Looking past the differences...

I don't remember when exactly it was that I started noticing differences among people. As children we rarely think about such things. You can put 4 yr olds from 50 different nations in a play ground and within 5 minutes you'll have them sharing swing sets or eating mud together. The only differentiation at that age would be 'she has a doll, I don't'. Or 'she has a lollipop and I don't.' At that age one NEVER thinks 'she looks different' or 'he speaks differently'. 

image courtesy- firstelevenmagazine.co.uk

Then as we grow up our family, society, culture, environment forces us to notice the differences and makes us form our worlds around these differences. The society tells me that I am not supposed to play with the girl in rags. Or it tells me that I cannot identify with those who don't look like me. I hate to admit it, but I bought into it. I thought I'd find it difficult to interact with those who aren't like me. I made the world into 'those like me' and the 'others'. And then I homogenised all the others. I might sound racist but I really used to say 'All Chinese people look the same'. And I am ashamed I would say something like that even in jest. When I came to Malaysia I had a tough time for the first few days keeping track of faces. When I came to the UK I thought 'wow all white people look the same!'. Then when I'd spent a few days I started seeing differences within them. The girl with the beautiful auburn hair does NOT look the same as the girl with a beautiful smile. The person sitting next to me in class is not the same as the girl across my hall. It is then that I realized what I'd been doing which had made me group them in the first place. When I travelled across the sea and out of my comfort zone (in India) I carried with me a preconceived notion that they can never be like me and I can never be like them. What I'd done was draw this imaginary Venn diagram with mutually exclusive circles. All this was subconscious for me. I always thought that I was fairly open minded when it came down to accepting difference. But I've realized I am not as human as I like to think I am. However, the past one year has made me erase that imaginary Venn diagram and what I have now is two circles which have a huge overlap. 


We humans are always scared of what we aren't familiar with. Anything we don't know is viewed as unpleasant. So Easterners wrinkle their noses at the mention of 'Western Culture' and the Westerners throw around the word Exotic( A euphemism for backward) while talking the east. We become so busy discriminating on the basis of how our skin tones differ or how are eyes are shaped that we fail to see that if we remove the skin from each of our bodies no one can identify a Chinese from an Arab or an American from an African. We fail to see that inside we are all the same. We all have one heart (Except a few), we all have blood running through our veins and we all have this magnificent brain that we refuse to use. 

We say we aren't racist. But the fact is that we just manifest it in different ways. We might be highly educated but we still have this mental block which does not let us accept differences. Don't trust me? Next time you go to a hospital and you see a list of doctors who belong to some place you don't and there is one doctor who belongs to your country (but isn't as accomplished as the others) whom would you choose? I was in this situation and I chose the Indian doctor. It was only when my friend pointed it out to me that I realized how I had discriminated on the basis of nationality rather than qualification. 

What's different is not bad. Give it some time and you might even come to appreciate it. So the next time let's not say 'Oh they all are the same' or 'They all look the same'. Let's sit and talk with them, share a meal with them and get to know them. Engage with them and then you'll realize that you aren't that different from the person sitting across you. That you share the same values with him. That you have the same fears as her. That their dreams are ours too. And once everyone realizes this we can truly call ourselves civilized. 

"O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa (God consciousness). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (Qur'an, Al Hujarat)

Weekend in Widnes

Dear Reader (If you exist)


I am sorry for not keeping up with the blog and leaving you with just rants about the various education systems I have suffered under. In my defence..ok, I don't have any excuse. Forgive me, Sir/Mam, and I shall present you with an account of an amazing weekend.
Last weekend I went to Widnes to visit my aunt and her family. Widnes is a tiny place about 45 minutes from Liverpool. I hadn't met this aunt or her family before this trip so I was a bit apprehensive about the visit. I took the National Express Coach from Nottingham on Friday and boy, was that the worst mistake of my life! I had a class till 2.30 and the bus was at 5.00 pm from the Broadmarsh Bus station. That gave me 2.5 hours to get back pack and reach the station AND get the ticket. You might think it's a lot of time but trust me, it's not. So after a tiring run I reach the station and buy the ticket 5 MINUTES before the bus left. The sense of achievement... You know what I am talking about!
However, this elation wasn't there to stay. I find out that there's a changeover at Leeds. I hate changeovers. I am always scared that I'll just sleep through it. Thanks to god, even though I dozed off, I managed to get down at Leeds. There I get into the second bus which was supposed to take us to Liverpool. As soon as we get in the driver announces that he will take us only upto Manchester and from there we have to take another bus. The night wasn't turning out to be that much fun...
We reach Manchester and find out that the 3rd bus isn't there. So 16 of us stranded at the bus station, tired and sleepy, waiting for transport. Finally they arranged taxis for us till Liverpool. I informed aunt Kausar about this and she suggested that they'll pick me up midway. That worked out well for us as we saved unnecessary travel to liverpool.
That night I just crashed into bed after dinner. And had one of the best sleeps I had here!


