My first part-time job

So I got a job  as a kitchen assistant :X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X in Brighton! That was stunning because this is the first time that I have a chance to experience the “real” working and also as you know, I love cooking, thus just one word can describe my feeling: BRILLIANT!

I will describe my job for you. I work for PHO restaurant. It’s actually a Vietnamese restaurant with of course Vietnamese food. The most delicious dish of our restaurant I think is summer roll (because I make it he he). Actually, some of my friends went to try food in my restaurant and they said they like all the food especially summer rolls (ho ho ho). You also can try spring rolls, pho, or bun….uhm I really want to show you the specific address of our restaurant but even now I still don’t know it ha ha, ah but I know that there is a traditional sweet shop in the way to the restaurant! Oh my god, everytime I pass the shop I always stand outside for a few minutes to smell and look at the chocolate, WOW it is really fascinating! I wish I could buy some but ….. you know I’m too fat! Heixxxxx. OK let’s go back to our topic! In the kitchen, I am responsible for making summer roll, salad and dessert! Wow I am important! He he he! And I work with many people! Some of them are Brazilian, others from Peru, 2 guys from Thailand. I’ve just actually asked myself whether it is a Vietnamese restaurant? Ha ha ha! Oh yeh we have 5 Vietnamese people including me. Two of us cannot speak Vietnamese! Anyway, everybody is really wonderful and that is… We are friends!

What else should I tell you? Uhm I think I will tell you 8 things that I love and I hate when working at the restaurant:

I love:

• Having so much Vietnamese food, Vietnamese ingredients, Vietnamese smell around me! They remind me about my country and my family! It feels like being at home!
• Enjoying Brighton before going to work! Actually I’m really lazy, I just like lying on the bed and watching movie, hardly going out ho ho ho!
• The traditional sweet shop on the way to the restaurant
• Break time when I can order any food and the chef will cook for me!
• The customers,when they finish the meal, they pass by the kitchen and say thank you to all the staff
• The feelings when my friends (Jonny and Manon) came to visit me at the restaurant!
• My lovely friends in the kitchen! For example Bloody Michell with the limited English and always say: “Me not understand!”
• The weekly tip! He he he

I hate:

• The first day when I had to learn Vietnamese food (what I always made at home) from Brazilian women! It was ridiculous!
• Busy evenings at weekend
• The customers when they order lots of food at them same time! I admit that I can not calm down at these times and I’m always crazy!
• The chef cooks a lot for me -> I eat a lot after 10pm -> I’m fatter and fatter!
• The work finishes too late! Heizzzzzzzz! Now I understand how the real working is!
• Bus number 25! I feel like it always crawls on the road at a 5m/h speed!

(there are only 6 things I hate as I actually love the restaurant so much!)

I realise that working is not easy as I thought! You have to work very hard and sometimes you feel exhausted!However, this work also brings many benefits to me. Beside the extra money, I can gain experience, have new friends, increase my English as well as study other languages such as Portuguese and above all, I makes me understand the real value of working, the best way to enjoy your life!

Chinese Cakes!!!

I and a red bean cake of Jodi ^-^ Yummy yummy…

Jodi is my best friend in my class. She is not only very lovely but also really kind. She always listens to me and supports me when I’m upset. I feel very happy because I have a wonderful friend like her.

I really like Jodi thus I want to make something special for her. I made some cookies and muffins for her. I thought it not very delicious but she always says that they are very nice. That makes me very happy.

To thank me, one day Jodi said that she would make Chinese cakes for me on Saturday. Oh my God! I was so excited that I thought about this whole night before this Saturday. And of course I had a wonderful Saturday morning with Jodi in her kitchen in Park Village.

Park Village kitchen is quite small and when I came in whole kitchen is pouring into a fantastic smell of Jodi’s cakes. One type if cake was finished and Jodi wanted me to try it. Uhm…It looks very strange but fascinated ^-^. It looked like a role cake but it has some nuts outside and a special core inside. I could not wait to taste it and when my mouth touched these cakes a wonderful smell flew out and the sweet taste of the cover really attracted me. More specially, the core is very soft and smooth. I thought that it is one type of bean and Jodi explained that it is red beans. She had to wake up very early, boiled these beans and then crushed them into a soft mass with sugar. How amazing it is! It really like one type of Vietnamese traditional cake and it reminds me of my hometown (hic hic). I was really moving. See! Jodi is very kind.

