One Year In England, a Reflection

One year in England, a reflection..well, that seems to be the title for this post..because here I will somewhat summarise everything that had been achieved, or done by me throughout the year 2010..gotta be quite a long entry but I will try to make it as short as possible..

2010 can be considered as a remarkable year since it began with a ‘memorable’ trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow..memorable coz it’s an extreme trip whereby we happened to go to the coldest place in the coldest time of the year..then, in February we went to Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool before embarking on an expensive trip to the Scandinavian countries comprises of Norway, Sweden and Denmark during the Spring Break..

After that, we were busy preparing for our first year exams..few of us decided to form an emergency study group in 3 weeks prior to our exact examination date..all of us managed to do it well alhamdulillah..

Then, I also joined the Buddy scheme where I’ve been assigned to a local student to be my buddy..we met once a week and talked about life here as a student..as for volunteering work, I’ve been volunteering in Strode Park and managed to collect 10 hours which proved to be worthwhile since we had been awarded with certificate from the Mayor of Canterbury..

During Summer Break I managed to land a job as a cleaner..worked for a period of 2 months..learnt so many things and entitled to the same routine everyday..work,gym,swimming..work,gym,swimming..the feeling can be described as an ‘institutionalization’ where you feel that u’ve been part of the society here..despite of the busy schedule, I managed to go for a holiday in Paris, organized a barbeque party and mow our lawn..

After the Summer Break and until the end of the year, I had travelled to London and meet our Oppositon Leader, went to Newcastle, watched a live football match between Arsenal and Newcastle and participated in a Badminton tournament in Nottingham..

In conclusion, I think that 2010 was a wonderful year for me since I had managed to do so many things..interesting things..things that I’ve never even dreamt of doing such as travelling,cooking,volunteering,working out,working and mowing the lawn..in other words, coming to England was the best thing that ever happened to me which had provided me the opportunity to live life to the fullest and discover new things in life..with the new year approaching, I hope that I can make it another wonderful year..till then,welcome 2011 and gudbye 2010

Summer Trip-Bienvenue a Paris Bonjour Bonjour

Well, since it’s summer, u can’t expect me to work all the way rite?..there must a quick getaway or wut u called, a trip..yup..summer trip..after coming with numerous plans, finally my fren n I decided to pay a visit to the most romantic city o Earth, Paris of course..it’s a 3 days n 2 nights visit..

We went there on Friday by bus..as usual, went to London first before changing bus straight to Paris..eurolines..dat’s da name of the company..the trip was during the night therefore we juz slept all the way..i remembered waking up in the middle of the nite feeling uneasy n slightly hot..turned out that we r in a train..meaning the bus that we were in were in a train..i was like..ok cool..haha..then dozed off again..

We arrived in the morning at the bus station..at first, we didn’t know wut to do n too afraid since it’s a general fact that the French doesn’t speak English..they even despise it..but out of desperation, we tried our luck n actually, in Paris it’s fine..but if u go deeper into France such as Lyon or Marseille, then it would have been a problem..our first destination, Eiffel tower..we were supposed to meet a fren there before beginning our journey throughout Paris..she’s kinda late therefore we got to spend hours in front of the Eiffel tower..it’s cool actually..lying down on the grass overlooking the tower..feels so relaxing..

When she finally arrived, we went to our lodging..but since it’s too too crappy,we decided to stay in a hotel instead..the cost is actually almost the same compared to the hostel..it’s juz we backpackers usually assumed that hostel is always cheap n therefore didn’t mind to search for hotel..it’s ok, more trips to come after this=)..

Since we’ve got plenty of times, we managed to cover almost all the attractions in the city..Eiffel tower, the Louvre where they kept Mona Lisa portrait, the Notre Dame where Quasimodo used to live, the Opera House where Phantom of the Opera used to be, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur which is located at the highest point of the city n we even went to the Stade de France, the stadium where France last won the World Cup defeating Brazil in 1998..

Overall, this trip was a success..plenty of times, nice lodging n of course, nice places..Paris is really a must go city for everyone in Europe..now I understand y people doesn’t make a much fuss if u said that u’ve been to Sweden, Denmark or others but quickly caught in amazement if u said that u’ve been to Paris=)..the city is just amazing=)

Me n Part Time Job

Me n part time job..we have gone a loooooong way together..talking bout part time job, I’ve done numerous jobs before..it began in 2007, after finishing my 3 months stint at the national service camp, I started indulging myself into it..

at first, I was a shoe promoter for 2 weeks where I learnt all bout girls’ shoes n fashion..then, off to become a laptop promoter for 3months before going to further my studies..too many things happened back then..juz imagine, selling things that u had too little knowledge about..scary experience, I must say..hehe.. then, after completing my foundation years, I went to sell wedges in front of my house for 2 weeks..we got like MYR200 in juz 7 days..awesome rite?..hehe..n now, after almost 10months of being abroad, I managed to land myself a job as a cleaner for the summer..it’s a bless in disguise coz it’s a must for me to get a job..i’m way behind in my financial plan n this job is crucial for me to get by..n I feel this cleaning job is the best so far..coz I’ve been cleaning toilets, rooms, bar, destroy things, walked for countless hours n others..dat’s priceless..i mean to do it in a far distant country from your own, it’s juz incredible=)

Overall, all of these part time jobs had taught me a great life lesson..bout fashion, technology, how to prepare food n how 2 be a housekeeper..it’s I’m a fully qualified husband now..except without job n wife of course..hehe..

