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Student Profile

 

04th February 2008 | Thank you and goodbye!

Sorry, it's been a long time since I posted on this blog. After the hectic semester, traveling, exams, and coming back to Malaysia to continue studying, I barely have idle time to compose a final post for this blog. Time flied past in the blink of an eye, and being back in Malaysia, back in the familiar surroundings of my home and the Malaysia campus, I felt like I had a surreal dream about living and studying in the UK.

After the Manchester trip (which made several of my friends in Malaysia envious as I went to Old Trafford), I joined another trip to Lincoln Christmas Market. Visiting the market which situated around the majestic cathedral and castle was fun but the experience was somewhat marred by the cold air, freezing wind and drizzling rain. As the semester ended, I went to London for 5 days and visited many places, which included the museum, art gallery, Buckingham Palace (for the Change of Guards which was apparently a really popular tourist attraction), Trafalgar square, Tower Bridge, etc. I also stepped on the Greenwich Meridian Line where the world time is based on. In the last week of year 2007 I went to visit a friend in Jersey who generously invited me for Christmas. Unfortunately, I was stricken with Shingles during that time but all was well after seeing the doctor and taking the medication.

I started the year 2008 with stressful exams preparation. My last exam was on Saturday 19th of January, leaving only a one-day 'holiday' before the second semester starts on Monday 21st of January. Initially Saw (another mobility student from Malaysia) and I was granted special arrangement after we reported the matter. Feeling apprehensive that we would fail to reach the airport in time to catch the booked flight at night on that day itself, we had to change our flight booking to go back later and miss some lectures in the Malaysia campus. We also had to extend our stay in the hostel in UK which expired on 18th of January. We felt that our situation should have been taken account when the examination timetable was made.

The examination period was almost all work and no play, but the cold weather helped energize my mind. I was particularly shocked when an incorrect formula was given for the first compulsory question in an exam paper which befuddled the students. Then we received the graph papers late after more than 30 minutes into the examination for another two exam paper which did not state that graph papers should be provided in the cover page. Fortunately I did not panicked and managed to do pretty well as the results came out last week, much earlier than the announcement of results in the Malaysia campus which I heard is scheduled on 22nd of February.

Overall I had a great time in the UK and I miss it. I made a lot of friends, who threw Saw and I a surprise farewell party and I am glad that my average results improved despite having spent a lot of time traveling. The only regret is that I did not have the opportunity to travel to Europe and to stay longer in the UK.

This shall be the final post that I write as I am currently having an one-week holiday for the Chinese New Year. I would like to wish all my Chinese friends Happy Chinese New Year and thank everyone who helped made my experience in the UK truly enjoyable. Thank you and good bye.

 

27th November 2007 | My first snow!

Phew! I have just gone through the most hectic 2-week period in my semester so far, coping with the lab reports, courseworks, test and I even managed to enjoy a wonderful visit to Durham during that period.

I arrived in Durham on 9th of November to spend a weekend with my host parents, David and Sally Bowers, on the Host UK programme. We went to many places in Durham and Newcastle, and the experience was surprisingly educational for me, because I had the chance to learn a lot about the culture, buildings, and history of the places we visited and enjoyed traditional British food as I interact with my very kind and generous host parents. I would recommend the programme to any international student as this was truly a great experience.

After my visit, however, I was devastated when I received my coursework and test results for Computer Systems. They were very low, on the verge of failing, as my work probably did not meet the requirements although I have put effort into it, which might not be good enough. The thought of getting the dismaying results lingered in my mind like gloomy clouds, which wasn't entirely a bad thing since that encouraged me to work the extra mile as I want to strive for a first class degree.

On a lighter note, there was snow falling on Sunday night (18th of November). It was not really snow and should be called 'sleet' to be precise, but non-the-less beautiful to watch. This is the first time I have seen the white powdery ice crystals floating gently and ubiquitously down from the sky. I was excited for a few minutes before going back to my room to study for the test on Monday.

As expected, the weather is getting bitterly cold these days signifying the approaching winter. This evening (24th of November) when the temperature dropped to a new low at -1 degree celcius, I walked outside of my accommodation with only one layer of t-shirt to experience the cold (which was one of the reasons I decided to come in this semester). I felt nothing in the first 20 seconds. A gust of wind blew, and I felt a bit cold. Another cold breeze blew at me and my hands started to feel like ice. It was then that I decided that it would be foolish to test how long I can survive outside without a jacket and went back to my room to prevent frostbite.

As I am writing now, I am anticipating the trip to Manchester tomorrow with the Nottingham Exchange Student Society . It was finally time to relax a little after the two busy weeks while simultaneously hoping that I would not get another low mark for the courseworks I have submitted.

 

1st November 2007 | Arriving in Nottingham

It's only been two months since I first came to this country and I am glad to have been making good use of the time here ( I hope) while struggling with the perennial study stress and courseworks just like any other student in this world. I have initially applied for 2 semesters but unfortunately there were not enough places and I ended up with one semester. Still, I know it will be an exciting opportunity for me. A lot of preparation was done which includes the university registration, visa application and buying of tickets, luggage and winter clothing before I embarked on the journey to England.

The first week was hectic with the lovely welcome programme I joined, which offered free accommodation and food. As I was bombarded with a great deal of information, the thought that I was more than 6500 miles away from home did not register in my mind until after a few days when I went to the Nottingham city centre. Perhaps I was already used to the 'Nottingham environment' in the Malaysia campus where there are many international students and faculties around. There was also the Fresher's fair which really opened up my eyes to the plethora of clubs and societies available in this university and the people here are generally very nice and courteous.

The university park is a lot bigger than the Malaysia campus and I have to walk quite frequently to go to class and to do my errands. I am used to walking now especially since the weather is cold and invigorating (as long as I have my jacket on). I live in a single flat room sharing kitchen and bathroom with two friendly Germans and Chinese. Like all other students who live in off-campus accommodation, I started to do my own cooking to save money. Talk about money, as expected, the living cost here is a lot higher than in Malaysia. While I could eat out and get a sumptuous dinner for one pound in Malaysia, I now consider having a one pound instant frozen meal for lunch as a good deal in the UK.

Now, so much for my UK life, it's time to talk about the main reason I am here --- my studies. To be honest, I am quite impressed by the lecturers here. They know their subject really well constantly offering facts and reasoning like a walking text book. Some of them would also go to great lengths to illustrate a point by showing us animations, you-tube videos and real objects. The internet portal is also utilized to offer course materials, which I find very useful. One thing that shocks me the most though is how inadequate I am when conversing with a native English speaker. While I could speak English in lightning speed with other Malaysians without worrying about my accent, I would stutter nervously when trying to match my accent to the British accent, which often results in a weird accent that nobody can understand. Hopefully I could improve my English skills as I signed up for the Insessional English classes offered by CELE (Centre for English Education).

Overall, I have had enjoyed most of my time in the UK, going to the Goose fair (a really enormous fun fair, I might say) and joining the trip to the Oxford city organized by the Nottingham Exchange Student Society. I also had a taste of the Malaysian food which I missed by going for the dinner and open house held by the Nottingham Malaysian Society. I look forward to going to Durham and perhaps Jersey and Switzerland in the near future, before my semester examination kicks in.