It's coming to an end...

* attended my last lecture of the semester last Friday...It was Turbomachinery lecture...i gonna miss that sarcastic old man (and his beard!)...

* submitted my last coursework of the semester on Design of Machinery I: Kinematics this afternoon! It was a total mess...only rushed through it yesterday...and i'm not even convinced that what i submitted is correct...

* bought the last 5-kg packet of rice yesterday...(not 10 kg anymore)...only to last us for the next few weeks

* packed all my winter clothes back into the suitcase...ready to be shipped back to Singapore next week. My wardrobe is so empty now...like the day when i first came here...

* no more proper cooked dinner from the first day of exams...Everyone of us will be eating instant noodles from Monday to Thursday next week (no more luxury of preparing a feast for dinner) as we have papers on consecutive days next week...

*my first paper is just 4 days away...and i'm certainly not ready for it! Everyday our conversation revolves around how many marks we should score in each paper to hit that passing mark...I'm sure we can make it! haha...

** back to mugging mode **

Swim...swim...swim...

This afternoon, Les, Xian, Alwyn, Yan Lian and i went swimming in our university's indoor swimming pool. We had been planning to try the swimming pool once before we leave...only once coz it cost £2.50 per entry! It was drizzling and we were freezing while walking towards the swimming pool...Along the way, we kept on asking to ourselves,"Is the water in the swimming pool warm? There should be heater inside right? It wont be as cold as outside, right?" We were relieved to see a panel displaying the pool temperature as 28 degrees at the reception area.

I kept on WOW-ing the moment i entered the swimming pool area. It was so warm inside...a big contrast to the outside weather.

Loughborough University's pool - a British High Performance Centre

There are many different activities available: recreational swimming, aquajogging, water polo, aqua-aerobics, and lane swimming. We went for 2 hours of recreational swimming...it was damn shiok! The water's warm...the pool's so big that everyone in the pool has an ample space to himself...there was music played at the background...and of course there're some eye-candy! ( u know what i'm talking abt...haha).

Weirdly, no photography was allowed inside the swimming complex, but we managed to discreetly get some shots, before being scolded by the lifeguard.

Next was hair-drying session after swimming...we were so amazed at the hair-dryers outside the changing room (the guyz especially)...long time never see hair dryer already,haha...The guyz were also amused at the effect of the hair dryer on their already long hair (none of them is willling to cut their hair here in UK!)

Having fun hair-drying...

The aftermath of hair-drying session for the guyz...(see how long their hair is!)

I'm extremely shagged now...and worse, i didnt do any single school work today. Next week is already reading week...all the lectures have ended...and i only managed to punch holes on my notes and file them this morning!!! Can you imagine doing the same thing back in NUS?

My exams timetable

I have been staring at this screen for some time, but i still don't feel any stress, nor any urgency to start revising...this is really bad, right! I promise from tomorrow onwards, i'm going to put my 100% to school work! haha...

Barbecue Party

As the weather in Loughborough gets warmer, we organized a barbecue party to celebrate Xian Hong's and Mei's birthday just outside Butler Court.

It's so much different from barbecue in Singapore. Firstly, everything is in Poundsterlings (three times of Singapore Dollars)! Due to budget constraint, we had to forgo fishballs, sotongballs, marshmallow, sweet potatoes, crabsticks, stingray...and the list goes on, haiz...but of course our bbq was not that pathetic... we had bee-hoon, sausages, chicken wing, chicken fillet, home-made satay, and of course heavenly Banana chocolate!

Since it only gets dark at around 9.30 pm here, we could enjoy a very long bbq-ing session...We started the fire at 6.30 pm and packed up at around 12 midnight! Unlike in Singapore, where there will only be some ppl barbecue-ing the food and some just sitting around, barbecue-ing under cold weather involves almost everyone. Do you know why? People would just be standing around the bbq pit, even though they're not cooking...only to get the warmth of the burning charcoal,haha...And you would not sweat at all!!! That's what i enjoyed the most...I was barbecue-ing almost the whole night and there was not even a single drop of sweat!

*will upload the bbq party pics soon*

After barbecue, we played polar bear game till about 2.30 am! See how slack we are...haha...that's the spirit of exchange students!

