The Cardiff Trip

Assalamualaikum,

I have been travelling here and there like there's no tomorrow. But, well I'd promise myself this is the last one before Christmas (hopefully!). 

So, my last weekend was me en routing to South West of England - CARDIFF! I wasnt alone tho, Ummu was my travel buddy haha. I had been waiting for this, dan akhirnya... I really miss my darling Alyaa. Since dekat airport hari tu pun we didnt get to say a proper goodbye. Terkilan jugak lah time tu. Anyhow, lepas lah rindu dapat jumpa si shortcake (Why shortcake? Sebab Alyaa pendek! HAHAHAH).

Oh there, they have a different language/writing. I have not figured out what was it. It's interesting but I have not heard anyone talking in it. Like for example, in English we spell it as 'Cardiff" but in the other language they spell it as 'Caerdydd'. I felt like I was in another country! And each time Ummu and I came across police, we would shout "Heddlu!" and laughed at each other hahaha it was good lol.

DAY 1

Both to and fro journey took us approximately 8 hours. Yeah lama, and for me, trains dekat Malaysia lagi ok kot. Because in the UK ni, there are so many train company such as East Midland Train, Cross Country, Virgin, First and more! But, they share the same rail which makes it quite confusing! And serious sempit, I believe it's like AirAsia economic space. In the other hand, dekat Malaysia, we only have ETS and KTM which also shared the same rail but I think it's less confusing and a bit more spacious! Well, it might be too early to judge (and too inexperience), but I am not changing my mind about it for now..

We reached Cardiff Train Station at 9.45pm jugak lah. Then Alyaa and Fadie brought us to a Malaysian food restaurant. Ya Rabbi, Ya Allah. You cannot imagine my happiness tengok menu tu, and bila nampak pakcik the cook tu! Like omg pakcik Melayu nak goreng nasi aku, siap tanye nak pedas mana hehe. So yeah as mentioned, I had Nasi Goreng Tomyam with Teh Tarik! 

teh tarik tak siap lagi, ribena si alyaa budak kecik tu adalah haha

DAY 2

Girls being girls, we shop at our best (especially Alyaa and Fadie minus Ummu) hahaha. They brought us to Bridgent - a designer outlet. Basically like JPO in Malaysia. Branded stuff being reduced to a crazily cheap price! This one I loike heheh. I bought a buy one, half prize second Vans, a handbag from Clarks, cardigans from M&S and GAP and teas from Whittard. Heheheh dekat situ je dah banyak barang, tak berfikir nak bawak macam mana naik train hahaha.

Later, after finished shopping. We resumed the day by taking pictures at the train station. It's very classy and typical colonial building. And fortunate us, there was a house warming invitation, so apa lagi, pi lah! And such a small small world, so happened that tuan rumah is one of my prefect senior in SMK Puteri - Kak Aishah. And again, Ya Rabbi, the cooking semua sedap. I am not lying. From the nasi to mee to lauk to mocktail and desert - brownies, red velvet, cheese cake. 

Next, we went to Cardiff Bay. One of the reasons why we were intrigued to come! And because the daylight saving had started so macam gelap cepat sikit. Kalau tak, it would be even prettier! Then later that night, dorang merealisasikan impian yours truly ni lagi. Because I really wanted to eat desert and alhamdulillah, got mine. 

Designer Outlet, Bridgent 

Bay as the background

Doctor Who attribution.

housemates Alyaa and Fadie

Inside Welsh Millenium Center

CoChoc Waffle for GBP 3.95 at Spicy Village.