Oh! Jodi is still making another type of cake. Uhmmm… How to describe it! She made the cover by flour, eggs and water ( I think so…) and beat it like when you make breads , yeh really similar. But then, she put spring onions inside this mix and fried them. First I thought it is very fat but when I tasted it, it is really beautiful! Try it and you will love it because it make you feel very comfortable with the mild taste and a little bit natural sweet of spring onions. More beautifully, the smell of spring onions and flour is a perfect combination. I’ve just know that Jodi is a fabulous chef!!!!!

The fabulous chef, JODI!!!!

We talked a lot (as usual) and I helped her to clean equipments. But I found another smell from the oven. Oh! Jodi also made another cake. I told you, she is very nice. Well. This type of cake is totally strange to me. They look like meat balls with nuts outside. And they are very sensitive because they are easily broken. Thus Jodi had to be very careful and meticulous to take it out the tray. Anyway, it tastes very nice!!!!

I really had a cake party with three amazing types of cake. These cakes are not only really beautiful but they are also more wonderful because they were made by Jodi, my best friend. The taste of friendship is the sweetest taste in this life!!!!!!!!! I also found that Jodi is a lovely and kind girl, an amazing chef and above all, a wonderful friend.

Ah! I forgot that, these cakes not only for me but also for Kanayo, our friend, she is very nice too and Louis (>.<), he was absent, but because Jodi is very nice thus I brought some cakes to him. He is really lucky and I’m lucky too because we have a wonderful friend, Jodi. Thanks Jodi!!!

Hank

A LIFETIME IN THE UK….I DON’T THINK SO……

People in my life just assume that because I have been here for a while that I want to settle down here. I think it is one of the hurdles as an international student that you have to face. Let me explain:

On average you will have spent about 4 years in this country. You become attached! It becomes your base and you have all this network of friends!! Further, like it all not, you have created a gap in your own country. Many people have become used to not having you around and thus the group you used to hang out with has moved on. They miss you, but you are not always there for them. So, when you go back there, there is this challenge of re-establishing yourself once again. Of getting back into the system where things have changed because life moves on.

Some people therefore become tempted to just stay on here. I think rarely does an international student come here with the goal of living here forever. However by the end of four years, it is seriously just a second home. If you love it enough some decide it is worth just settling here and go home only for visits. This country does offer various opportunities which, I think for most can be tempting and worth the shift.

For others, they hate it. I am not naïve in thinking that others don’t hate their whole experience here. They just can’t wait to finish their university and go home. The main reason they came here is the undeniable fact that the standard of education is quite high. But they want to go home and face whatever challenges their absence might have caused. They have the knowledge this country offers but the whole idea of a life here is just impossible.

I think am the person in between. I love it here. It has become home for now. I like the education and all that the country offers. And I have been away from my country for long to really understand that life there does not stop when you leave. People go on and things become different. I think even I have changed. Definitely living away from home does change your perspectives on life, or even your goals. The easy way of this would be to settle here and try and find a good job. I think I would be happy here honestly, I really do love it.

But the person who said east or west home is best was right. As much as I love it, for me going home is what I want. I have changed, yes, my country has, yes, but I am willing to spend some time adapting once again. This country is very developed and I come from still developing country. I really think there is more that I can offer in my country than in this country. The knowledge I gain here will be handy though…lol..

So yeah, you can see, there is room for everyone…the lovers, the haters and the stuck in the middle ones…..I read somewhere that lawyers like to rationalise things and put everything into a its own compartment…I hope am not being completely lawyer-like if I say, each one of you would fit in at least one of these compartments….lol…

Hope you all had a great great Easter!!!