You wont believe this...

I am currently taking this module called Finite Element Analysis and the last coursework was a group project, due this afternoon. Les, Xian, Yanlian, and I were in the same group and we were asked to analyze the safe working load of the lecturer's BMW Car Jack by modelling it using the stress analysis software Patran. At the end of the project, we were asked to present our analysis. The coursework itself was given out a month ago, but being 'hard-working' exchange students, we only did a bit of work regarding this project weekly and rushed through it last night, just a few hours before the presentation.

We spent a couple of days last week modelling the very-complicated car jack (btw, each group was given an item to work on, and ours was the most complicated...thanks to the tutor who picked our group number for that item)...Along the way, we found mistakes, discrepancies and we have to keep on re-modelling the item. For the whole of yesterday, since i was in London, the rest of them were in the computer lab re-modelling and re-analyzing the items. At first, they thought the result they got was perfect...but later on at night, we found out that there was another big discrepancy between the model and the theoretical analysis that we did. And unfortunately, we only had less than 12 hours to the presentation time...the presentation slides were only half done, the stress results were all wrong, and worse, we had no idea how to get the correct analysis!

Xian and I then decided to re-model the item AGAIN, for thousandth time...and since the software is only available at the computer lab in our department, we had no choice but to leave our hall at 12.30 am in the morning and walk all the way under the freezing cold weather to the computer lab...stayed there till we could figure out what went wrong, and finally at 4.30 am, we walked back home...and guess what when we walked back, the sun was already rising (btw, the sun rises around 4 am here)...and we had not had a single second of sleep! See how hardworking exchange students are...haha...We were not the only ones though...there were some locals in the computer lab, who stayed throughout the night rushing up their coursework too.

I planned to just have a 3-hrs sleep before my next morning class at 9 am...of course none of us managed to wake up in time! So in the end we missed the last Human Resource class, which was a revision session...haiz...I woke up at 9 am and then rushed back to computer lab again to re-run my programme, since the file that i saved a few hours ago could not be opened! haiz...why must all these little unfortunate things happened at this timing...

At 10.30 am, we were just finalizing our slides, re-calculating and re-analyzing the data that we got...and we have not even distributed the amount of slides to be presented by each person...At 11.30, we ran through the presentation slides once...and at 11.55, we were still doing minor changes to the slides!!! and our presentation was supposed to be at 12!!! We saved our ppt at 11.57 and rushed to the lecturer's office for the presentation.

Thankfully the lecturer was satisfied with our work...and we could answer all the questions posed by him confidently,haha...When he found out that we stayed almost the whole night in the lab doing the coursework, he commented," Should i award all of you more points for dedication then?" haha...

Never had such thing happen in my life before...never had i rush my work till the very last minute...it's just unbelievable that we managed to pull it through...To celebrate the end of this project, we went to sit on the grass patch overlooking the cricket pitch...and slept there while waiting for our next class...damn shiok!!!

Look at the roses that are blooming in my university compound...Aren't they beautiful?

And here's the glimpse of the most handsome lecturer in my course...

We still looked fresh after 3 hours of sleep right? haha...A picture taken during the last lesson of Finite Element Analysis this afternoon.

I GOT MY VISA!!!

YESH!!!! the title explains it all...I'm finally relieved after waiting for one-and-a-half weeks in suspense, not knowing of what my fate will be...

I reached Greek Consulate General, in London 20 minutes before my appointment time (after getting lost once, and asking 3 passers-by)...I'm really sucks at reading map and finding my way in a foreign place. But knowing that fact does not hinder me from trying to find the place myself without even asking for help, even though i know that at the end of the day, i'd confirmed get lost! Next time i won't rely on my instinct & map-reading skills...They really cant make it!

Anyway, the Consulate was packed with people applying for visa, and when i reached there, there were still lots of people, whose appointment time was 11.30, who had not been served yet. So i had to wait for another one hour from my supposedly 12.30 appointment. Attached to the application form was a piece of paper indicating the documents that have to be submitted. My heart went into a race, when i saw this sentence, " An ORIGINAL VALID PASSPORT showing a valid residence permit issued in the United Kingdom valid for at least three months longer than the expiry date of the visa you are applying for." That sentence has always been my enemy!I knew that i'm doomed again!