Next day was a getting to know the family day. My aunt lives with her husband and two kids. Two adorable kids! Especially the younger one, I just fell in love with him!  We had a nice time talking about our family back in India (Only good things!) as I hogged on delicious home made food (Note to reader: I do cook in my hostel but since half of the items are processed and the other half is cheese I can't exactly call it that)


After the breakfast my cousin and I went to book my return ticket for the next day. This time I wasn't gonna make the mistake of taking the coach. So I booked a rail ticket. The station was just 5 minutes from where they lived which gave us time to walk around a bit after we booked the ticket. Manaal (My cousin) took me to a small park just across the road from the station. We had a nice walk around a pond with bobbing ducks and beautiful swans. It was a sunny day and I was soaking it in as much as I could. Would I sound crazy if I say I miss the Malaysian sun? Well, I do! Anyway, back to Widnes. It was sunny but soon wind played a spoilt sport and decided to lash against our faces as we walked. If it was a little stronger it would have rearranged my features. 

Back at their place my Aunt was a cooking up a wonderful lunch for me. Biriyani!! This time I really gorged in. And now I know why some people like to unbuckle their trousers after the meal....


Seriously, I felt sooo good eating all that food. Home sick too because I really missed my mom's cooking (And missed her a bit too). 


Evening we went to Trafford Centre in Manchester. It was literally 'The east meets west' there. All around I saw aunties in salwar kameez (The traditional outfit for women in Northern India and Pakistan), many women in abayas, headscarves..some niqabis too! And scattered here and there were a few white people.

 The best part of the Mall is the food court. And...wait for it....it's HALAL! We went to Nando's for dinner and found a line snaking it's way out restaurant and stretching way back. So we had to wait there for about half an hour. Luckily, my uncle let my aunt and me look around while my cousin and him waited in the queue. 


So we strolled and entered a few shops here and there and I basked in the sound of pure, raw urdu/hindi coming at me from different directions (Usually mothers screaming at their kids) Half an hour up we went back to a humongous plates of chicken just waiting for me to take a bite off it. Nando's never disappoints me. I'll be a loyal Peri-Peri fan forever. Btw, Nandos' can be a real test of your courage and resilience. Depending on the sauce you choose. You are noble if you can take in the hot peri peri, normal if you take the medium peri-peri and downright coward if you go with Lemon 'n Herb. However, the greatest is the one who can down the Extra hot peri-peri and not die. 


Enough of Nando's (for now). We retuned home fully content (and a bit gassy but I'll spare you the details)


The next day was a lazy day and I spent the morning just drooling on little Zaki. He is the cutest thing ever! I want a kid like him! I am serious. Where else would you find a 1 yr old cleaning up after himself? If he spills food on the floor he goes into the store room and comes back with the broom and tries to clean it up. (Watching a one yr old handle a broom as big as him is something you have to see)

My aunt meanwhile whipped up a scrumptious English Breakfast for me scrambled eggs, mushrooms and all. 

After lunch I had to pack my bags. It was time time to leave :(



The Widnes railway station can only be described as...quaint? Doesn't it look like something out of a story book? I was surprised when my aunt told me that it also has an old station master with a snow-white moustache! ( I think this station has served as inspiration for many a writers..) Oh there is a plaque near the ticket counter which says that Paul Simons wrote his 'Homeward Bound' here. ( What's amusing is that 
he said "if you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible" and they still have a plaque commemorating this insult :D)


The train ride was just 2.5 hrs and from what I saw, between spells of sleep, a scenic one. Oh and Manchester railway station looks like the Chennai Central! 

Once back I took a bus to Victoria Centre and from there till Beeston. But what stupid me didn't realize was that if I had walked a bit further from the station I could have just taken the bus from the Broadmarsh Bus station (And saved 1 pound)


So that was my amazing weekend. I really didn't feel like coming back to my dingy room but like they say, all good things must come to an end. It does not necessarily end here because I've got to know some amazing people here. Really, family, wherever you go, is still family. 