Oh, and yeah, one more thing you may or may not know about me. People assume I have it figured and that I know exactly where am heading and what I want to do with my life. And from this blog, you would too…but… I don’t!!! I know for sure what I don’t want to be or do- a solicitor or barrister or settle here. However, apart from that I don’t know. I do know what I like doing but I don’t know the kind of job that offers that. Nevertheless, I am very optimistic about my future; I just don’t know what I will be doing in it.

xoxo

Ruth

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND……

One thing about being away from home is trying to establish a new network of friends while maintaining, or trying to maintain the old network. This blog is inspired by many of my friends. Let me just say, this has not been written in order of preference…hehehe…..

Firstly there are my 3 friends- Yuka, Aliya and Funlola- who I made in Foundation. They are my oldest bunch of friends in the UK. Recently, we celebrated 2 of their birthdays. Its always fun being with them and I learn an important lesson when I am with them. That is that, friendship is about trying to be there for the other. Right now, we are in different courses and it is always harder to link up but we always have to make an effort. Further, the more our paths seem to separate the more I realise how different we are, really like cheese and chalk. But I realise each day that it is possible to be friends with people who are completely different from you. The idea is to have fun together!!!

Then there are my African friends here!! These are quite a bunch!! It is always easy to chat with them. They are after all a slice of home to me. They dull my homesickness and I love being with them. It’s easy to talk for hours without tiring because it is funny how similar we are. One thing about living abroad and making friends is that, they can never get you. With this bunch, I don’t have to explain why I do some things because they understand why. Sometimes its simple things, like them understanding I miss eating my local chicken or the more complicated stuff like things I like and don’t like about guys. It is easier for them to understand my principles, I should say….

Then there are my British friends….these for me are evidence of how kind and good people can be. These people have welcomed me into their country, their hearts! Many of them are the sweetest people I have met and the fact that I don’t speak or look like them is always irrelevant. You have no idea how many insecurities can come up from being an international student. There always seems to be this need to prove yourself to be an equal to the British or even better. Each day with these is a reminder that I don’t have to be anyone else by myself. And though they can not always get me, they always listen and manage to get it in the end anyway…

Then there are all my friends back home. These are divided into 2. There are those who were my friends but who I never cared to put effort to make our friendship richer. Now all I have is a phone, an email and regrets of the time I should have spent working on the friendships. The problem is that sometimes you tend to take people who are always around you for granted. Like they will always be around. Then you leave and everything changes. But there is no use crying over spilt milk…with these I just do the best I can ….keep in touch and prepare for a time when we will meet and make up for lost time.

The second category is my crew…the ones that are my best friends!! This for me is the most painful. Where you wish they were here with you so that you could learn and grow together. Where I get sad and wish they were here to say the right words because they really know me. Maintaining this kind of friendship is a painful pleasure. You have to do it still because you love them and they are your best!!! This category reminds me that friendship can survive through distance and time and absence only makes the heart grow fonder!!!

To my fellow international students, I know you can relate to this…maybe you haven’t been so fortunate to have created a network here, but give it a go!! When I first came here I was so stuck on my network at home to even be friendly here but I did realise no man is an island, we all need some people every once in a while and you might just meet amazing people.

To those wanting to come, before you leave, make sure you hug your friends and let them know how much they mean to you and don’t be worried about being alone here, believe me I am not a very social kind of person but I have all this burden with all these friends I have made that I don’t want..lol…(joke)

Ruth

Visit the Sussex ISC website here

AN UPDATE…….

Can I just say…blogging is so much fun!!! I don’t have to stress like when writing essays…you know, the bibliography, footnotes….gosh…YAYYYYYY!!! to no referencing…lol..:)

Okay, firstly, I did survive the tour I gave last month. I was terrified. You know how when you get so nervous your mouth gets dry, well mine was…But the good news is, I got through it all. It was a wonderful experience and they said I did a good job.  I later got my first pay slip from the University…that’s fab I think. I loved it!!

