The roots of badminton can be traced to ancient Greece, China and India and was derived from a children’s game known as Battledore and Shuttlecock.

The game is named after Badminton which was the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played about 1873. The sport was then promoted in Malaysia in the early 1900s by the British mission schools in Penang, Melaka, Ipoh and Singapore while the territory was under British occupation.

Just a short 120 years later, I found myself sweating head to toe in a seemingly heated gym in Malaysia playing the same game.

Shirley (a friendly KPMG colleague) asked me early one week if I would like to partake in some friendly exhibition matches on a Thursday night. A quick shoutout to Shirley:

Shirley is one of the most inclusive people I have met here in Malaysia and I admire her greatly for that trait. Everyday around 12:15, Shirley is the one who consistently gathers the troops for lunch making sure that everyone is invited and accounted for.

Shirley’s first day at KPMG looked slightly different. She described to me how on her first day, nobody went out to lunch together. People either packed a lunch, grabbed something quick to-go, or travelled home. Now several years later, the CR department without fail is sharing lunch together due to her efforts to bring people together and form relationships outside of the normal working day.

Happy to be invited to the weekly Badminton occasion and craving some competition, I gladly accepted the offer and invited Craig to join along.

9PM that Thursday night rolled around and Shirley picked Craig and I up from the hotel; the commute to the local gym was a quick 10 minutes. We arrived and entered the gym lined with badminton courts; it was packed.

The hot and heavy atmosphere was filled with grunts, shouts, and many sweaty individuals. My expectations for the night were a casual get together filled with socializing and very little serious badminton. I was way off.

Craig and I quickly realized that this wasn’t your average gym class badminton game. Strategy, speed, flexibility, and creativeness was strongly at play and Craig and I fought hard to keep up to speed with the veteran players.

After two hours of hardcore play, we were drenched head to toe, my white shirt was see-through, 2 liters of water were consumed and our shoulders aching.

Some words of wisdom: if asked to play badminton in Malaysia, bring an extra shirt, lots of water and expect to pummeled.

Well balanced.

If I had to describe our group as a whole, these are the words that I would use.

5 months ago, each of us received an email congratulating us saying that we would be heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On the email were 3 other email addresses, and in that moment, I imagine all 4 of us scouring the internet and social media platforms trying to find anything and everything about each other.

Within 20 minutes, I had 3 new facebook friends, a couple new Instagram followers, and 3 new connections on LinkedIn…all from an email address. The interconnected world we live in is incredible.

Several days later I received an email from craigrjohnson3@gmail.com with a short, formal introduction and already talks of travel and recommendations. We all followed suit and agreed to start looking at weekend travel options. Our formal email introductions would later serve us all a good laugh- each of us clearly trying very hard to give off good first impressions scrutinized in the business world.

Several months later we all met in Orlando, Florida at KPMG’s newly renovated “Lakehouse” for Global Intern Training. By that time, we had already been messaging in our group chat for a couple weeks (we were all thankful for blue messages).

From the moment we all met in person at the Lakehouse, I could tell we were going to get along very well and that there would be few quiet moments. It is safe to say that we are an expressive group. This commonality along with several others made connecting feel seamless.

Having lived, worked and traveled in Southeast Asia together now for 3 weeks, we know each other slightly beyond the Facebook photos and LinkedIn experience page. With that, I would like to take the time to introduce our team and some of the unique characteristics that make our team interesting and as I said earlier, “Well Balanced.”

First Up: Natalie Perry AKA Madam President and Future Elephant Nurturer

Natalie Perry is a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota working in tax out of the Minneapolis office. In Malaysia she joined the indirect tax group and has completed valuable research on Malaysian indirect tax laws that will assist KPMG in helping clients understand what rules and regulations they fall under (boring)(jk Go Natalie!)

On campus, Natalie is the President of her Business Fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi (boooooo!). DSP just so happens to rival Alpha Kappa Psi (a far greater organization in my opinion), a Professional business fraternity I am involved with on campus. Natalie and I have our disagreements, but we both acknowledge that you can’t go wrong either way (yes you can). Needless to say, Natalie was actually nominated for DSP Collegian of the Year. Unfortunately, she did not receive the high honor but we believe due to her absence, the results were skewed. On the brighter side, we don’t have to refer to her as your highness and her ego is still only slightly above average.

Other interesting things about Natalie:

• She loves ordering room service from the hotel.
• She is very caring of animals and will soon be leaving KPMG to become an Elephant nurturer in Thailand (jk @ the Minneapolis tax recruiter).
• She is self-proclaimed “amazing at 2K”
• Loves all food that includes shell-fish (she’s allergic to shell-fish)
• Every time she gets out of the elevator in the hotel, she hits the Milly Rock

Second Up: Grace Smith AKA Ms. Planner and The Monkey Whisperer

Grace Smith is a junior at The University of Villanova studying accounting. She works in Audit out of the Philadelphia office and to her dismay is still auditing in Malaysia. Word of advice: do not ask her about her 1 hr morning commute on the train. Regardless, Grace has gained valuable experience auditing a technology company in KL.