So o student who plans to come here- grill your parents and find out if you have relatives here. And go visit them! You might just meet some awesome people like I did... :)


Cheers mes amies!
Nazreen


p.s- The Discover Islam Week is going on right now in the campus. More on that in the next post!
p.p.s- Wikepedia just told me that Widnes means Wide Nose. Funny,no?
p.p.p.s- Post scripts are fun!

Classes

You know I really am a mutt. In more than one ways I am a mixed breed. Culturally I always knew I am a mutt as I've got a bit of everything in me. Recently I discovered how even as a student I am a mixture. A product of education systems as contrasting as it can get.
My schooling was divided between CBSE and Karnataka State syllabus. Both the systems have a definite structure when it comes to the student-teacher relation. It's more or less a Teacher to student flow of information. It's drilled into your mind from the beginning that what the teacher says is right. The teacher can never be wrong. NEVER. So as we progressed from one class to another even if we left our textbooks behind we didn't leave this lesson- Never question the teacher's correctness. Of course you could ask them questions about things you are confused about. But if you question the answer they provide for the confusion, you are going to be black  listed. The teacher is going to hate you for the rest of your time with them. How dare you question their authority!

Even in English classes (which have always been my favourite) We were expected to give formulaic answers. Poetry was always about what the poet feels or is trying to say. Scoring marks in English was actually quite easy. You pay attention in class as to what the key words are that the teacher uses and then in exam you churn out an answer which overflows with these words. You are guaranteed to get a good grade.

Even when I joined for an English Literature degree in a university in Bangalore I was taught in more or less the same way. There was no research, no originality in thought, no inputs from students as to what a text could mean. You just have to show up in class and you will be taught, along with 50 other students from notes which the lectures have preserved from their college days. I am not kidding.

However, things changed when I left my previous University and joined UoN. The whole student-teacher dynamics were different here. In India we are taught to view the teacher with reverence. Even in college if any lecturer walks in, you stand up for them. If you are having lunch in the cafeteria and a lecturer passes you by, you stand up. You are leaning on the wall talking to your friend and you see a teacher walking by, you straighten up and plaster a reverential smile on your face. I was so used to this kind of behaviour that when I came to Malaysia I needed some time get over it. I remember how in the first few classes I stood up when the lecturer walked in. Some classes I was left in a semi standing position after realizing that the rest of the class is sitting. I was very uncomfortable with it and actually wanted to stand for my professors!

The biggest change for me, though, was the way things were taught here. It's all group work, discussions and individual research. Your opinion is respected and in fact demanded for. Your interpretation of a poem is also considered in class. For some it might sound strange that I am raving on about how great it is to have your interpretation talked about in class. For some it might be the only way things are taught. But trust me, that's not how they roll back home.
Of course, even though I loved this new system, I wasn't good at it. I really struggled because I've been so used to all the information coming to me instead me going looking for it. Plus it's daunting to put your opinion to be evaluated alongside views of some of the greatest thinkers. You always risk making a fool out of yourself. (Which I am sure I have done more than once in the 10 months I've been in UoN)

Coming to England posed another challenge for me. Even though I am now used to the teaching system they follow, now the students pose the problem for me. Why? Well, it sounds silly, but just because of my accent.  I have never felt this self concious before. There are so many things I want to say, but because of my fear of coming across as a joke to everyone, I just keep shut. Of course it's me we are talking about so I can't keep shut through out the class. I do blurt out an occasional comment here or there and then shut up again. It makes me feel angry at myself that I am being so silly. But I guess it's something like when you borrow something from someone and are using it, in front of them you are going to be extremely cautious about how you use it. But I guess this analogy is not right. I guess what I should be thinking is that I've learn a whole new language and, accent or no accent, am able to communicate with them. Which is actually a big achievement. I don't know many (any actually) British or American person who can speak hindi as fluently as I can converse in English.

I guess the perfect balance I am looking for exists in between both these education systems. While I admire the respect people have for teachers back in India, I do not want it to turn to blind worship. I want a classroom where the student knows that the teacher is more knowledgeable than him but at the same time feels comfortable to air his views. A classroom where even though the teacher knows that he is way more qualified than the student, he also knows that there are also things he can learn from the student.

