Where was I?
Oh, right. Spring!
This was my view to my classes everyday. I could barely see the ground anymore, it was filled with flowers as far as the eyes could see!
Don't mind the clouds. It was still pretty cold out, but that didn't stop flowers from blooming.
But on many other days, the sun was out and shining as ever.
One thing I've learned being away from Malaysia is that you really do appreciate things when they're taken away from you. Sun was one of them for me.
Back in Malaysia, you would never hear me say I was grateful for the heat, but that was all I was wishing for in the UK.
On some days, it got so hot that I went with my day.. sans jacket! That's major.
We decided to go on a picnic & boating one day, but scraped the latter because of the hour wait.
To be honest, all I thought that day was, "Finally, ice-cream!". My housemates always had ice-cream stocked in the fridge, even during winter. I could barely take cold water, ice-cream was definitely a no-go for me. So to finally have it.. Yes.
We were the only ones on the park with 1) a blanket, 2) a spot under a shade.
The locals were having fun in the sun with very minimal clothing, no blankets, no sunglasses. It was like a round of "SPOT THE ASIANS", they're probably going all out because they get like, 1 week of sun a year. We, on the other hand, would all eventually return to Malaysia and get sick of it.
So we were all like, omg yay sun, alright now where's the shade.
Not too soon after, we went to a Canola Field! I honestly was in such awe when I first saw them from the tram.
If you're in the Nottingham area, take the tram to the very last stop of the line, Clifton South.
From the stop, it's a 10 minute walk to the fields. You'll spot it when you're on the way to the stop, so you'll know exactly where to go.
If I'm gonna be really honest, the lot of us don't know if it's entirely legal to be on the field.. Haha!
It wasn't a proper tourist destination of any sort, we had to rough it out and figure things ourselves.
This is a proper plantation, so we made sure to minimise killing of any plant as much as we could, though I wish I could see we actually did..
Here's a tip if you're interested in going:
1) Don't wear anything black. Pants, shoes, bags. You'll leave with yellow marks everywhere. They're also pretty tough to get rid off. Wear yellow.
2) Don't wear any open footwear. Wear sneakers, and make sure they're your most comfortable pair.
3) I'd say if you're careful enough, you can ignore this. But if you're a natural klutz like yours truly, you might be unpleasantly surprised with some of our Ivy friends if you wear skirts. I wore cropped pants, and ended scratching my legs the entire time.
But nonetheless, it was worth the leg-scratching, nights spent scrubbing yellow pollen off your pants & going through suspiciously dangerous bushes.
We got beautiful photos, and an even better time together.
I'd say my second semester there was more eventful than the first.
I traveled to more places and met more people. It was the season of Malaysian Nights, an event by Malaysian for Malaysians. Mostly theatre by students.
I went on a road trip and stayed over Cardiff for a night with Hanna, Ewa & Iman - and the boys (too many of them to name). It was my first trip with them, and I'd say I laughed more than I talked.
Cardiff was actually much better than I thought it was. Nadia always told me it was like a kampung, but they've got a pretty epic Zara. And I judge all cities by their Zaras. Cardiff, you're a pass!
Then it was Warwick. I went there alone and stayed with Sharul for 2 nights, one night attending the Malaysian Night at their very own Arts Centre.
Warwick Uni was impressive, can't say the same about the actually city.
I've actually been there before when Mama took Nadia and I there years ago. Mum's a (proud) alumni of the university, but even she ran to London every opportunity she could. LOL.
Warwick's MN did it for me. Definitely the best, out of the ones I attended. And apparently it wasn't even their best year! If I stayed in Nottingham longer, I'd defo' join for my own.
Although I stayed in Coventry the longest, I didn't take any videos except of some from the Malaysian Night. I really should've, I had so much fun.
Sharul hosted my stay, and I got to meet so many people. Also, who knew playing Just Dance on PS4 would be the best thing ever ??? I need it in my life right now.
Then it was back to actually facing the books. Before I knew it, assignments started to pile up and I had to cut down my drama-watchings to get them done.
