Tanya, who goes by the nickname “Lady Long Legs” because of her 183cm height, said she was barely able to speak the language previously despite having lived here for nine years.

This, however, changed when Covid-19 broke out, leaving residents confined to their homes through the imposition of the movement control order (MCO).

During the first three months of the MCO, she learned how to lip sync to BM content on TikTok. She then posted her own videos, which drew applause and attention from local netizens.

“Going viral made me feel happy. Some people would approach me, saying, ‘Oh, you’re Lady Long Legs!’ Others even gave me items to promote.

“It made me want to produce even more content,” said the 33-year-old, who was born in South Sudan but grew up in Nairobi.

After she started to learn the Malay language, she realised it was not as challenging as she’d initially thought, as certain words are similar to Swahili owing to the Arab influence.

“It’s easy to learn and it’s beautiful,” she said of the national language. “I’ve fallen in love with it. Before this, I tried to learn Mandarin but it’s much harder.”

Having lived in Malaysia for close to a decade, Mike feels at home now and plans to grow her career in the long-term.

She works as a full-time model and has received acting job offers. She has also landed a gig as a host for SUKE TV, a local private broadcasting network, and is set to have her own segment on the channel soon.

Mikes told FMT that, when she first arrived, she experienced “culture shock” upon discovering 24-hour eateries and malls that close at 10pm.

“There’s food everywhere and Malaysians love eating out. In Kenya, malls close at 7pm and there are no 24-hour joints. Families just eat at home. We’d usually only go out to eat on weekends.”

One of Tanya’s favourite things about this country is its plural society, with people of different races celebrating their respective festivities, in addition to their unique dress wear and cuisines.

But one thing she dislikes is that there are some who still use the word “negro” when referring to Africans, largely out of ignorance.

“If you see me, someone who is dark-skinned, you can call me an African,” she said. “The word ‘negro’ is much more derogatory.”