Education as osmosis is what I am looking for. I think I am getting near.

Snow, Snow and more snow

Hello Reader,

Hope you had a  nice weekend. I had a really nice weekend half of which I spent catching up on sleep. It was a good break after the crazy week. I also had a nice treat- snowfall! If you've read the last post you would know that this is the first time I've experienced snowfall.(I've seen it on the ground before but not falling from the sky) It happened on saturday night and I was so psyched that I made a whole album on facebook dedicated to snow.

Yeah, I am THAT obsessed with it. On Sunday I had to make a trip to city centre again to buy..umm..snow boots. I was crazy enough to think that I can survive with my trusty converse. I was wrong. By the time I reached the bus stop my shoes were wet. Soaked infact. And I thought my toes would have to be amputated. I'd already started forming a blog entry in my mind.'Dear Reader, I no longer have toes...'. Okay fine, I am exaggerating a teeny weeny bit.

Moi

Something I found on the way to the bus stop

This time I travelled alone as Farah had gone with some other friends to see the campus with it's new snow coating. I thought it would be boring going alone but it turned out to be a of fun. I took a double decker bus which gave me an excellent view of the city and a lot of nice snaps.







 I got down at Victoria Centre around 10.00 and found all shops closed. Turns out shops open at 10.30 on Sundays. My toes were cursing me real bad now. I decided to walk along the streets to see if any shop is open. Some of the food outlets were open. I entered Greggs and had hot cheese and onion pasty (Recommended by my 'Bri-ish' friend Rida :D). Worth the buck I say. I killed time by exploring the parallel streets. Now I know that area pretty well :D
Finally it was time for the shops to open. H&M would never have had a more eager customer. I just rushed into the shop as soon as it opened. Warmth!
I spent around 2 hrs in Victoria Centre and bought nice boots and a lovely pair of shoes. And gloves! God do you need those here! It's such a contrast from Malaysia. There you to minimise the amount of clothes you wear, here you try to stuff in as many layers before you start looking like a cheese ball (That doesn't make sense but I was eating cheesy Doritos and that's the first thing that came to my mind) Of course wearing a hijab gives an extra ear coverage here. So yay! :D
I had lunch at McDonalds. Veggie Burger of course (I don't like Fish. In any form) While having lunch I kept hearing snippets of conversations from tables around me. One was a really interesting one between a 5 yr and her mother.
*Read in British Accent*
Girl: 'Mum, Can I have some treats?'
Mother:'No'
Girl: 'But I have been really good this week, haven;t I?'
*Stop reading in British accent*
I am sure Santa is generous with this girl.
I returned back after that and spent the rest of the day admiring my new boots.

Today I had a morning class. At 9.30. At the other end of campus. So I left around 9.00 thinking I should be there 5 mins early. But, what I didn't know was that snow can be evil. Just the previous day I was drooling over it's beauty and now I was cursing it as I tried not to slip over it as I walked. Seriously, I never thought the after effects of snow can be this bad. The roads look like an entire college had a bad hangover and threw up all over the place.


It's mucky and slushy. And my pretty boots are already messy :(


I'll never be able to have another slurpy now. All the snow disoriented me and the whole day I was acting weird. Instead of walking on the road. I decided to cross a field covered in snow.

Yes, this is the field. Yes, I need to get myself checked

So by the time I reached the other side, I had snow in my boots, torturing my poor toes.
*sigh* And I entered the class 10 minutes late.

Oh I almost forgot! I visited the library today! Yes, I say visited because that's how occasional my trips are to this sacred place. They are just 'visits'.  Anyway, UoN has an amazing Library! What appealed to me most was that it has a cafe attached to it. You can find me there if I say I am going to the Library. Also, I don't have to smuggle food into this library as I am legally allowed to bring food in! Ha! Boo ya librarians at UNMC! Since I was in the library building anyway, I thought I'll go have a look at the books they have. I needed my id card to enter but when I swiped my card, much to my embarrassment the gates didn't open. Then I had a swiping fit and forgot that people were watching. I finally came back to my senses and spoke to the guy at the entrance counter. Turned out that my card hadn't been activated yet. He was a gentleman and opened the gates for me. The library is humongous! The first and the second level were really noisy and I spotted some of the students lounging on the floor sharing chips (or crisps as they prefer to call it) and drinks. The third and fourth level are silent study zones and are quite intimidating. I assume all the Masters and Phd. students camp out here. Anyway, the whole place suddenly overwhelmed me and I wanted to get out. BUT I couldn't spot the exit.  Seriously, I was that dazed. I started walking around trying to locate it. In vain. Found the library map but didn't find the exits marked on it. Finally I called Farah and told her that I am stuck in the library.  She laughed at me first, mercilessly. Then she told me that it's right besides the entry gates. Yeeeah, THAT'S why they don't have it on the map. 'Cause normal people can see it.
Again, while exiting I had the gates opened for me by a nice lady. I feel so pampered here!