While waiting, i started crafting sentences to appeal to the officer if he didn't allow me to apply for visa in London. I even thought, "Should i cry later? Maybe if i cry, they'll pity me!" But how do i make myself cry? If they did not allow me to apply there, i would be in rage! And anger will never make me cry! i was thinking hard, praying hard and very impatient to face the officer. There were 2 officers at the counter, an easily-irritated young lady and a nicer middle-aged man. I knew for sure that i had to aim for that man, he'd pity me more for sure, based from experience! When it was my turn to submit my application to that man, he closed his window and went off for lunch! Damn!!! A missed opportunity! Luckily the young lady was still serving another applicant...and out of nowhere came a middle-aged woman, who looked as friendly as that man and she asked me for my documents!!! Thank goodness...

She checked my UK visa and DID NOT COMMENT A SINGLE THING ABOUT IT!!! When she asked for more of my documents, i knew for sure that i did not have to waste a single tear for this visa...so everything went as smoothly as expected...and my visa will be sent back to me in 2 weeks time!!! Yippeee....

One problem settled, another problem arised. There were no seats available for my ticket class from Frankfurt to Singapore on July 16th 2007...and the only way for me to get seat in this flight is to upgrade my ticket to another class (still economy though) and it cost me £127.80 to re-route my ticket (instead of the normal £30 that i was supposed to pay)...I had no other choice but to burn a bigger hole in my pocket...haiz...Money issue aside, i have finally settled everything! I would be taking Aegean Airline from Rhodes-Athens-Frankfurt, waiting at Frankfurt Airport for 1 night, and finally taking the flight back to Singapore...while my other friends continue their journey to Turkey and then back to Singapore. I would confirmed be reaching Singapore on July 17th and finally flying back home on July 18th! Gosh, i'd be spending 4 days flying here and there (all by myself! haiz...)

Till now, i still do not dare to press calculator to calculate exactly how much my country has cost me!!! My Singaporean friends have offered their help to do so for me, but they would not let me know the figure,haha...

Pub Quiz

In hope of winning some quids for our Barbeque party this Friday, we, the exchange students, took part in Pub quiz organised by the Students' Union. Apparently, this has been going on for almost every Monday night at the Students' Union Building. Basically, to participate in this quiz, we have to form a group (of any size) and each person has to pay £1.

We formed 2 groups and were given 6 rounds of 10-questions-per-round and for each question, we had to write the answer on a piece of paper. There were a few other groups of Brits. The categories of the questions range from guessing the group pictures, sports questions, some general knowledge questions, music and movie questions. The group who scores the highest for this will receive the prize in form of money collected during the registration.

Luckily, John, Alwyn's roommate joined my group, else i had no idea how we were going to answer the questions...Being a Brit, he knows lots of the British TV programmes and some general knowledge related to UK. Out of the 60 questions, we, the non-locals, could only answer less than half of the questions...and true enough, the group who scored the lowest for this quiz was the other Singaporean group (not mine, thanks to John!),haha...They scored 29.5 out of 60! and my group scored 37 out of 60...far from the highest score obtained that night by a group of Brits- 52.5/60!!!

In the end, we went back to hall...being poor by £1 per person...ZERO amount of money earned for bbq! I did learn some things from the pub quiz though, like the fact that all polar bears are left-handed...that Anuptaphobia means the fear of being single...that Hockey can only be played right-handedly...and many more!

The MCs for the night...

The other Singapore team thinking hard of the answer...

The answer sheet & 'Guess the Picture' questions...

Lydia, please study...

My friends and parents are more worried than I am, in terms of my preparation for exams,haha...I have been receiving comments and advice, like "Don't u need to study?", "Madame, u must study hard,k!", "You better start studying!". Even my mom asked me to study hard...an unusual advice from her. Back in Singapore, my parents always ask me to stop studying, coz they are aware of the amount of time and efforts i put into my academic life.

