Two Months in a Nutshell

As hard as I've been trying to remember what I have been doing for the past (nearly) two months since I got here, I still couldn't remember every bit of it. I am trying my best to tell you as much as I could remember.

On 29th September, I arrived in Heathrow after my horribly long flight at around 7.30am, went through the immigration customs and got my luggage at 8.30am, rushed to another terminal to catch the coach to the university which was supposed to leave at 9am but delayed (for almost 2 hours...)
And there started my new life.

EY411 from KUL to AUH, the very beginning of my journey

We arrived at the campus after almost three hours on the coach. But there was a problem. My accommodation is in the south of the campus, but we were dropped off at the north entrance of the campus. So that was a pretty good walk through all those steps with my lovely luggage, couldn't really say I like my first impression of the campus!

The campus! We walked from the entrance north of the four towers to the big circle down south

I went to London on the third weekend to visit Dahlia, an old friend from last year whom I haven't met for almost a year. It's been quite a while since I leave London, and couldn't really tell how much I have missed Metropolitan Line, Tottenham Court Road, or even Pret a manger. We went to a lot of places, had a lot of fun and I will definitely go visit her again (and again!)  

I missed London and my old friend so much we had an awesome day in the capital

I've also joined some of the societies in the university, the one I like the most being the Model United Nations where basically a bunch of people represent different countries to discuss different topics about global issues every week. Quite a lot of people have asked me about this, I will probably write about this in details soon. I so far have enjoyed the debate and thought that it is fun and interesting to be able to represent a country and argue (or fight) with other countries. (Looking at you, Democratic People's Republic of Korea!) 

 

This was the Mini-MUNEX conference where we discussed about international food security

With the Model United Nations Society I also went to Oxford for the Oxford International Model United Nations conference organised by the University of Oxford, where I represented El Salvador in the committee of Organization of American States. We had a lot of interesting intensive and exciting discussions about drug trafficking and sex trade in Latin America. That was my first MUN conference and I would say I learned a lot of things, gained some valuable experience and also made some friends!

The wonderful committee of Organization of American States

I am really happy that I have luckily made some friends here already and we spent time together doing silly stuff, talk about languages and shit. Sometimes we do have some quality wonderful activities, like we managed to have a hot pot night successfully (after some one-month of prep time) and invited people from all over the world. (exaggeration intended) I'm proud of ourselves, and I say we are actually quite awesome.

The hot pot night with the guys

There's still so much more I want to write about and so many more photos I want to share but I think I will just stop here for this time. Stay tuned if you're interested in my upcoming posts! See you soon.

I'm Back

Don't ask me what I have been doing for the past 10 months, believe me, you don't want to know. But here I am, blogging on my laptop in my uni dorm room, far away in Essex, England, trying to tell you what's going on in my life.

Yes, I first came to England last September, studying at a university in London. However it turned out to be a wrong decision, so I struggled through it, went back home for a couple of months, and came back to England again. And yeah, now a proud Modern Languages student at the University of Essex.

So how is it? Do I like it here? Will this turn out to be a wrong decision (again)?
It is amazing! Yes I like it here and no, I am pretty sure that this is not a wrong decision.

Some of my friends know what I have been through throughout this year and they told me I was crazy. Or worse, I was called a liar once. But now that I've moved on, I know exactly what I am expected of and what I should do, how I should behave.

The decision to come back to England was a tough one to make and I kind of hated myself for being unrealistic. I was so depressed, I didn't want to look like a fool to everyone else and I knew people would talk about me like a joke or even judge and criticise me so I had to be very careful. The moment when I waved goodbye to my family when I was at the airport, I was actually scared. I didn't know what would be waiting for me except for a 17-hour flight. I spent the 17 hours thinking about my decision, my life until then, what I should do, how I could cope with my new life etc. I would not lie, I was lost when I landed in Heathrow. Will I regret my choice? Will I make any friends? Will I enjoy the course? the campus? the town? Will I miss home? Will I be able to take care of my own meals? What should I eat? What should I wear? .. And then the next thing I knew, it's been more than a month since I came here.

Ask me anything about my life now, I will say I really really like it. The other day we had this "what would you do if you won the lottery" essay in our French class, and I said I wouldn't change anything significantly, except for paying my own tuition and maintenance fees to support myself financially, because I love my life now. Even I was surprised by my answer.

I started participating in extra-curricular activities again, just like what I used to do back in high school. I still clearly remember how busy I was when I was 17 years old and how much I enjoyed being busy. I am not completely sure about that now, it is still the beginning but I think I will still have the same kind of energy and spirit.

So that's what I want to tell you! I will try to be more detailed the next time I see you. Have a nice day.

Turning 20

It's been a long while since I last blogged. Not only I had nothing significant to write about, I had no time for it as well. But I am here now, sitting in front of my laptop in my room, knowing nothing certain about my future and life.

I haven't told anyone (except my two best friends) about my course and what I had done to my uni life. I didn't feel I need to explain because I am living my life, not someone else's. This is how I want my life to be, the only thing I feel apologetic, I am not spending my own money. All this great amount of fortune, comes from my parents rather than myself. Until now the only money I have earned myself was from the short Chinese-teaching job I had in London. Nonetheless I have quitted it cause it didn't adapted well to my routine.

However my life has been a mess right now. And I haven't got the slightest idea to organise it and to make it better for myself. I know of certain things which I don't like, but I don't know what I ACTUALLY want. My mum has been really prophetic on this. We talked over the phone a few days ago and she had (heartbreakingly, callously and realistically) accused me of splurging money on things which are obviously redundant.

Not true. Well, to some extend, true. This has been my notoriously bad habit (since I was young, again, according to my prophetic mum). But this time, I am pretty sure I won't regret doing this. It's just it has gone too complicated to be simply explicable. Although I am a loyal follower for sayings like "you are living your OWN life" or "what other people think of you has nothing to do with you", I still, think that I have to live a life that is acceptable and agreeable to my families and my (very few, authentic) best friends.

All these pressures, adding to the fact that I am a 20-to-be in a few months, have been really daunting. OK, I am a little bit exaggerated, but I really want to earn my own living as soon as possible, I don't want to just spend my parents' money on overly pricey (and unworthy) education and eventually graduate knowing nothing to do and having no plans about my future. I don't want to be such miserable. I don't have to be.

As much as I have been babbling about how good I will be and even though there are bullshits to others, I still think it's worth trying. Alas, I am 20, like others said I have nothing to lose, so if I fail after two years, I mean IF, I am still only 22. What if I try at the age of 25? or 28? That's too unrealistic.

Nonetheless these are just my mumblings and they are clearly not purposely written for a huge audience.