Grace has won several awards during our time here in KL. After a wonderful photography performance in the KL bird sanctuary and several close calls with little Monkeys, our group gave her the “Most likely to aggravate animals award”. She also sported her skills in Langkawi, Malaysia enticing small monkeys on the side of the street with granola bars.

We also awarded Grace with the “Planner Award” as we look to her hyperplanning nature to book weekend travel, lodging etc. Some of us are less into planning and more into winging it (hence the balance).

Lastly, Grace deserves the “Anti-Spicy Award”. Her most asked question of the trip is undoubtedly, “Is this spicy?” She will not eat anything with remote heat and actually on one occasion, in an attempt to stay as far away from heat as possible, she ordered ice cream for dinner (who does that).

Next Up: Craig Johnson AKA Anti-Plan Craiggers, LaughMan and The Portuguese Wonder

Craig Johnson is a senior at Brigham Young University (BYU) studying accounting. He works at the Salt Lake City office in Audit and also happily chose to continue audit in Malaysia for some odd reason. Craig has by far been the busiest of the 4 of us here working on an major Oil & Gas company. If you were to ask his team, they would say that he works significantly less than them to their dismay (KPMG US limits our hours to 40 a week while in Malaysia).

Beyond work, Craig is a happy-go-lucky guy that never stops smiling and laughing. If you tell a horrible joke, he will still laugh (my type of guy). Additionally, Craig is a “fly by the seat of your pants” type of person who doesn’t want a plan and goes with the flow (similar to myself). He also loves beaches.

Short Story: Last weekend, Craig, Natalie and Grace travelled to Thailand and while the ladies stuck to the hour-by-hour plan, Craig defiantly left to pet Tigers cause he wanted to.

Other interesting facts about Craig:

• He spent two years in Brazil on sabbatical and is fluent in Portuguese. He also can recite the Book of Mormon in Portuguese (not the play).
• For breakfast, Craig usually has an omlette, spaghetti, fruit, chicken roti, and 2 cups of orange juice and is hungry by 11:30 AM,
• And when Craig gets happy, he shakes his behind like an excited puppy.

And last but not least: Myself AKA Grab Man and the Deal Closer.

I am a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I work in the Deal Advisory and Strategy group based out of the Chicago office, and in Malaysia I am a part of the Corporate Restructuring group (the two are very different but we’re going with it).

I am known widely as the Grab Man because every time we are going anywhere, I am always the one who calls the “Grab” (Malaysia’s version of Uber). Due to the length of my body, I luckily am always given the front seat. They also put me up there cause I am known to talk to the Grab drivers and spur interesting debate about why McDonalds serves Nasi Lamak.

Another common occurrence is me negotiating deals (most likely a result of my frugalness). If Grace needs to negotiate the price of her Batik, I’m the guy that talks down the native Langkawi man to a reasonable price. If our group is planning a snorkeling excursion, I’m the one trying to finesse the local Malaysian discount citing the fact that we “live” in Malaysia (for the time being).

Lastly, I am adventurous and in some cases over adventurous in relation to the foods I try. I have been seen to eat first and ask second, and tend to place a lot of trust in small, local food shops.

In summation, our group has character. Each person has many unique tendencies and characteristics that I have the honor of sharing and bringing to light. I am extremely grateful to be on this journey with this group and even more grateful for the friendship that we’ve grown together.

You can never go wrong with a light blue dress shirt on your first day in Malaysia.

Natalie, Grace, Craig and I entered the KPMG office all in agreement that the first day jitters were bubbling in our stomachs along with french toast, omlettes and bundles of fresh fruit we just devoured for breakfast.

Similar to the first day of school, we all had on our best business casual attire looking sharp and pressed. Craig’s shirt was a little wrinkly as he failed to find the iron in his room, but needless to say, we were looking good. We entered the main lobby of the building and immediately joined a crowd of 100 other interns talking in little packs. The chatter quieted as we entered and immediately we could tell we looked out of place.

Was it our height they were looking at (we are a taller group)? Had they not expected to see people who looked so different? Were we walking weird or talking to loud?

I surveyed the crowd and immediate noticed a pattern. Every other intern was wearing a light blue dress shirt. I quickly realized that we stood out, not only because of our height or the color of our skin, but because we were all wearing brightly colored shirts and dresses.

Let me reiterate: you can never go wrong with a light blue shirt on your first day in Malaysia.

The room resumed normal chatter as we rhetorically asked the front desk whether we were in the right place. Shortly after, a women entered the room and approached us saying with a warm smile, “You must be the Global Interns! Welcome, my name is Aima.”

Aima!! This moment was the equivalent to finally meeting someone you’ve emailed hundreds of times and you feel like you’ve known them for years.

Aima took us to the newly renovated 10th floor and showed us around before leading us to the KPMG Malaysia “Business School” section to join the rest of the interns. We found seats amongst the sea of blue shirted interns – Craig and I situated at one table and Natalie at Grace at another.