Don't worry, people!!! I'm coping well amidst the limited amount of time invested in preparing for exams...I have been attending every single lecture and tutorial, doing tutorials before the tutorial itself, submitted all the courseworks on time, and started revising for exams! But i have to admit that the amount of efforts i put in here is less than 10% of what i usually put in back in NUS. After 1 straight hour of studying here, i always think that i deserve a break...so I'll switch on my computer, tune in to crunchyroll, and start my drama marathon! How can I regain back the momentum of studying for more than 12 hours straight in NUS later?!?

...1 Litre of Tears...200 Pounds of Beauty...100 days with Mr. Arrogant...April Snow...My Little Bride...A Moment to Remember...Brother beat...Love revolution...

I have finished them all!!!

A quote from Love Revolution that is so applicable especially in my love life:
"Love is like a taxi...if you wait for them, they won't come. It's not that the taxi won't come, there just aren't any empty cars. Maybe i'll be able to find one on another street (walking to the other street). If i glance back (to the same street where i was waiting), i just missed another.
It won't come if you just wait...if you look for them, it won't come either...but when you give up and started walking, they suddenly all come at once..."

Oh the quote is so bloody true...don't u think so?

I just came back from my viva-voce lab test! Phew, finally it's over...and guess what, I scored 80% for that and my group has the highest score so far. Basically the oral test is about the understanding of the 2 labs that we did previously on this module called Turbomachinery. Les, Xian and I took this module to satisfy the Technical elective requirement and we were splitted into 3 different lab groups - a good chance to mix with the Brits!

I was grouped with 3 British guyz...First impression of them: very unfriendly...but as time passes by, as more time was spent doing the lab reports and revising for the viva-voce together, that first impression changed a bit! (yesh, a bit only! i still think they are not that friendly). Only last week they found out that i'm an exchange student...all this while they thought that i'm a permanent Year 3 student...and only this afternoon one of them found out that i'm an Indonesian, isn't it cool? Actually we didnt get to meet that often...so yeah that's how limited the exchange of information between us was. And interestingly, when i mentioned the word Indonesia, one of them replied," My uncle worked there last time and he was kidnapped there!." He didnt know the exact city where his uncle was kidnapped, but he's very sure that it's somewhere around Indonesia...what an image my country has!

Btw, after 3 months being in UK, i have gotten the hang of conversing with the Brits smoothly. When i first came here, i really had a hard time understanding what the other Brits were saying (only refer to the students, the lecturers' accent are still understandable). The Brits basically love mumbling...they'll mumble the words till you cant comprehend what actually comes out of their mouth, but amazingly another Brit could understand that mumbling and i was left there puzzled and speechless in any conversation with the Brits. And when i replied to them in clear English in a very slow manner (i'm so worried they could not understand my accent, so i said every single word clearly), weirdly they could not understand what i was saying...They would say," Sorry?!?" See how frustrating a conversation with the Brits could be.

Now i use another tactic...I don't speak very clearly to them, when they mumble to me, i'll mumble back! and amazingly they can understand mE!!! Yah, so that's how i master that conversation skills with the Brits...there are times when i could not figure out what they're saying though...coz they speak too fast!

Exams are coming soon! and i have not had the urgency to revise a single thing! haha...I have a Human Resource coursework due this Friday, another Finite Element Analysis group coursework due next Thursday, and one more Design of Machinery coursework due next Friday, and my first paper is on June 4th! My stress level is still zero at this moment,haha...I have no idea how to bring that stress level up...Please scold me for not studying!

Oh btw, i was complaining to my parents this morning about my visa issue and both my mom and dad gave different responses. My mom said," Don't worry, next time we can visit those countries that u want to visit, we'll travel around the world together!" So sweet right...
My dad on the other hand said," You should marry a Singaporean, then can change nationality!" haha, i burst out laughing...he has heard enough of me complaining how troublesome being an Indonesian is...And I replied them," One day, when i'm rich, i'll just leave my passport to the travel agent and let them do all the visa application...the only thing i need to do would be signing the application form!" Life would be much easier that way right...all the itinerary would be done by the travel agent as well...I dont need to work my ass off researching on the cheapest accommodation available, cheapest mode of transportation, and cheapest in everything...Both my parents also consoled me by saying that maybe it's fated for me not to go Turkey so that i can come back home earlier...They miss me so much that they expect me to be back home right after my exams,haha...and of course they are aware that it's impossible to force me to be back home early, knowing that i'm always so hungry for experience that i would not miss a single opportunity available while on this exchange...So yah, maybe they are right, i can be back home a few days earlier to meet my brother before he flies back to Melbourne...