Secondly, school has now closed for Easter. Everything is such a big deal here. The shops are full of yellow eggs and yellow feathers and so much more. Why is it yellow and not cream?  I don’t get it,… eggs are neither yellow nor feathers yellow!!! I happen not to like yellow so this is not exactly fun for me…but hey, there is a time for everything and right now is bonnet time…lol…

Thirdly, before school ended I got to write two essays, gosh!! Am glad that’s over and done with. I don’t understand why it is always so much work to write a piece of paper? I also got a work shadowing opportunity at the House of Commons. As I write this, it sounds so surreal. Me a Malawian girl went to work at the House of Commons??? Amazing!! It was great and I learnt so so much. I think I also appreciated the British system a bit more. In class, we spend so much time analysing it and many marks in essays do come from pointing out its faults. It was a very wonderful experience therefore to see things in action and realise that these are just people like you and me trying to make things work. It is something I will remember for long.

Also, SPRING IS HERE!!!! HOORRAY!! Did I say, this is my favourite season…everything bursting into life, so beautiful! The sun is coming out a bit more.. a lot more people are just walking…and the campus always looks amazing!!! People stop wearing all the heavy gloomy jackets and are more inclined to just sit and chat!! I think when spring comes around; it makes surviving winter worth it. I think it’s like in life. Sometimes you go through hardships then everything settles and new nice things start happening and life becomes colourful and vibrant again chasing away the sadness!! I LOVE that!!!

Lastly, did I tell you our campus is having a facelift…lol,,,yeah, pretty much everything is being brought up to date. So you know I have been on campus for three years now and by now I knew all the buildings and where things were, how they work and then all of a sudden I don’t. The names of buildings have changed, the book lending machines in the library have changed, and even the amount of books you can take out???? They are building more lecture rooms… but all this for me has been okay, I mean I was handling it but then they had to move our law school!!!!! Let me just say our law school was by itself and so cool. It was in a beautiful building of glass on top of a tiny hill…. Everyone could see it; blah blah blah…you get it right? Anyway, now we have been moved to a hidden place, no one can see, into a building coloured the most hideous shade of pink you have ever seen!!!! When I went there for the first time, I got lost so many times and it was just plain stressful..arrrggghhhh!!! Anyway, that’s life, I guess….

Ruth

Visit the Sussex ISC website here

I’m 18 now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cake that my friends made for me!!!^-^

My 18^th birthday is also the first birthday that I’m far from my family. The feeling is very strange. At home, in my birthday, my parents always cooked my favourite dishes. I also had a party with my friends in a small food shop near my high school. Oh everything was very great!!!!

But now, oh my god, I’m really busy. I have so much homework that I can’t finish all of them before my birthday. I’m always in a hurried situation within one week. I really don’t want that on my 18^th birthday. I’m still crazy in the pile of homework (hu hu). Then, despite I didn’t finish my sociology essay; I decide that I will spend a free day for my birthday. ^-^

At 12pm 25^th Jan, I’m 18. At this moment, I’m very happy and excited. I just want to go out and shout. But of course I didn’t do this. I just listen to the song that I like; eat a small piece of the Gateau cake and go to sleep. Oh it is a very gentle sleep.

In the morning, when I’m still sleeping, somebody knocks my door. I wake up and Oh My God!!!! They are Diana and Sue, the cleaners in my Lancaster house. They are also my best friends here. They always listen to my problems, encourage me and chat with me. It is so lucky when I met them. And today, they appear and sing the Happy Birthday Song for me.

They also prepare a small cake with a candle. Oh it’s so lovely. I’m really happy and I just wanna cry. They give me a bunch of flowers with a warm hug. I can’t believe that in a strange country like England, I can find a wonderful friends like them. No words can describe my happiness at this time. I just wanna say Thank you, Thank you so much for everything that you gave me!!!!!! And from this moment, I know that I will have the greatest birthday in my life with my true friends…

My lovely presents from Di and Sue!!!!

After that, I receive so many wishes from my friends. I also chat with my family and we talk a lot. Then I go to Brighton. Today is a sunny and lovely day. I walk along the beach and breathe the fresh air of the sea. Before I come back, I buy a small pot of flowers in a flower shop. I really feel comfortable and happy.

