If you haven't noticed, I've been away for almost a year because I participated myself in Nottingham's exchange year abroad to the United Kingdom campus. If anyone is curious about the program, I am more than happy to write about it in a future post. It's a popular option because you basically get to go to the UK without going through the godforsaken A-Level 2 years, you even save a year since you would only need to sit for one year of foundation in the Malaysian campus.
So I am currently a year senior to my batch mates of '96. You also have the option to extend your stay and graduate from there, just by attending your foundation year in the Malaysian campus. Another option would be to transfer and do the entirety of your degree in the UK after completing a year of foundation in the Malaysian campus. Basically, it's a fast track for you (and saves you the headache from A-Levels), but I believe it only grants you entry to University of Nottingham. So if you're aiming for elsewhere, this isn't really an option for you. But more of that in my future posts!
I've decided to cut my long video into two because it got too long and draggy.
So the first part is basically my entire stay in the UK, while the 2nd part focused more on the process of leaving UK back to Malaysia, my last few days there & my last words about the experience.
If you noticed, I jumped from my first week of being there to my 3rd month. That's because I did nothing in those 3 months because I was adapting to my classes and England as a whole. I also didn't want to film the people I just met, 'cause that would've been rude.
I also spent over a month during the Christmas break in London with Misha, Myra & my other relatives, and I decided not to bring my camera along to spend quality time. Also, it was freezing and I never wanted to take my hands out of my pocket.
I'm not going to lie, I felt like crying when I arrived my place. Everything felt so unfamiliar, and the fact that I didn't even know my housemates scared me the most. I have never stayed with anyone else for such a long period of time besides my family, and I was afraid I was going to find a tough adapting.
Sure enough, tough wasn't even the word for it. I must admit, I've never cursed under my breath so much before I started having housemates. Don't get me wrong, they were lovely girls who were nothing but nice to me. But it took me more than a while to adapt to the way other people lived.
I stayed in a 5-room house, barely 5 minute walk from the gates of my university. My surrounding neighbourhood was dominantly a Malaysian student community.
Out of the 5 of us, I was the only one amongst my housemates that attended a day school, with the rest spending their secondary school lives in a boarding environment.
It came as such a shock to me when I first arrived my place. The first thing I noticed was the amount of things everywhere. There were four loaves of bread, four egg trays, four toothpastes, four everything! I honestly thought they were having some sleepover or friends over.
Turns out, that was how things were in boarding schools. No one shared anything! And everything was labelled, so I wasn't living in a home, I was just renting a room and shared a kitchen.
My housemates also labelled everything, from eggs to even bananas.. I just never understood why no one just shared household items, that would've saved them a hella lot of money.
I also stood out like a sore thumb because I was the only one without the hijab. Never thought of it as a problem, not even in Malaysia. But the problem arose when I come home in my ripped jeans or shorts to a house full of hijab-donning girls in the midst of their usrah..
I am also a little confused as to why I was never invited to any of their usrah sessions, not that I wanted to attend them anyway, but I was just never invited or talked about it with. But whatevs.
Fast forward two weeks of being friendless and walking home from classes with my earphones and eyes on the ground, I met my first Malaysian friend. He was nice enough to introduce me to his housemates and other Malaysian students that lived around his place.
They lived in a neighbourhood that was a good 30 minute walk away, but that was enough to have the surrounding environment so much different from mine! I felt like I was finally in England, since they had local neighbours, less of a student environment.
So my first advice to those planning to further their studies in Nottingham, check Beeston out.
Stay, away, from, Dunkirk.
Thank me later.
The first time I met the people I call one of my closest friends today was at the annual Nottingham Goose Fair. It's like the Nottingham version of Winter Wonderland, only a tad smaller and held in October instead.
It was at the Forest, which was 30 minute tram ride from where I was.
Mizi posted this on Instagram a few days back, and wow these bring back such fun memories!
That was the start of many new friendships and exciting day outs with new friends. From the video, you can tell I just stuck with the same group of people 'til the end. That's because from the first time I met them, I knew we'd click and sure enough, I met friends for life.
Shortly after the goose fair, I was bombarded with assignments and tutorial homework because of how short my first semester would become, thanks to the month-long Christmas break.
So I stayed away from the camera and any form of human interaction for a while to sort myself out.
Before I knew it, the weather got too cold for me to walk outside without 8 layers on, and Christmas was just around the corner.
I took a train straight to St. Pancras in London, and met up with Myra who had her family there with her.
I stayed with them before I moved to Misha's place when Misha & my aunt came a couple of days before Christmas. It felt so nice to see familiar faces, especially during the holiday season.
My sister warned me about Christmas in the UK and how quiet it gets, like how it is during Raya in KL.
It really was, shops were closed for almost 3 days and I could lie on Oxford St. for a good minute without getting run over. It was a nice change of environment, but it was also really boring.
I caught a play with Sharul & his family while I was there, it was my first time watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in theatre, and it was nothing short of brilliant. Aladdin was my first play, and I enjoyed that way too much. I might have cheered and laughed a bit too loud..
These were the only photos I took.
Returning to Nottingham after a month away in London felt so lonely for me. Not that I didn't have friends back there, but because it was just such a refreshing sight to see family in a while.
It felt like a really long winter, I believe it was still in the ten degrees range even during April.
To be really honest, even up until I left to Malaysia in June, I still needed a jacket on me.
January and February were the coldest months for me, and it wasn't just the weather.
Anyone who knows me, even for just a while, know I am big on birthdays. I planned my 16th birthday when I was 12, and my wedding when I was 16. I loved celebrations, and I still do.
So turning 21 for me was a big, big deal. It was a milestone that I wanted to remember for the rest of my life.
Then the clock struck 12 on the 17th of January. A bit of a slow start to my birthday, with my parents back in Malaysia the first to wish me a happy birthday. Then it started coming one by one throughout the day, and I was so grateful for everyones wishes and doas.
But as the day passed, no one had made plans with me, and I was too afraid to make plans with anyone myself because my birthday was in the midst of everyone's exams.
I didn't want to just spend my birthday alone in my room, watching dramas all day. So I took myself out to the city, spent my day at my favourite overpriced Indian restaurant, sat on the window seat reading a book and people-watched.
Bought myself some overpriced jewellery to commemorate my first step into adulthood. Felt good, but not being with anyone else felt so incomplete to me.
So when I returned home, I Skyped with my parents. It was tough to keep my tears in during, but I gave in as soon as I ended the call. It was a mix of being an emotional wreck because I missed them, and missing everything back home.
But remember when I told you I had quality friends that I'm keeping forever? They came thru, people.
Mizi, Nadh and Amir surprised me, to my housemates disapproval (because boys were within a 5 metre radius of the house, but it's my birthday so they're just going to have to live with it), a bit before the day was over. With a slice of cake and everything!
I got a call from Nadh saying she had to pass me something, and told me she was already at the front of my door. I was in my 2-piece pyjamas, ready to snooze and forget the day even happened.
Opened the door, and the three were singing the birthday tune with a lit candle.
Because there was a strict NO-BOYS-ALLOWED rule at my house, we had to all move to Nadh's place across the road.
The next few months were extremely cold, all up until maybe the end of April when I saw a bit of pink in the bushes that were brown when I arrived in September. Finally, Spring!
This post is getting too long, I'll see you in my next!
X
Tania
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