Aaaargghhhh...

I hate being in the situation that I’m currently trapped in…Who should I blame? Should I blame my nationality? Or should I blame the rules that make it so difficult for me to get into a country? Or should I blame the choice that I made of wanting to visit these countries?

I caught the 9.23 am train this morning to London St. Pancras, made my way easily to Knightsbridge tube station, got caught in the rain while looking for General Consulate of the Republic of Turkey, got lost once, asked a guard in front one of the shops, and finally entered a very small & crowded room in one of the buildings in Rutland Garden.

Only one counter served visa application, the queue was quite long, not enough seats were available so those applying for visa had no choice but to stand in line…the room was really packed with people, mostly Middle-easterners…It was so noisy, that the person in the counter had to shout while talking…The lady who served visa application was in a very bad mood…She scolded almost everyone who were in front of me applying for visa (One of them took very long to arrange the documents, another one did not bring bank statement, and another one did not bring pre-paid self-delivery envelope…) Then came my turn…All my documents were complete, neatly arranged…and so I was spared of her screaming (in the beginning)…Then she flipped through my passport and scrutinized my UK visa…from that moment, I knew that I’m in a big trouble…My UK visa is expiring in early August and to be able to apply for Turkish visa in London’s Turkey Consulate, you should have a minimum validity of 6 months for your residence visa in UK from the day the visa is granted. I’m really not aware of this fact…I have emailed Turkish consulate regarding my case, explained to them everything and the reply that I received was a positive one that I can apply for my Turkey visa in London!

I argued with the officer for 10 minutes…Both of us were screaming and shouting at one another…She scolded me for booking my air ticket from Istanbul to Singapore without even having a visa (How do I know that you’ll make my life so difficult?)…I scolded her back for giving wrong information in the email…and Turkish consulate website itself has no such rule! I was not allowed to apply for Turkish visa and the only solution was to submit all my documents to Turkish authority in Turkey and the processing time for that is 6 weeks (minimum) and worse, there is no guarantee that I’d be granted the visa. The moment I heard that, I knew that I’m doomed! There’s no way I could get into Turkey…and I had to change my air-ticket to Frankfurt - Singapore or London - Singapore. The open-jaw ticket that I currently have was booked in Singapore, and at that time we decided to fly back from Turkey as Yanlian’s father’s friend has free accommodation for us to stay…

Changing the air ticket is not a problem…it will just incur more cost as I have to pay the extra tax. The next worrying issue is that I might face the same problem again when I apply for my Schengen visa next week at Greece embassy. There is no black-and-white rules stating that my UK residence visa should be within 6 months of validity and I have called the embassy once and the reply that I received was another positive one…But I cannot trust what these people are saying…The only thing that I could do from today till next Wednesday is just to pray that I’d be given chance to apply for Schengen visa…My flights for Spain (to and fro), accommodations at Barcelona and Valencia, flight to Athens, ferries across Greek islands, accommodations at Athens, Santorini, Crete, and Rhodes, all have been booked!!! There is no way for me to wait till the visa is granted then book the air tickets and accommodation, as I need both for my visa application… If my visa application were rejected again, I think I would just rot in this country and wait till I get deported…and I’ll condemn my nationality, haha…That’s the ultimate of all!


Haiz…I did not even dare to calculate the financial losses incurred by all these visa problems…I’m too scared to do it…I’d just assume that the money goes to charity! I have been telling my Singaporeans friends over and over again on how grateful they should be…being able to travel freely anytime and anywhere in Europe and many other countries without having to go through all these hassles…and they have come to appreciate their nationality more after seeing all the problems faced by me!

