Understanding Britain and British

People used to say that staying in UK is not enjoyable, but holidaying in UK is definitely is. I agree with that says after a few months we were here. Please be reminded that I am not referring to the advancement in educational support, the stability of the policy systems and the administration of the government but, I am referring to the atmosphere and the feeling of residing in Britain. Why do I said so?

First few months here, we started to feel uneasy with the currency exchange rate. E.g.: buying a burger in Mc D will cost £4/5 p/person; which is equivalent to RM15/20 for just a burger in Malaysia. In Malaysia Hall, you can have a plate of nasi & lauk for £5-6 a meal p/person. Travelling to and fro Welwyn garden city (25miles to London) to London Central train station, Kings Cross will cost £18 per/person. (with a day pass within central London to Zone 6 only) Entering to an old Palace cost £17 p/person adult. (There are lots of museums with free of charged) Madam Tousoude entrance fee for adult is £27 p/person, child is £25 p/person. A single trip by bus to the University cost £2.50 p/person (you could ask for a day trip if you want to be cheaper before you start the journey). A key-chain for souvenir cost £5 - 1, which depending on the size and design. That means, you can easily spent £100 a day = RM500 minimum if you are in London. Believe it or not that we haven't experienced the eye of London, Mdm Tousoude, Thames river cruise etc after 16 months here! kesiankan?..Anak2 I dah lama dok ajak, I buat tak tahu je...hehe...Certainly, you could spend as much as you can if you are well prepared with your budget allocation based on where you want to reside. A small town e.g. Manchester, Sheffield, Glassgow, etc are much more easy to manage and plan your monthly commitment and spending.

Ni bab seronok nak cerita, kena tulis dalam bahasa kita. You can't have a break by going out to Teh-tarik or sembang2 ngan jiran. Sekor pun tak keluar rumah sbb sejuk, semua balik kerja memerap, keluar ada tujuan. Dorang ni stylenya berbeza, dorang buat hall masing2. Just kata hi tu adalah. I plak, kete takde, my husband took it to work. My kids lah yg paling kesian, balik sekolah, mengadap komputer layan diri ngan games, FB, emails, of course buat kerja sekolah. Sekali sekala, weekend, I bagilah dorang nak keluar pergi town ngan kawan2. My husband, lagi kesian, dulu kat Malaysia, I balik kerja dia takde, dinner time adala, then kul 10mlm, teh tarik..3 kali jugak seminggu..balik kul 12/1pagi...ha kat sini, balik kerja terus dok rumah. Alangkah baiknya!
I plak, dulu, boring sikit jalan2 kat shopping kompleks ngan anak2, or kawan2, makan2. Now..boring ke tak boring ke...dok rumahlah jawabnya. Sebab, nak keluar sejuk, duit lagi, masa lagi, nak kena jalan kaki lagi nak tunggu bas....hahah orang kata pusing 180 degrees....Last2 aku duduk rumah, masak, buat kerja, FB, tgok TV bila boring, makan, minum. Amacam? best ke tak best? Sapa kata best, boleh lah buat PhD kat sini, sapa kata tak best, alamatnya jgan datang sini. Buat kat Malaysia...lagi best macam2 tmpat boleh pergi, murah, dll. Ini terpulanglah..this was based on my experience..Lagi pun tempat I duduk ni takde Malaysian, may be in Manchester, Sheffield, Glassgow suasananya lain di mana ramai Malaysian duduk berdekatan.

Berbalik pada cerita currency exchange tadi, we try our best to avoid from dine elsewhere. We usually eat at home before we go out to minimise our spending on food as much as possible. Most of the time, we do window shopping in Debenham, Bhs, New Look, Selfridges Departmental Store, Mark & Spencer (M & S), Primark, Zara, Miss Selfridge, Monsoon, Harrods etc. Oxford Streets is the best place to window shop, or shop. Knightsbridge Street, High Kensington etc with many famous fashion shops, Hyde Park in the centre of London, Bayswater for its Multi nations' food, there are a number of Halal restaurants as you can choose Indian, Pakistan, Arab, Malaysian, Siam, Chinese, Mc D etc. M & S is a huge store where you can search for everything from raw food to home furnishing. I usually spent a few hours observing the items from one to another department and take a break in their coffee shop. I will have this thing once in two months time as I need to relief my mind a little bit, after staying at home everyday if I am not going to school. Usually once in a week I have an appointment with Dr Steven or Mr Alan, my 2nd supervisor. Once in a month there are meeting with the research students, or sometimes; twice in a month there are research methodology seminars with the school research staff.

The meeting usually will be started with showing the progress worksheets on research writing, diagram, structure, or discussion on the literature review and research questions. I can say that the guidance and discussion are being done in a professional manner of understanding and respect between us. I prefer to ask any questions that I needed further clarification from them. I prefer to be truth and honest in the discussion and Alhamdulillah we've been kind of happy this way, with this style of student-supervisor relationship. Derives from the discussion, I usually deliver the best I can to what was being asked to prepare. Probably, you could initiate the next meeting if there's something going on that u can't make it on the day's set. Try not to drag the meeting for a month or two as you will be lost. Almaklumlah you are on your own, you surely have the potential of diverting your thesis to something else...I pun sama terseleweng jugak sekali sekala..masa tu Ramadhan, Raya..masak/tidur je kerja..penatlah puasa more than 12 jam..summer time tu siang panjang, mlm pendek. Hahah..

The weather is so unpredictable as there are multi type of weather in a day. Basically, most of the time it is cold. A predicted sunny day could turns to a gloomy and cold throughout. Last year, started in the month of October, the temperature was down to 10-8 degrees at night and 10-13 day time. It seems to me that the fall seasons doesn't starts in September, but it was the whole year through. Undeniably that there were occasionally sunny sunshine's at 17-20 degrees but it was not last long in a day. I have experienced standing waiting for a bus in snows for 45 minutes, my both feet and hands were cramped and frozen! Tu dah pakai berapa lapis jackets, gloves, socks and boots!



Lupa nak pesan, if you plan to travel around London by a car, it is troublesome as you need to look for parking spaces and just for your info, we've been summoned for parking 6 times altogether last year £60 x 6 = £360 wasted unnecessarily. It was quite confusing sometimes as there were places where you can't park although you were certain that it was safe.

To be continued....