Day 3

We woke up kind of late the third day since we were tired (acah je). Actually, I woke up early tapi the plan of the day started late so yeah, I just lied down. Then we went to Splott since I really want to go to carboot sales. Except that this is more like a warehouse sales, I guess. Bought three preloved smart jackets and two shawls heheh. Murah gila and I am more that satisfied. We walked to the guys' house, via Cardiff City. So sambil sambil tu sight seeing lah. Nak makan kambing Baim masak tapi baru rarely cooked :( Too bad. Makanya kami beli pizza je for tengah hari because we had to get into the 3.45pm train. I cannot accept that the pizza is only 2 pounds. What the hell? I cant even get a wrap for 2 pounds in Sheffield, let alone pizza! They should be bloody grateful to live there hahaha. Anyways, dapat gather dengan budak budak ni rasa macam happy sikit. Tak dapat dizahirkan, Allah je tau macam mana.

The warehouse sales. 

In front of the Cardiff University's Engineering School

The Cardiff little ambassador

If you click the picture, it says "Call MUM". Yeah, i miss you :'(

Le UK Batch 6 in Cardiff - Baim, Fareed, Mia, Ummu, Malo, Alyaa and Fadie :)

Pizza 2 pounds and yemen, Pepperoni Pizza crave unchecked!

And alhamdulillah by 8pm macam tu sampai Sheffield. For the great weekend and journey and more to come, insyaAllah! I miss Alyaa already tau tak :( Mase bid goodbye at the train station, the same feeling of bidding my love ones in KLIA came flooding. Oh Allah :/ I want more time bila travel nanti!

Someone special who has the soft spot in my heart. Love you, Al <3

Love,

Mia.

My First Gig!

Assalamualaikum,

As I am typing this, I actually have some reading for labs to do. But..... let's take a break, its very tedious! Especially when it comes to heat exchanger, phewww.

So last Thursday, I had my first gig performance with the SheffUniSamba band. Well, I played tamborim or better known as tam. It's basically a tambourines without cymbals where you hit it with a special stick carrying a high-pitched rhythmic phrasing. 

Yep this is it! (Picture from google)

Well, the band gathered at the cupboard (where we store the instruments) in the Students' Union (SU) around 10pm then went off to The Harley, just stone throw away from SU. Since the atmosphere wasnt Muslim friendly and ya know, awkward because there's a quite a few people staring at me. Like what is this hijabi girl doing here haha. Nasib baik ade Azwan, Afiq and Heather for me to ease the nervousness. And not to mention, make my feel ok at that place. Felt both bad and good tho. 

Tunggu punya tunggu, finally we performed at 11.30pm. We played Afoxe and Samba Reggae. Good crowd weh! They quite dance along and like the performance. How I knew it? Because as I was sitting around waiting for the second round, a guy suddenly approached me and said, "Hey, I like your band. It's cool. *double thumbs up and walked away*"

Little that he know it boost up my confidence! And 12.30am, we once again performed. I like this crowd better mayn! They were all cooler than before (probably because some of them are getting high lol). And I was safe and sound in room at 1am. Well anyways, no harm done. New experience, wasnt carried away at all. And tell you what, that's my first and last midnight gig. Lepas ni nak main petang petang or at open spaces je. Kena ingat asal usul kita, masih Melayu, masih Islam :)

Jangan risau readers. I did not sip any liquids that night nor dance along. I sat back, and simply chat with the people. (I am glad my parents understands me)

Practise two days prior the first gig!

Waiting to perform.

Love, 

Mia <3

The Manchester Trip

Assalamualaikum folks.

Just wanting to share about my trip to Manchester. It was such a waste because my second day of the trip tergendala as I was feeling under the weather (still do!). Too bad, if not I could have got the chance to explore other parts of it besides Old Trafford. I wanted to go to Salford! I did not even had the change to take a lot of picture of the city pun. Haih but yeah, Allah is the best planner afterall.

I stayed at Irra's place in Rusholme. I just met her like 3 weeks ago tapi you see, that's life as a perantau. You make friends and we help each other. And yemeeeeen, met the 4 other Valedictorians!

And speaking of Old Trafford, I broke the #OldTraffordPromise. When Fareed and I finished our SPM, we made plans and dream of future. We told ourselves to study well and further to UK. Alhamdulillah we got the chance, and I was there. But not with him. Well, he probably had forgotten, but really, it's fine.

