Cheshire Oaks!

There wasn't much on for today... except the much-awaited trip to Cheshire Oaks! I had no idea the Malaysian Society had an ice-breaker yesterday. I mean, I never got any news pertaining the event, so it's only natural that I missed it. Still, I almost missed this trip. If Izyan hadn't called me up around 9.40 am I would definitely forget to go. Anyway, I did end up in front of the guild, and we took off. The journey there was pretty uneventful, so we'll skip that bit. I had depression all the time coz everyone was talking on the coach and I was the only one quiet throughout the whole journey. But everything changed once we set foot in Cheshire Oaks. Oh, by the way, for those who have no idea what or where Cheshire Oaks is...well, it's basically a shopping ground with many branded goods, mostly clothings and apparel. It's situated somewhere south of Liverpool. It's large! Of course you can't compare it to Midvalley Megamall, but it's huge nevertheless. And the thing is, it's not all situated in one building. It's a circular row of shophouses. I really enjoyed it. Not to mention being able to shop alone. The freedom is great! I never knew that shopping alone is actually better than shopping with friends or family, but it actually is! You get to buy clothes without someone criticising your choice. And you don't have to wait for other people. Our scheduled time is from 11 am till about 5.30 pm so I walked for hours on end. Firstly, I just surveyed the different shops without actually browsing in one. I still had some mild depression then, but it totally dissipated once I realised what was going on. It's MY money I'm spending, not my parents'. So I choose what I want to buy, and that rocks! No guilt as well from spending my parents' money! Yay! That's when I took shopping there more seriously. I'd only brought 50 pounds so I have to be wise. In the end, after browsing through shops like Petroleum, Nike, Adidas, d2 jeans and others, I chose to get a parka and a hoodie. The parka was 20 pounds and the hoodie, 7.49. Not too cheap, especially the hoodie, but I like it. I also did my grocery shopping in Sainsbury's so I didn't have to walk all the way to Tesco. By the end of the day, I was totally bushed. We met up at McDonald's and went back. I only had dinner at around 10 pm coz my housemates were using the kitchen.

Gathering of the Masses!

Really, we had a great time today... or supposed to be. We went to a chapel today. No, not for service, but really a meeting between international students hosted by the Liverpool Christian Students Society, or something to that effect. I met Peggy and Adeline as well as Lydia, the girl from Hong Kong. The bus ride was quite long, though. It didn't really matter as I had some talking done with Lydia to while away the time. We didn't exactly do much when we reached there. I met with a third year medical student called Katy from UK (London, I think) and we began! It started with a video show about Liverpool and its culture (rich and diverse, it looks like). It was some sort of a sneak preview as the video was meant for viewing on 2007. Then Brendon aka BJ, a second year medic student (born in Canada, living in Hong Kong), gave us a talk about surviving in Liverpool. The talk was made light and easy to follow, so we had our share of laughter. After that, we had Rija (from Madagascar) relating his first experience upon reaching Liverpool and also Catherine (from Zimbabwe) telling us about her first contact with Christianity. Very heartwarming story, to be sure. And not to forget, chatting and talking amongst ourselves was dutifully done. I preferred the role of a listener, instead of firing my mouth off. Lunch consisted of different types of pizza, as well as raw tomatoes (yummy!), scones, chocolate cake and crisps. Not half-bad at all. I could get used to this, especially if I don't have to prepare my own lunch and dinner! Lunch over, it was time to head back. And there goes another chapter of my ultimately boring and mundane life.

Finally! Registration Day!

We were brought to the Guild of Students for registration for the International Students. Got a few pamphlets and stuff. Met an Indian woman who is studying for her MBA. I think her name was Surbhee. After, we had to collect our Confirmation of Accomodation letter which is vital for opening a bank account. Registration with the faculty of medicine was next and we got to meet some new friends who are doing the same course. There's Tina, a Thai student, Adeline from Indonesia, Rabia from Pakistan and Fernando from Honduras. Interesting bunch, actually. Walked a great deal today. Exhausted by the time I reached my room. Online application for bank account (HSBC) comes next. 6 pm indicates that I had to leave for a dinner reception at the Adelphi Britannia Hotel. The hotel was elegant, with hanging chandeliers and the like.We had some speeches which was followed by a great buffet dinner. I even tried white wine for the first time! Kind of dry though. Had to drink plenty of water. Other wise, it was a pretty interesting experience drinking wine in such a quantity. Met two Singaporeans doing Law on our table, Mark and William. There was also a Finnish lady called Karoliina. She's quite friendly, although understanding our English was somewhat of a challenge. We left after that because the formality of the dinner was suddenly transformed into a disco floor complete with flashing colourful lights and ear-piercing music on the background.

Intro Night

Morning started rather early today with breakfast and then walking all over town. Not much to see except memorial grounds and museums which we haven't entered yet. Salt was the first item on the list of things to buy so a beeline was made for the nearest store. Stores operate so much differently from Malaysia. Whereas shopping is the number one agenda on everyone's list on a Sunday, people here would rather open stores late. T J Hughes open around 11 am. That's pretty late. Coincidentally, we met Izyan at T J Hughes. Apparently she reached Liverpool late last night and stayed over at the senior's house. Her whole family followed her here. Wow! Talk about family gathering! However, she has not moved into Mulberry Court yet. Maybe later. We decided to finish the rest of the spaghetti by cooking for one more time. This time salt was duly remembered and it turned out rather tasty. Not bad for one who hasn't cooked it before. Later at around 8 pm, we've got some icebreaker event. Curiosity led me to follow the others. Before long, we were brought to a local pub by the name of Font. Everyone was relaxed and chatting and I was standing there like some dork when somebody came and talked to me. His name is Robert, I think. From Greece, no less! Apparently, he doesn't know anyone either. So, we chatted a bit and then he went and sat with a group of people, so I followed him. Bad decision! I cannot mingle well with them. And besides, the smoke and liquor in there turned me off completely. So when everyone moved to the next place I followed, only to find... another pub! Give me a break! Do people in Liverpool only have pubs for entertainment? If so, then they are SO deprived! Discretion was the better part of valour, so I chose to ignore and instead came back to my room, smelling like I, too, smoked heavily. No more pubs for me, thanks!

Second day at Liverpool

Woke up at an early 8 am, despite sleeping rather late while suffering from jetlag at the same time. Tried ringing Noreen's doorbell, but I guess she was in dreamland. Hunger demanded preparations for breakfast which, unfortunately, consisted of instant spaghetti. Waiting for the senior to bring us around proved an utmost boring task, especially when there's hardly anything to do. Still, trudging sounds outside my room door indicated the arrivals of more tenants. Chinese guys? Yay! From China? Drats! Communication proved a daunting task as my area of knowledge around their accent is very limited. Altogether quite an uneventful day... visiting T J Hughes for stuff (duvet cover and pillow cases) but we decided to cook... for the first time since arriving here! Menu? Spaghetti. Bought beef, spaghetti, vegetable oil and some sauce. Cooking was simple enough, but as it turned out, we forgot to buy salt, so it was pretty bland. Still, not bad, considering amateurish skills. Watched FFVII: Advent Children (been waiting forever for it to come out... at last!) and found it to have pretty physics. But the story was, admittedly, pretty short. Still...