Not wanting to waste my £30 return train ticket to London, I went to Harrods (for the third time in 2 months) to get a last bite of freshly-baked original sugar-glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut that simply melts in my mouth! That yummy doughnut (must be eaten when it’s still hot!) was enough to lower down my blood’s boiling point by a few degrees…

Ok, enough of complaints from me…I’m too tired of complaining already…I have a viva-voce lab test (a term for ‘oral test’) tomorrow, and honestly, I’m not ready for it! Arrgh….dont care!

NitezZzzzzzzzzzZZzzzzz………(zZz monster has just attacked me!!!)

Random

Some updates from me:

Till today, i am still a full-time slacker and part-time student...Exams are just around the corner, less than a month away...Courseworks are starting to pile up and still waiting to be touched while the deadlines draw nearer...I cant believe in what's happening, this's really not me! Is this because everyday I have been brainwashing myself that i only need 40% to pass each module?

How I wish that the clock stops ticking now...I am not ready for this whole exchange programme to come to an end, even though I do miss Singapore, miss all my friends there, miss the food, miss doing community service...but the life that i have been leading for the past 3 months has been so far the most relaxed ever...I have started to love this small town that i'm residing in even though i could not foresee myself staying here forever (maybe when i retire?)

Haiz...the more i think about it, the more i don't want to leave this place...I'm just not ready to start counting to the day I would step back in Singapore, back to my previous lifestyle: a hectic & stressful one!

Anyway, i shall stop thinking about it...just finished finalizing my itinerary for another trip after exams...will be going to Lake District, Scotland, Bath, Stonehenge, and maybe Cambridge(to visit Iren) and Southampton (to visit Tsin Shwen) before finally leaving Loughborough on June 28th for Barcelona and Valencia...Next destination after Spain would be Greece and Turkey...and finally Singapore!

Now it's time for visa application again...i'll be going London next Monday to apply for my Turkey visa and next next Wednesday for another Schengen visa...haiz, so so troublesome...

Btw, i juz updated my Easter Break Trip entry...see how slow my progress is!!! so please please be patient...hehe...

Time to hit the sack!

International Day 2007

I have been to several International fair/exhibitions where different countries will set up stalls to publicly display their culture, foods, drinks, traditional costumes among many other facts which we are unaware of...but the one held in Loughborough University was an exceptional one.

The whole event was officially opened by the Mayor of Charnwood.

There were about 32 countries on display and for the first time in an International exhibition, I encountered stalls set up by the student representatives of countries like Lithuania, Oman, Libya, Jordania, Kenya, Mexico, Gibraltar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine,…and many more other countries which are not commonly found in any International Day exhibition in Singapore. It’s really the day where the world meets at one hall in the Student Union’s building – a mini world exhibition. I was not aware of how diverse the international community in Loughborough University is till this day.

Some of the booths...

Sadly though, I could not even find my own country!!! So I had no choice but to be by the side of the next closest country to me, Singapore. The NUS exchange students helped the Singapore society out with the setting up of Singapore’s booth. Look at what we prepared to promote Singapore.

Mini bakwa, Singapore's Tiger Beer, Kopi, Teh, Milo, and check out the top 10 points u need to know about Singapore!

When the Mayor’s wife visited our booth, she spotted the tenth point about Singapore…and she was so disgusted that she refused to try our Kopi & Teh,haha…but she loves the mini-Bakwa!

There were some performances by the different countries. I was so glued to the stage during the fashion show! The Greeks dressed up as Greek Gods & Goddesses, the Middle-easterners were dressed up in their unique costumes…and the Middle East girls are really really gorgeous! The word ‘pretty’ is an understatement if you were to describe them…the Singaporean guyz agreed 100% with me,haha…

I tried some of the delicacies: Turkish fried rice, Turkish alcoholic drink, Lithuania’s jelly, Mexico’s crackers and alcoholic drink, German’s salty bread & alcohol, Iran’s bread with vegetable omelette, Kenya’s dried mango, French Foie Gras, Srilankan desert…and many other exotic foods. And honestly, more than half of the food that I tried did not suit my taste bud well…but at least I can tell myself and others that I have tried these food once!

I also got my name written in Arabic! cool rite? usually at any other International Day exhibition, i got my name written in Chinese only...

For more pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/lydia.makmur/InternationalDay2007