Nothing much to say though. Let the picture speaks.

#ValedsDiPersadaDunia

This is Old Trafford!

 

 

Ayte mate, sayonara!

The First Week

Assalamualaikum alai'

Hi all, TGIF (To mum and dad, it's - thank god its friday!) Hehe well one week of class has just.... passed. And alhamdulillah all is well, I mean in terms of study it is ok. Maybe some blur and blank moments in the class, but still could catch up with things.

Friends? Am still giving myself a chance. Because we have not started any group or lab works. Friends will come eventually. I mean as a student when it comes to accomplishing the assignments and tasks given, I would do anything. Takkan sebab malu or rase outcast or whatever nak hilang markah. That is already irresponsible! Anyhow, prayers for me yeah?!

And, tomorrow is Hari Raya Aidiladha. Called mum earlier today and she said she is going to cook tomorrow. Ah, how I envy my siblings at home. But no worries, I am also going to attend a feast after prayers dekat sini. I am living now. Though slowly, but still living.

As an overly attached daughter, I dont care. I want to cry every single day. It's just because I missed having mum and dad calling me almost everyday, be it in SBP or KMKN or MICET. Now i dont know whether this pampering me works best for my future (which looks like not) but  love it for my past. And still love it now though. InsyaAllah semua ini bekalan untuk tabah hadap hidup ni. Hahaha to my mummy and daddy who never stop supporting and loving me, know that, I LOVE YOU TILL JANNAH! :')

Bye!

Regards,
Amirah Nasir.

The #RTL14

Assalamualaik'

It was September the 1st. Finally, our September Dream is coming. The clock ticks. After all the stressness, hardwork, pestering and discussion, my group was set to fly off to Sheffield, United Kingdom on the 13th of September 2014. Mixed feelings! Unstable emotionally!

Left Malaysia tanah air tercinta at 9.25pm.
Route: Malaysia-Bangkok-Cairo-Manchester and Sheffield by train.

Whoops, lucky me... sebab takde kekosongan ekonomi kelas, iolls punya tiket diupgradekan ke business class. It was really goooooood! Masuk masuk dapat kain lap aroma (very refereshing), hot delicious food (I particularly love the croissant) and the motherly elder stewardess made the ride so homely. *A not so secret anymore: I cried silently on the flight. So having her, warms me*

To get to the final destination takes us all about 28 hours. Very tiring! And the jetlagged we faced. God knows! I overcame it after a week in the UK, which i must say, agak lama ah.

Touchdown Cairo Airport

This is how my business class looks like haha not as exclusive as the first flight

Finally, SHEFFIELD!

Broomhall neighbourhood, tumpang rumah senior.

And the end.... Not really good at words!

Regards,
Mia.

The Nightmare

Assalamualaikum

Of fears and desires.

Before I made the decision to continue my studies abroad, I had this one fear sticking in my head. Up till now! I fear my love ones go and meet the Al-Mighty while I am far away from home. I just cannot imagine. Annnnnd, I had this nightmare. Two days ago!

Then just now, I dreamt being in Malaysia. Ready to get back to Sheffield, again, very unready and rushing. Made me felt so lonely and sad, hence the weeping in the room. I called Mum and that was bad actually.

I am sorry.
I just have not settled down yet when I thought I did.

I just need a hug, that's all. Someone sisterly, or motherly.

First Day Of Class

Assalamualaikum.

Class started at 10am. My friends and I made a move at 9.30am since we have not surveyed the place (though my accommodation is just 5 minutes away). To get to the building was easy but not for the lecture theater. We went round and round for the LT. But at last, we found it! My class was already half full by then. The class was approximately of 130 people. Did made friends with 2 or 3. BUT I WANT MORE! Hahaha insyaAllah nanti nanti dapatlah tu heheh

Right in front of the library, called IC.