So that's what this crazy indian was upto the last few days. I am sure I'll supply you with more goof ups before the week ends.
Till then, Cheers!

First week in Nottingham

Hello you who's reading this!

Nice day, isn't it? Sunny and all! Hey I am not going bonkers! It's just that now I know why the stereotype about British people's obsession with the weather exists. It's because of the weather! When people told me that England is grey and cold, I never actually pictured it to be grey, I just thought it's a really cold place. But yeah, it's GREY. Like actually grey. 2 days here and I was craving for the Malaysian sun. The third day, however, I woke up to a sunny day. And does this place look brilliant in the sunshine or what!

So, it's been a week since I came here and it has been one hectic week at that! I have been on my toes with settling my registration, bank account and other stuff that will make my stay here smooth. The first two days were mostly orientation and induction programmes with around 300 other international students. We were given a little heads up about the British culture and were told that they appreciate polite manners. Gosh! Who would've thought that! Oh come on! Just kidding...I just found it amusing that they had to mention in an orientation programme that we have to say thank you and please and form orderly lines while queueing. On the second day I had my first class-'Cultural Politics'. There are about 20 students and the class seems interesting, let's see how it goes...




On Tuesday we had a re-freshers' fair on campus. So we had all the clubs and societies set up their booths for registration. The variety of clubs we have here is amazing. And some of them are outright crazy. Like the quidditch society! I am serious. They have a quidditch society here and they even have practise sessions for it! (Will attend one session just to take pictures of students sitting on broomsticks :D) Apart from that we have the art soc, debating soc, travel soc, book club so on and so forth. I joined the travel society, Islamic society and the creative writing society. I had the first session with the creative writing soc the day before yesterday. It was a really fun session and I met some really nice people. Just as goofy as I am! :D
I hope I make some good friends there...



Apart from the Uni campus I have also been venturing out into the city. Of course the first few trips were towards Tesco to buy survival food.


 It was on my second trip I noticed a gift from Allah- A HALAL SHOP!!


I was beyond excited. I actually squealed and jumped much to the embarrassment of my friends. But in my defence, not even in my dreams did I think I'll find a Halal shop 5 minutes from my accommodation. 2 days back I went into see what all they offered and came back laden with frozen aloo paratha, Pakistani Mango pickle, Ready to make Rajma and channa masala. Can this get any better? Oh yes it can! They have halal frankfurters! Alhamdulillah! (I have been living on these and bread since I bought them)
Oh and right opposite the halal grocers is an Indian restaurant...Beeston Tandoori! Oye hoye! Main toh Mar jaawa!

 Okay. I'll calm down with the food talk now.

On Wednesday I went to the city centre to buy some more warm clothes ( You can't have enough of them here) And for some crazy reason I decided to wear my high heeled boots on that day ( I am usually  no heels person for obvious reasons but I love this pair of boots I have)

So the whole time there, while walking from one shop to another, my feet and back were cursing me. The trip however was a good one.

I got a nice feel of the city. We took the bus from here and have to say travel here is such a killer! One pound for a ticket and two pounds for 6 pairs of socks. Where's the sense in that? Seriously, clothes here are so cheap. Some of them even cheaper than in India. So I went a bit crazy in the city centre and bought loads of socks and shirts and leg warmers. We winded up the trip with tea at Lee Rosy's.


 Come on, we have to have some tea after all the hard work!( Any Briton reading this will definitely hate me for all the stereotypes. Come on mate! You ruled us for over 200 years, I am allowed to have a little fun at your expense :P) Lee Rosy's is a cozy little place. It's somewhere you instantly feel at home. I loved the whole ambience and the casual décor with mismatched wooden chairs around low tables. And it has a shelf covering an entire wall with different kinds of tea!