In the evening, my friends celebrate with a small party for me. All of them sing the happy birthday song. They even make a cake for me. I’m so happy that I cry when I read their cards. We talk a lot and they give me lots of beautiful wishes. John, one of my friends, also sings a song with his guitar for me. My friends say that the 18^th birthday is the most important day because now I’m adult. Thus they give me a bottle of wine, VS brand. Actually, it contains just 4% alcohol, quite weak. And I drink, talk and dance with them till very late. Oh it is a nice party.

The most memorable thing in my birthday was the special card from my friend, Lloyd. His sister had a time working in Vietnam, my country. Thus he asked his sister how to write Vietnamese and gave me a card with all Vietnamese wishes. Most of them are true, just only one mistake. He wrote “Dear Hank” in Vietnamese but this Vietnamese word means ”Dear boss”!!! Oh, it is so lovely. I’m totally impressed and moved. There was another thing that I’ll never forget. The next morning, I had to wake up at 5 am to complete my sociology essay. I wrote like if I stop typing I will die. Heizzzzzzzz. Thanks God! I finish it on time (just 10 minutes before class). I was really scared.

I love all of my friends so much. Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never for one moment will I forget you!!!! I will remember this birthday, forever.

Hank

Now back to my life

I am actually supposed to be telling you about my life as an international student! Well, here goes:

At this moment in my life I am having balancing issue. I have school, church, friends, work, and all these are parts of me I love and that do require attention.

Let me start with church. So I have been raised up a Christian and I do believe in God. The thing is, my beliefs don’t burden me in any way but actually relieve me. So, I find myself going to church and being in Christian societies because I enjoy it. I also find myself spending a lot of time doing that after all it only makes logical sense to spend a lot of time doing something you love!!

I can balance this well with school. I mean, if it was just religion and school, the balance would be great because, even though school is hard and tiring, for me it is amazing. I love it. When it’s hard I enjoy it more because when you think of it, it is a challenge and I do not want to fail at a challenge. In my second year I find that I have to work more so a lot of the time I am in the library. I know a lot of people do find it strange that I actually like reading for long hours but I believe everyone has their thing in life. Some are artists or designers and they can sit for hours drawing and designing. Me am a book person. I can not imagine drawing for hours or finding pleasure in it, but I get it. Another thing is I have grown up in books. We always joke in our family that we are a bunch of nerds. If someone told my dad that Ruth is mostly holed up in the library, he would say, where else should she be? So this takes up a huge space….. and I don’t know any other way!!

But then there are friends! I love my friends so so much. I love hanging out with them and having a blast. I always think of friends as my rays of sunlight on a gloomy day or my sunflowers because sunflowers always make me smile. This term I went knitting with some, my mom would be so proud…lol… but it was great just talking. And this is where you go…aawwwww…..lol….And I have been lucky enough to make friends who really get me just as I am and who are some what similar to me. That has been important because when you move to a new place, you can find people you talk to or just have a good time with but the ones who get you,… that is rare. Sometimes I wish all my friends could be friends but I do not think that can happen. I have a variety of friends and am not sure all would click with each other. I mean maybe you see this all the time. You get friends from your different circles and you try to chat with them both at the same time and it can be a hassle because of the differences. So at the end of the day you do find yourself very busy in different activities because I want to spend time with all of my friends. Sometimes this does not always work and I find myself worrying that one group feels neglected….and I get sad…but anyway, so you must see that at this time my plate is filled to maximum and overflowing, but no wait,,,,,,, there is work.

Yes, I still have to find time to work. 15 hours a week. I would love to get this off the list but I cant. I need the money and I have found this goes well with my school because I read more since I always think that I have lost time working. So it sort keeps me grounded in a way.

But I hope you understand that juggling all this can make me tired and sometimes I just want to rest and not bother. You get lucky and some people understand that but others wont always. Its tough but you choose your priorities.

One thing that always keeps me focused even when I am right in the middle of confusion is my priority list. I know my priorities. Things I can compromise on and things I cant. Its easy to forget what matters especially when your mom or dad is not there to remind you….but always try to remember yourself. Someone once told me, you have to stand for some thing otherwise you will fall for anything…..what do you stand for?