Day one, done! I had three lectures. Alhamdulillah paham lah accent lectures, but when it comes to Dr McGregor, macam alamak this is hard. Once you feel sleepy, that's it. I even caught myself mengelamun because I tried hard nak focus.

"Weh aku mengelamun do" "Hahahha sama ah aku" said Dila and Syaza.

Regards,

Mia.

The Prep

Assalamualaikum.

For months after finals in MICET I have been preparing the documents and stuff to UK. The times I had to follow mum to KL are countless. Listed are just a few steps.

The documents are:
1. Passport. First things first, you just can't proceed with anything without it. Make sure to bring a document stating you're going abroad to study. For my case, it's MARA agreement or, university conditional offer letter will do.

2. ATAS certificate. The online application is just complicated and such a nuisance. Not to mention, you have to be very careful with the modules you'll taking. It takes you up to 20 working days for the certificate. Mine took less than that but mind you, my friend got it only after a 6 weeks. Worrying! And stressful!

3. CAS Statement. You'll get this usually after you received the unconditional offer letter from the university you'll be attending. It's very important!

4. TB Test. There are only 6 health centres that are recognised by the UK goverment, nearest to me is the Lifecare in Bangsar South. So, situ je buat. It cost about RM210.

5. Medical Checkup. You could just download the form kalau MARA or you scholar bagi lambat. It's always the same borang for MARA. Doing it together with TB test can save you a few puluh ringgit!

6. The Ultimate VISA. Yes, to get this done. You have a list of things to settle, such as above! Well, nowadays ade appointment je, no more walk ins. My time, I had to pay $530. I'm sure this will increase. And mind you, it is only for the process. If anything goes wrong throughout the process, guess you'll have to pay double (the second time), just like my friend. It depends on the date and time you apply the visa, I advice you to go 10 to 12 in the morning. Not so many people, you can end everything by an hour or less. The process? Easy. Go to 3rd floor, hand in your documents for checking purpose then proceed to 19th floor. You'll be called twice. Once to hand over the documents, second time for biometrics purpose. Then done. Wait for a week, you'll receive 2 emails. One from Manila, saying your visa will be despatched and another saying your visa reach the application centre.

And I highly recommend you to just stay outside the campus.
It's way cheaperrrr! Uni accommodation can cost up to GBP 500 while staying outside paling mahal pun GBP 300. Tu pun actually expensive. Memang tak inclusive internet, gas and electricity. But why pay for the public kitchenette, living room, common rooms and facilities when you're not gonna use it often pun. And the local people makes a lot of noise, they're very loud. Not to forget, partied really hard.

My group from UniKL had to attend 3 camps. Banyak sangat camp that we called it as BTN 1.0 (the real one), BTN 2.0 (the islamic one, plus keselamatan negara) and BTN 3.0 (pre departure that turns out to be like a vaca for us). Sumpah tak masuk akal, but we went anyway.

All pictures from BTN 1.0

The Purpose

Assalamualaikum alaik'

As the title speaks, I'll be writing again (after years quiting) - in this blog. Just simply for my parents in Malaysia. To keep update of my life here in Sheffield, UK. It's kind of hard to contact virtually hehe. And I prefer not to show in on facebook, it's too public there haha.

Well... Yep, I just arrived a week ago. It seemed long tho, I missed my home already! And of course, my dearly parents, siblings, family and friends. I will be continuing my studies in MEng Chemical Engineering, Year Two in The University of Sheffield. And as I'm writing right now, it's an hour prior to the welcoming talk in Octagon Hall. It's 8 degree currently. Very cold, ikr (I know right)! But no worries, it gets as warm as 13 degree throughout the day hehe rase macam poyos pulak :D

Will be keeping in touch. By the way, the name is Siti Amirah. But preferable, Mia... for friends! :)

// I'll post pictures soon as I get back from the events. So chalo chalo!