For Spring break, Hanna & Batu invited me for a trip to Portugal. It's only a bit over an hour flight to Porto, our first stop.
I absolutely loved it there! Much more than Lisbon, if I've to be really honest.
It didn't have the capital city vibe that I'm not too sure I like very much. It was so relaxed, so serene but with the Portuguese vibe. The whole city was colourful, vibrant and absolutely breath-taking, but if you just stopped and stared into the glistening water of Doura river, a sense of calmness just takes over.
The Doura River
Thankfully for us, the weather was just amazing. Compared to the rainy, still-chilly Nottingham, this was such a breath of fresh air! The wind was so strong, but it stayed sunny throughout our trip.
I fell in love with the buildings in Porto. They were all pastel-coloured and just so authentically Europe. The tiles were never the same colour, and every block was different.
And these were all someone's home! How pretty.
This is Mr. Colin and Ms. Sharon. I don't actually know them, but they were both in KYUEM, Hanna & Batu's college. Mr. Colin taught History there.
They've since moved to Porto (how cool?!), and we spent the day with them. Thanks to them, we were able to discover and wander around the city like a local.
They were so kind to treat us for lunch, tea and dinner! The kindest people ever, I swear.
Also! This picture was actually taken on a sidewalk. They had big billboard-like things that had cameras on them, so you could pose and send them to yourself via email.
But of course, everyone else on the sidewalk was either in the photo as well, or were staring. Haha!
It was a quick, sweet trip to Porto, and then we were off to our 2nd and last destination: Lisbon.
Lisbon was undoubtably beautiful, as we expected, but because it was the capital city of Portugal, it was much more commercialised and busy. And had way too many tour groups.
Throughout our Portugal trip, we only went on walking tours. We thought, "How do we see every part of the city, not burn holes in our wallets and burn off all the food we had during the trip?". Answer's pretty simple; walking tours! They go on for 2 hours on average, and all the one's I've been on, the guides were simply hilarious. But of course, you have to take the weather into context. My walking tour in York during English "spring" was just asking for it.
We spent a whole day in the city of Sintra. That's an hour train from Lisbon. You know the colourful castle that's on a hill everyone takes a photo with when they go to Lisbon? Yup that's not actually in Lisbon..
We didn't enter the castle, because I think that's a 30 euro entry ticket. Instead, we went to Quanta de Regalia. We found out after we left that the place was haunted. Hah.
The area was acres and acres large, and it was actually someone's residence. A family of I think not more than 5 people. They had waterfalls in their garden, ok..
Then a Japanese took over after being abandoned for some while, then it was taken back by the Portuguese government to turn it into a tourist attraction.
Can't lie, it was a bit creepy, but an experience nonetheless.
After I got back from Portugal, I had to focus on my last few assignments & Korean exam.
And before I knew it, I had only a week left in Nottingham!
By this time, the sun had already come out and it was proper summer time. Took you a while, dinnit Nottingham..
The boys over at Beeston had their last potluck gathering, and I went with my Victoria Sandwich cake and hand-made curry puffs.
It was so nice to see everyone one last time - not that I wouldn't see them again, but seeing everyone in one place all together.
It was during the fasting month so we broke our fast together (at 9.20pm - geez..) and stayed back to chat and just chill. I think I stayed back for sahur too!
The very next day, I took the first bus out to London, and that was my final goodbye to Nottingham.
I stayed in London for 4 days with Zaim & Bazil before heading home to KL. Did some last minute shopping & one last look at UK.
Flight back was unexpectedly empty, but smooth. Was greeted by Papa at KLIA since everyone else was at work.
The moment I reached home, I slept for 8 hours LOL. I barely slept on the plane because I was watching all the Harry Potter series.
13 hours seems very short when you're immersed into intense movies that are almost 4 hours long each.
Now I'm home, and this is a incredibly belated blog post about my second half year abroad.
I don't regret anything that happened, or didn't happen, when I was there. Although I wished I had a bit more time, I think a year was too soon to really get to meet new people.
But the people I was honoured to meet, I will forever cherish.
Until the next time I do something as spontaneous as applying for a year abroad a week before applications were closed, see you!
xx
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