People might say that I’m crazy to do all these jobs, but I figured that it’s the only way to learn valuable lessons in life=)

First Year exam

After the Spring break, we had about 4 weeks till our exam..but we had to minus 3 weeks because each of the week required us to submit an assignment..so we only had bout a week to prepare..at first, I was panicked.. but then it hit me, let’s juz get back to basic..study group..so I begun to form a group n we met in certain days in the library..finally we got to use the GBP30 000 000 worth of building..hehe..

It’s juz we r so damn nervous coz this is the first exam that we had in this country..i mean how’s the marking scheme?..how’s the this, n that?..but I juz did wut I can n study all the way around..

But then, during the exam week, I got hit by fever..not a normal fever, but quite a serious one..so unlucky..therefore I didn’t put my hope so high on this exam..luckily the first year’s result will not be included in our degree..

When I received the result, juz as I thought, overall it’s fine, but not good enough..therefore I vowed to giv everything that I had next year..to work hard n strive for the best..it might be hard, but it’s the hard work that counts=)

Scandinavian Trip- Norway, Sweden and Denmark

Well, it seems like we are approaching towards the end of March now..n it’s Spring..n it’s Spring Break..it’s a month holiday..n as usual, Holiday=Trip..this time around, we went to the Scandinavian countries..there are bout 4 countries in the Scandinavian region namely Norway, Sweden, Denmark n Finland.. but we only hit 3 countries due to strict budget..

We went to Oslo, the capital city of Norway..it’s the land of the Norwegian..or Viking..or wutever..we arrived at the rygge airport early in the morning n went to the city centre by bus..in the evening we went to explore the main street of Karl Johan..it’s like the Petaling Street of Norway..very nice..took photos as usual..the next day, we went to almost all the attractions in the city..the typical ones as usual, art gallery, museum, parliament building, palace n others..then we spent then nite at the airport coz we’ve got an early flight to Stockholm..

We arrived in Stockholm on the very next day..upon arrival, we went to check in at the Hostels by Nordic, or so n went to explore the cities..to be frank, I really like the hostel..it’s very new, clean n nice..very comfortable..there were cleaners cleaning it at like all the time..seriously..Stockholm is a very nice city..superb n everything..we went to almost all the places.. I was hoping to go ikea since we r in Sweden, we even chased a lady holding an ikea bag, but she said it’s quite far from the city..well, no luck..mayb next time..as if there will be next time..haha..n I felt that we walked the most steps here because I wanted to find the exact spot that I saw in the website..but we juz couldn’t find it..we walked hours non-stop but to no avail..mayb we already found it but juz hadn’t realize it coz that picture was took from helicopter mayb..but so be it..

Our final stop, Copenhagen, Denmark..we went there by bus from Stockholm..omg, it took bout 11 hours to get there..remind me of blackpool..but the bus was comfortable, so my neck was alrite..hehe..i remembered waking up when the bus was stopping to refuel feeling so freaking damn thirsty..i meant that thirst woke me up..went to buy sum drinks n that might be the best drink ever..phew..then, as usual, we went to explore around Copenhagen..it’s always been my dream to come to Denmark since I was in form 3..i’m a huge fan..coz of their never say die attitude in sports..badminton n football..i guess dat’s y..well, we went to almost all the attractions..same things around..n to Nyhavn..it’s a colourful 17th century waterfront, canal and popular entertainment district. It’s very nice n amazing..it’s like the main attraction in Copenhagen..we took a boat ride n it covered everything that were to be seen in Copenhagen..awesome experience..

Overall, this Scandinavian trip was a success..n tiring too..it took us one week..juz imagine a week of travelling around..but it was fun..gained lot of experiences n else..now I understand y we should do all of these before getting married, it’s bcoz if u do this with ur kids, surely they will lamenting all the time asking too many questions such as ,’when r we going back?’, ’what next’ n countless others unnecessary questions..hehe..

Return of the Snow

Remember the snow?..well,it stopped snowing in December..but I always know that there will be like the closing snow..it’s like the conclusion of the snowing day..but it’s February already..i’ve almost stopped hoping when suddenly on the 10^th of February, it’s snowing madly the whole day..then on the next day, wow..the whole city is covered in a thick snow..but being a humble student, we still went to class even though there’s a great chance that it’s cancelled..n well, it’s true, our Ldv lecturer, graham couldn’t get out of the snow..hihi..it was in this moment it hit me to go to the hill situated near my future place..winston close..so after snapping countless photos around the uni, we went to the hill..it’s really hard to get there with the blizzard out there..but still, we tried our best n finally, we managed to..

Wow..it’s amazing..the hill looked good..n the scenery is killing..u’ll know through the photos that will be uploaded later..hehe..i was like crazy with the snow..shouting madly n else..n we made a nice video clip..haha..can view it in my facebook..entitled 'Ginny in Canterbury'..

Overall it’s been a pleasurable experience with the snow..n this closure day thingy or I would like to regard it as the ‘Final Cold Snap’, it’s like concluding everything..very nicely done=)