The interns at our table immediately greeted us and warmly introduced themselves. Small talk ensued and pretty soon Craig and I were asking them all sorts of questions to better understand who they were, what life is like living in Malaysia, why they chose KPMG, and most importantly, why everyone was wearing a light blue dress shirt.

Craig and I were entranced by their interesting answers and friendliness, and we quickly realized that the other interns were just as nervous and excited as we were. We also took note that their motives for joining KPMG and choosing to study Accounting were similar to ours.

Based on this, it was fascinating to note that we traveled halfway around the world and found the same level of quality, genuine KPMG interns compared to the ones we onboarded with a month earlier in the US. We thought to ourselves, “KPMG must be doing something right.”

The day ensued with basic first day training presentations surrounding culture and the KPMG community (similar to US onboarding). We received laptops, basic technology guidance, and were quickly farmed out to our respective departments.

Coming from the Deal Advisory and Strategy group in the US, I was placed in the Corporate Restructuring (CR) Group which falls under the Deal Advisory umbrella in KPMG Malaysia. I had no prior experience in CR and a very basic understanding of the type of work it encompassed. Regardless, I was eager and ready to learn (kind of a prerequisite).

I was greeted in my department by my host country Performance Manager, Wendy. Wendy excitedly welcomed me to KPMG Malaysia and enthusiastically showed me my new desk situated in the center of a long row of desks. Surrounding associates welcomed me and my uneasiness faded.

The rest of the day flew by as I got to know those around me and Eugene (an associate manager sitting to my left) introduced me to everyone in the office.

I want to take a moment here to reflect on Eugene’s actions on my first day. Eugene demonstrated inclusive leadership and emotional intelligence. He stopped whatever he was working on to take me, a foreigner, already uneasy in a new environment, around to each desk and introduce me. This little act might sound ordinary or customary, but he made sure that I met EVERYONE on that first day…not the second day, or the second week.

His inclusive leadership made me think of all the times I have been part of a team, group or organization and had someone new join. Did I introduce them to everyone? Did I make them feel welcome? Did I drop everything to make sure they were comfortable and felt like a valued member?

Emotional intelligence is one’s ability to understand others, what they are feeling, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them. Eugene understood the feeling of being a newcomer and the difficulty forming bonds professionally and personally in a new environment and foreign business culture. His actions made me feel welcome and connected to the CR group within my first day.

I say that this is a “First Day” I will never forget because of the countless lessons I learned in a short 8 hours.

I learned that although differences in geography, religion, culture and upbringing drive differences in individuals, deep down we are all more similar than we could ever imagine.

I learned the value of inclusive leadership and emotional intelligence. The two combined have the ability to make people feel welcome in new environments and empower others professional and personally.

And lastly, I learned that on my next first day of work in Malaysia, you will see me sporting a light blue dress shirt.

2 weeks ago I boarded a flight out of O’Hare International Airport set for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A million thoughts ran through my mind as I embarked on the journey of a lifetime filled with unfamiliarity. With my face mask on and antibacterial wipes ready to go (thanks mom), I was prepared to take on this new challenge and immerse myself in all that Malaysia and Southeast Asia had to offer.

After 32 hours of economy class flying and several interesting airline meals, my stomach was squirmy and I was drained, but I made it. New smells, a rising sun and a private driver with a KPMG sign greeted me as I stepped out of the airport into my hot and humid new home.

After an hour and a half drive winding through Kuala Lumpur morning rush hour, I made it to the OneWorld Hotel. At the time it was crazy to imagine spending the next month couped up in a hotel, but I soon realized that it wasn’t going to be half bad. The hotel sports a massive breakfast buffet with everything you could ever imagine, a full-size gym, swimming pool, and even tennis courts (sadly forgot my tennis racquet).

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The first couple days in Kuala Lumpur consisted of waking up at strange times in the night, trying new foods, and walking around the mall connected to our hotel (1 Utama). Fun fact: 1 Utama is one of the top 5 largest malls in the world! To my surprise, there are an incredible amount of malls in Malaysia. Due to the intense heat of the daytime, Malaysians are known for spending their free time window shopping and hanging out in malls.

Our first adventure outside the comfort of OneWorld and 1 Utama took place on the first night. Someone recommended that we go to “The Curve” (another shopping center) because it had great restaurants and a fun atmosphere. We caught a “Grab” (the local equivalent to Uber) to “The Curve” and had dinner at a place called Thai Express. The food was amazing and very spicy. Craig Johnson (a fellow US Global Intern) and I managed to fight through the pain while Grace Smith (another fellow US Global Intern) decided to sit out and play it safe (probably a better call).

All in all, the arrival to Kuala Lumpur went swimmingly. All flights were on time, 0 viruses were contracted, our stomachs were adjusting fine to the new cuisine and we were all excited to start work!

In my next blog post I’ll be covering our first day in the office at KPMG Malaysia. First days are always interesting, and this one in particular is one I won’t forget. As a precursor, I’d like to share some advice.

You can never go wrong with a light blue dress shirt on your first day in Malaysia.