They even have spicy chai! I ordered almond cream latte which turned out to be a bad decision as it smelt and tasted of wood. The strawberry cheesecake, however, was a good choice.

I have to make another trip to city centre soon. Guess why...because it's snowing!! Yes, it is! It started today evening and it's still snowing. I have seen snow as a child but I have never seen snowfall...it's magical. My flatmates and I went out for five minutes and I took the fresh snow in my hands! It was so beautiful the experience! Right now, from my window, I have a really pretty view. Some people have already made a snowman! It's like I am in a dream! A good dream, Alhamdulillah :)



It's been an overwhelming week with so much to take in. It's like first year all over again. But, I like it. Now in my cozy room in my pyjamas, looking at the snowfall, hearing people laugh outside as they have a snow fight, something feels right.

PS-You know the famous technique to get a Brit talking by initiating a conversation about the weather...it's true. I tried it! :D

I am here!

Hey All!

I was supposed to write this a long time back but couldn't find time to do it while getting settled here. Yes! I am  here! In UK! Finally! *Does a hoola hoop dance*
It's really hard for me to believe that I am here. Everyday that I walk to my Uni with my hands snug in pockets and my face down against the wind, I am amazed at how fast time went and brought me here. One month ago I was stressing about my exams by totally not thinking about it and now here I am writing about UK!
You know how when you are a kid and you want a toy and you keep asking your parents for it, like you beg and plead and grovel. And finally, one day your parents get you that toy. And you don't know what to do with it. You stare at it for a long time. Hold it in your hands and marvel at it. And you still don't know what to do with it. It's an almost similar scene here with me. I have been looking forward to my stay here with dread and excitement at the same time. Now that I am here, I don't know what to feel. There's an information overload happening.
Anyway, I'll spare you from my rants about what I feel. Let me rewind a few days and tell you about my days leading upto the trip.
I checked out of my tiny room in Pangkor Hall in the Malaysia campus 3 days before my flight. No, I didn't take to the streets. I stayed over at my friend Asiya's place. For three days I was pampered by my hostess and her friends as I packed, repacked and threw away the stuff I had to take. Packing was the toughest part. There;s just 30 kgs check in luggage allowed and in that limit I am supposed to carry stuff for 6 months there. How am I expected to do that?! Plus it's UK. And it's cold. I HAVE to carry as many clothes as possible!
My final packing got over a few hours before my flight and ended with me fighting with the zipper of my pregnant bag and Asiya sitting on it to make it a little less fat. My final luggage carried some warm cloths and survival food from my darling Zakira.
My flight was at 7.30 in the evening and I got a panic attack around 3. I seriously started freaking out. Thanks to my friends Uzma and Bushra and their threats to slap me I was brought back to reality.
At 4 I bade farewell to a bunch of girls who I had grown attached to over the last month. Most of them are final years and I won't be seeing them once I get back to Malaysia. Saddens me but I am happy for them that they are entering another exciting phase of life.

I flew with Emirates and had a stopover at Dubai for 4 hours. Both KL to Dubai and Dubai to Heathrow were 7 hours long flights. 14 hours. I would have gone crazy had it not been for my travel and mobility partner Farah.

We reached without much hassle and even cleared the immigrations without a random security check, And once we reached there our waiting began. For the airport pick up from Uni. And along with us waited another 300 students. We waited for so long that for a moment I imagine myself staying in the aiport till my return date. Okay, I am exaggerating but I seriously thought we might not reach the accommodation on the same day.

Finally the pick up did come and we ran to the bus and settled in as fast as possible so that we can start. But no they HAD to make us wait. And I was freezing here. My hands especially, used to being sweaty in Malaysia, were going numb. I finally had to pull out a pair of thick socks from my bag and had to use it as gloves.

The drive to Nottingham must have been wonderful but I wouldn't know as I was sleeping.
After two hours we got down at my residence for the next 6 months. It's a student housing colony and is really pretty with red brick appartments. Very..umm...English, I say!

After dumping our bags we rushed out to Tesco to buy some survival snacks for the night. It was just 4.30 when we got out and it seemed like it was already night! Shops were shutting down! Like seriously? 4.30 pm?

 Anyway, we managed to get some stuff before the tesco closed. That night I slept on Chocolate digestive biscuits.

Hmm..this is turning out to be a long post...So an account of my first few days in UK will follow in another post.

Till then, Cheers, Love.
Okay that doesn't sound right.
Ta Ta!