year Program participants will also be offered a 3 day mid-stay orientation about 5-6 months in to your stay. Once again, this will be a time to meet with staff and volunteers, evaluate the first half of your experience, and gain more tips to aid your cultural adjustment.
End-of-Stay Orientation
Finally, there will be a 4 day evaluation camp in the weeks prior to departure. This is your chance to reflect on your experience and to share with other AFSers. You will also prepare for the cultural readjustment that is a part of returning home.
End-of-Stay Orientation
In addition to the orientations, many local chapters organize activities for participants throughout the year. These will vary from chapter to chapter but may include parties or excursions to other cities or regions in Malaysia. Unlike the orientations, these activities are optional and are at the participant’s expense.
Eligibility
To participate in this program, you must:
- Be within the age range (located in the ‘read more’ drop-down) upon departure
- Be mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy in accordance with AFS Medical Evaluation Policies
- Have a U.S. passport at the time of application. Passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the program end date
- Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