Anyway, lastly, I have to say another thing you may or may not know about me: I have been hurt before….not because a boyfriend broke my heart no….it was not that. What it was can not be stated but because of that I have been forced to grow up faster than I would have. It has taken me a long time to find my feet again, to be myself again. I lost myself for a while I think…..but I have found myself and it feels good to be back!!:)

Its time up for me…..HAPPY VALENTINES PEOPLE!! I hope u had a blast. I had a great day but when I was leaving town to head for the cinema to meet some friends, I discovered I had lost my purse so I had to walk back home…a 50minute walk…alone…its definitely a valentines I wont forget…hehehehe…

Ruth

Visit the Sussex ISC website here

I know it’s selfish but will you still bear with me?

Now listen very carefully. So I told you I am now an international student ambassador and after all the training and stuff I am about to give my first school tour to prospective students next week. I am so scared. What will I tell them and will I be good enough. I am questioning myself and feeling inadequate but at the same time I think I can do it! I am confident in that or at least I think so.

Anyway, I have decided to take advantage of this blog and tell you something I would tell prospective international students. I want to tell you what I would have loved to hear before I came here.  I wish that someone would have told me more about the accommodation. To me, where I stay matters so much and because I was never really told about how the accommodation on campus is like but only told what it consists of, when I came here, it was completely different from my expectations. I spent the first few months moving around in halls to find a place that best suited me. I was not the only one who did this.

I will not concentrate on the price or anything like that. You can check that out on the Sussex website. I will just tell you what life is like in different halls. I went around asking people about this because I didn’t live in all the halls. So I want you to bear in mind that these are opinions of people and so completely subjective. You are entitled also to make your own opinion….so here goes…

EAST SLOPE

This hall of residences is on terraces. I think if you’re a complete people person you would love these. It is near the east slope bar so u can go in for a drink. The bar does also offer some great meals so u can just hang with friends too!  And even though I imagine this can be noisy, the people I asked said you get used to it. There are some rooms that are shared. This means you get to have a roommate, if you want that. I went to boarding school so I know all about sharing a room. The person I shared with turned out to be my bestfriend so sometimes you can find that person u click with. But there are single rooms as well. The bathrooms, toilets and kitchens are shared between 12 people. I can imagine the level of interaction here is high. Many flat mates I have met from eastslope have ended up being friends even after leaving the halls. There is no washing machine though so you have to walk to the laundry room in a nearby building to do the washing.

PARK HOUSES

The rooms are quite spacey and so too are the wardrobes. I love this about them. All the park rooms also have sinks in them. The bathroom and toilets are however at the end of every 10 or12 rooms and so you share then with 9 or11 other people. If you like your own privacy, you might think this is weird but it is not that bad. You do get used to it. The plus side of this is also that there is a bath tub which means you can soak in it after a long day and not just shower. The kitchens are small but there is enough space and because you share it among many people, I would say the interaction level is quite high so that it easier to make friends. There is also a TV room on the ground floor, which was one of my best rooms. In these houses too, you have to go to another building to do laundry.

LEWES COURTS

Phase 1 of it is more or less like the park houses. Except the number of people sharing it is much less. It was six last time I checked. And it is at the far end of the campus near the hills. I love the scenery from it. It is beautiful. Otherwise all is the same with the park houses.

Phase 2 is en suite with 6 people sharing the kitchen only. I hear it is a noisy place as well as a lot of parties go on there. But its university not a ….any place you picture to be quiet. But the level of interaction is low as the number is decreasing.  On the positive side, there is a paying washing machine on the ground level so you can wash your clothes there.  I hear the wardrobes are spacey too…yay!!!

