This story is about a Malaysian office worker who was sent to the US for work training, but faced unprofessional behaviour from a colleague who took the concept of “freedom” a little too seriously.
You know how some companies love to say they “value growth and exposure”?
Yeah, that’s how I ended up flying halfway across the world for a month-long training in the US, with a colleague I’ll call Aiman (not his real name). For context, I’ve travelled before. Not a lot, but enough to know the golden rule: don’t embarrass yourself or your country. Respect the local culture, but remember where you come from. Basically, be normal.
Aiman, though – he was the wildcard I didn’t see coming.
The calm before the chaos
At the start, everything was fine. He was chatty, polite, excited about everything from the in-flight movies to the size of the hotel beds. We took photos at the airport, laughed about how expensive a cup of latte was in USD and struggled through the first few days of jet lag together. Our company headquarters was somewhere in the Midwest – quiet, clean, the kind of place where everyone says “have a nice day” and actually means it (at least for me). The first week of training went smoothly. We learned a lot, got along with the local team and explored the area after hours.
Then, things shifted.
Then things started getting weird
Around the fourth night, Aiman started coming back late. At first I thought he was just exploring, maybe meeting some new friends. But then I noticed a faint smell – not food, not cigarettes. You know the kind. One night I walked into the living room and found him sitting by the window, rolling something on the coffee table.
“Bro… that’s weed, right?” I asked.
He didn’t even flinch. “Yeah bro, chill. It’s legal here.”
I sighed. “Maybe in some states, but not this one. You can’t just assume it’s fine.”
He just laughed, lit it up, and said, “In Malaysia, I can’t do this, man. Everyone’s too uptight. Here, no one cares.” That was the first red flag.
From training trip to frat house
By week two, it was like living with a totally different person. He started bringing girls over. Literally random ones from bars or dating apps. There were empty bottles piling up in the bin, loud music on weekdays, and a constant smell of something burnt hanging in the air.
At one point, I genuinely felt like I was living inside a frat house except I had to be up by 7AM for corporate training the next day.
I finally asked him one night, “What’s going on with you, man? We’re here for work, not a bachelor party.”
He laughed, half-drunk, and said, “Back home, I’m always the ‘good one’. My family’s really strict, no drinking, parties, staying out late. I’ve been doing what I’m told my whole life. Over here, no one’s watching me. It feels good.”
And that’s when it hit me. It wasn’t about weed or girls. It was about freedom. Or maybe, the illusion of it.
Strict parents, loose screws
You know how people say kids from strict families often turn out to be the sneakiest ones? They learn how to bend rules quietly, without getting caught. But Aiman… not so much. He went from zero to chaos with no in-between. No subtlety, no self-control. It was like watching someone try rebellion for the first time, just a mixture of messy, loud and utterly unprepared.
It was an eye-opener for me. Not just about him, but about how people can flip the moment they’re outside their comfort zone. It’s one thing to let loose. It’s another to completely forget why you’re there in the first place.
Never mix business and stupidity
I remember thinking, Never mix business and stupidity. Or as my boss used to say – never shit where you eat. You can have fun, but not when your company’s footing the bill and your reputation’s on the line.
By the last week, I’d mentally checked out of whatever friendship we had. I kept to my side of the apartment, focused on the training, and quietly counted the days till our flight home.
The flight back to reality
The morning we left, he was hungover, still groggy from the night before. I handled check-out while he threw on sunglasses and pretended everything was fine. On the flight back, we barely spoke.
But the moment we landed at KLIA, it was like watching a movie rewind in fast-forward.
Suddenly, he was well-dressed again, polite, saying “thank you” to the cabin crew. He even offered to carry someone’s luggage at the terminal hallways. Just like that, his “American phase” was gone.
Travel doesn’t change who you are
And I remember sitting there, waiting for my bag, thinking:
Some people don’t need to travel to discover themselves – they just need to stop pretending.
Because the truth is, travel doesn’t change who you are. It just shows you who you’ve been hiding all along.
Write in. Tell your story. Get paid.
Share your story on our Facebook page and you may become a contributor for In Real Life Malaysia.
I Made Sure My Ex-husband Lost Everything After He Cheated On Me With A 21 Year Old Influencer
More from Office Drama
‘She didn’t even close the door!’ Shares M’sian Faces Office Toilet Chaos
This story is about a Malaysian woman whose picture-perfect corporate office turned into a nightmare when she discovered her new …
“I Got Suspended For Saving a Life,” shares Bitter M’sian Employee
This story is about a man who tried to save a colleague’s life, but instead found himself at the center …
“RM50 may be nothing to them, but it’s survival to me,” shares M’sian woman on ‘atas’ office culture
This story is about a Malaysian woman who grew up with less, and how even as an adult, the weight …
