When I finally got a long-term rental and started driving to work, I was unsure where to park. There is “Director” and “Priority” parking in front of our building. Everyone else parks on the side of the building, on the street or somewhere along the building next-door (our warehouse and soon to be training center).

When my male coworker was here with his rental he went straight to the priority parking. I thought it was odd, no questions asked, no real thought put into it; he was an expat and therefore a priority.

I know I tend to overthink everything, and my initial thoughts were – ‘save those spots for someone who needs them, someone who may not be able to walk from the other building’, and ‘I don’t think of myself as any better than anyone else working here, why should I get priority parking’. So, I parked like everyone else over next to the other building.

I quickly found out the error in my thinking when I went to leave that night and the security guards practically chased my car to tell me (in their very best English) that tomorrow I needed to park in front of the other building. Sure enough the next morning the security guards were waiting to show me where to park in the Priority spaces.

I felt a little uncomfortable parking there (to be honest, I still do), but as the day wore on, I remembered something I learned in my Cultural training before I came over. Malaysia, like most Asian nations, respect a very hierarchical structure. I am a manager, and not only a manager but the manager the company sent over from the US for a year to start up this site. To them, I am a priority. Although it may make me a little uncomfortable, it’s not about me. I am a visitor here, this is their culture, and I want to respect that. I have gotten used to parking in my priority spot, even if I do feel a little guilty.