BRIGHTHELM

The main attracting feature of this is the free washing machine and dryer. Students love this. I remember that you would go and do your laundry there if you had a friend. It is the only hall offering this. I love this hall. It’s very homey. It is like living in a house, with a homey kitchen and bathroom. Basically, its like a shared house which you share with 4 other people. The down side of this hall I find, is that if you have flatmates you don’t click with, I can imagine it to be a complicated situation

STANMER COURT

This was where I finally settled for 2 years. I loved it. It is also on the far end of the campus.  There are a lot of post grads here so it can be the quietest hall, I think even though it can be noisy too. It is near the train station and the road.  This can be convenient however, if you are allocated in a room near these, this can be very distracting as well. It also has a washing machine but you have to pay for it and there is a vending machine on the ground floor where u can get some food on days you’re tired. It has a wonderful entertainment room complete with a pool table. However it can be lonely as the rooms are en suite and so you only get to share the kitchen where you might not always meet your flatmates. Sometimes, you get to share with 3 other people or 6, it all depends….hehehehe …I did not like the wardrobe space here at all but overall I loved it enough to stay.

SWANBOROUGH

This is right in the middle of campus, near everything. It is the newest addition to the campus and it is also ensuite. It has much larger wardrobes so that is a plus if u like clothes like me…hehehehe…. You share the common area among 6 people. Where there are 7 sharing there is a plasma TV in the kitchen to compensate for it…Don’t ask me how that makes sense…… You would think the perfect addition to this would be a washing machine, but no, you have to go into another building to wash but at least this is the hall positioned nearest the laundry room.

So that’s it, that’s campus for you. I hope this will help you!! But now, lets think of it in context.

LIVING OFF CAMPUS!!

The University offers off campus accommodations but I have completely no idea of those. And I haven’t found some one who lived there, so I cant say much.  But, yeah, you have that choice of  living off campus too. I must say though that for your first year it’s better to be on campus. It is convenient and the best way to adapt to your new  life. There is so much happening in the first year. I think living on it helps you enjoy that.

But off campus is great I think. I love that in most cases you get to choose your flatmates. Further, it feels more like a home. When I get home from school, I can shelf school because my environment doesn’t even feel like school. Plus I love having a kitchen to call my own. The thing with living on campus is that no matter how nice it is or how at home you want it to be, it never really feels like home because you have things together. I don’t know if you can understand that. It is like living in a hotel for a very long time. Its fun and convenient but it is not home.

However, living off campus can be a nuisance at times. Depending on where you stay, at most times the buses to campus are full in the morning. Which means you have to wait for long to catch a bus for an early morning class and in most cases this can mean being late for class.

Further, there are times as a student when the library becomes a second home. When the essay deadline is tomorrow or there is an exam and you wish you could just stay until really late and walk to your room there after. For me, I always have to head home at a reasonable time now because I take a bus home. The good thing about the busses is that Sussex Uni, however, is that there is a 24-hour bus service but the wait gets longer at night.

Also, when you live on campus, you get to not worry about bills and landlords…when you live off campus, you think of this all the time. At times I just want to shake loose of these responsibilities. This has an up side though in that you are being prepared for the future…so I wont complain much….hahaha

So there is my truth about living in Brighton. You can take your pick now of what you want to do.

Ruth

Visit the Sussex ISC website here

Gibberish from an exhausted student

Do you ever get tired of that particular phase in your life and you just want to move on to the next phase? I know, I have met people who want to be in the same phase forever, like peterpan….to be young forever. Okay, so I am not sure I want to be old , I could love to be young forever but I think you would get tired of  that after a while.  Imagine all your friends growing old and dying and you seeing it all. The magical aspect of it would soon become unappealing.

So, Me I like to see progress. I like to move from one phase to another.  I am one of those people who really gets bored with things remaining the same way. Even in my friendships, I like the idea of learning new things about my friends. If our conversations remain the same for years, I fail to handle it. My best friend and I have known each other for close to 10 years. Maybe we might talk about the same stuff, but what I like about it is that we talk about a whole array of things and we get to grow together so I see that as some sort of progress.

At this moment I am feeling no progress in my school life. I am tired of this phase.  Its like a repetitive cycle that wont stop. Right now I want out of University, I want it to just stop. I want to progress on to start work and see where that will lead me. I am so tired of this phase.  The other day, I was talking to my mom about being so tired and feeling like I am making no progress. Sometimes I study to the best of my ability and I feel like I am barely scratching the surface. She told me that that is what work will be like. No matter how much you work, there will always be more work tomorrow.

So yeah, I get that. I think before I never did. When I first started working in the bookshop, I used to do the same thing all the time before I even understood what was going on. I felt after a while that, is this it? Is this all there is to life?  So I get what my mom was telling me about.  Then I also remember some people who work telling me how they wish they were back in university.  They said it was  so much better and at least you get time to rest over the really long holidays.

So it seems some of the working people complain and students complain…..seriously now I think the only time it is all fun is when you are a kid. Looking back those years were so much fun but you’ll agree with me, even then, you didn’t want to go to school even though there was not much to do. Its like a person will always complain, if not of this thing then the other.

So what am I saying? I think that ever so often, as a person you will get tired. Its part of it.  You can choose to wallow in it or not. But it is important to appreciate some accomplishment in even the small things. So at work, even when it gets really boring and I am just tired I have learnt to be happy when I finish a display even though I know tomorrow it will be messed up, I have learnt to be happy when I complete the pricing even though I know when the sales come, I will have to reprice them. Because my mom is right, work will always be there and sometimes you may feel like you are not going forward but you are, even if its just baby steps.

So am gonna tell myself to just stop entertaining these thoughts when it comes to school. I feel like am static but I am moving because I learn something new each day and I will feel accomplishments even before my graduation. I will be happy when I write essays and give presentations.

I am sorry that I have gone on and on but this is something I had to get out of my system before I write something else……..thanks for listening….hehhehehe

Ruth

Visit the Sussex ISC website here

Farewell, my friend…

Today is so freezing. And… My heart is freezing too. What happened? I don’t know. Just likes tears that flow in my mind. Farewell, my friend!

He used to be a naughty boy (^  ^). He was always kidding about everything. He has a face like Mr.Bean’s. He always wore headphones and listened to the noisy and pure music (I don’t know why, it’s terrible). He didn’t like studying and listening to the lecture (I guessed so). He was not an enthusiastic member in our Media group. He even forgot to read the presentation before presenting. And everybody thought that he was a bad student.

But he was also the only person who made me laugh everyday. He was the first person who taught me how to speak the Standard English. He always sat next to me and we had funny discussions in every class. He also made a wonderful poster for our short film. And. Above all, he is my friend, Nick.

Today, we meet each others after the holiday with a warm hold. I realize that he was totally different. Oh my god! No joke, no smile, no headphone, no ipod, no boy! In front of me is a true man. He has not only changed his hair but also his mind. He says with me that he is going to leave here next week. He thought about his life during the holiday. He felt regretful about time that he has wasted. He advised me that I should enjoy my life, my age. I should study hard, think thoroughly and never give up my way. Oh god! I couldn’t believe that he is Nick that I’ve known. He’s totally changed.

At first, I’m extremely surprise. But then I feel very proud of him because he was brave enough to change himself. After that I’m so sad that I’m gonna cry. But he says that I should enjoy myself and I am a friend of mine. And even we are friends, one day we have to be separated. Friends come in your life and they will definitely go one day. His voice makes me…

Now, I think about what he said a lot. It is unbelievable. I just think that he can change, why I can’t. It is very happy when you have a friend who can awake you in your life. I was extremely impressed by him. His advice will be a strong motivation for my studying. I’m just really regretful because I won’t have a chance to see a better Nick in the future. But I know that he will be the best.

Some words for my friend: My friend! Good luck and best wishes for u! I wish u always happy and successful. You have to be a good person. You, Sina Nick Churchil, will become a legend like Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill. I’ll miss you so much. I’m happy because in this strange country I found a wonderful friend as you. It is you, Nick, my friend. Good bye and see you!

Nick, My wonderful friend

Let’s start a new term with a thinking that…

Everyone makes mistakes…

It’s nothing to be ashamed of

Don’t let this mistake do to waste

Be able to smile as you walk

Yes, I breathe the quiet air

And raise my face towards the sky and jump in!

- Naruto-