Sitting in front of the computer each night and typing down my thoughts seems to become a routine now. Perhaps it’s because there’s nothing to do at night and I’m still friendless here in Durham bar a few PRCs. Today was a day with a few 1st times for me. It resulted in a day which I think is slightly better than the previous 2 days.
Waking up in the morning, I went to the office to apply for a student smart card which would let me ride the buses (Oh, by the way, it isn’t bus here. The way they say it is Boo-us). Somehow, the guy manning the office didn’t quite understand me, I think it’s not because my English sucks but because of the way we use our lingo. They don’t quite comprehend some of the sentences/statements we use, likewise for us. I got conned into purchasing a 1 pound photocopying card as well as the photocopying machine in my hostel is spoilt.
I had time to kill before my bank appointment, so I walked around and explore, taking the longer routes to walk while munching on a corn beef/potato pastry which is 68 pence. I suppose I’m getting used to having something light/cheap for breakfast. I took many new pictures, and realized the city’s really beautiful, with the castle/cathedral and lush greenery overlooking the river. I chanced upon a Catholic Church as well. It’s the 1st Catholic Church which I came across. Walking further down, I wanted to capture pictures of the Cathedral/Castle so I entered into the backyard of this apartment as it provided a better view to take pictures. Who knows, after I was done taking pictures, I saw the apartment gate being closed automatically as the person drove off! I was stuck within the apartment grounds and contemplated climbing over the damn gate. I saw a policeman walking towards me and almost wanted to ask him for help haha. Thankfully, an old English gentleman came out of his apartment and I told him I was stuck. He gave me the pin to unlock the gate and I was finally free. First time I got caught in this kind of situation. Still having time to kill, I decided to find my way to the castle/cathedral as I only saw it from afar and never close up. When I reached the cathedral, I realized my university was part of it. The university library was housed in the side wing of the castle. Pretty cool eh? One of the scenes of Harry Potter was filmed in the university library as well. I thought to myself, the university is in the city where all the shopping is and banks are.. kind of weird as Durham University is so scattered. It’s not like in Singapore where a piece of land is set aside for the university. The university buildings in Durham are interspersed with other public buildings and shops as well as housing. So it’s quite hard to locate the various university buildings actually.
Finally it was time for my bank appointment. I was early by around 20 minutes and yet I was only served 1 hour after my appointed time. I had my 1st cup of coffee in the bank as well. The staff were polite and nice, casually chatting with the customers. One of them saw me waiting for around ½ hr past my appointed time and he offered to get me a cup of coffee or tea. It was then I realized I missed having coffee. Haha, drinks here are not that cheap, but I was wondering to myself “a cup of coffee here is actually cheaper than coffeebean/starbucks in Singapore, why can’t I afford to buy coffee/tea here?” Well, that’s because food isn’t cheap over here… Finally it was my turn and I got a shocked when the lady told me “you can’t open a savings account here, only an international student account is available”. I was like “what the F***!”, I told her that I wouldn’t even be there for 12 months because that international student account would bind you to the bank for at least 12 months and you have to pay some lame subscription charge of 5 pounds a month for some services such as a debit card etc. which I didn’t need. All I wanted was to have a simple account with an ATM card. Gosh, I told her that and she said I can’t open a savings account because I’m not a resident and am an international student. I told her that I have no use for all the lame services that was provided for international students because I already have a debit and a credit card. After a while of discussing, she said she would further clarify with her manager. Haha, she asked if I wanted to get a drink and I told her I wanted tea. I know I’m damn kiasu now, anything free also take, but that’s the life of a student on budget right? That’s my 1st cup of tea as well! Finally they opened an account for me which was the “basic bank account”. In Singapore, isn’t savings account the same as a basic bank account? Anyway, I told her my banking needs earlier on and she could have just told me that I needed a basic bank account and not a savings account. After all, I’m a foreigner so I wouldn’t know their labeling… but at least my bank account’s finally settled. A tip for those who want to come to UK for studies, do check where you’re headed for and see if there’s a HSBC branch at the UK area. If there is, just open a HSBC account in Singapore and ask them to email HSBC UK to open an account for you. Trust me, it would save you all the hassle of paperwork and time wasted in a bank, your account would just be ready for you by the time you arrive with all the necessary cards. I had to go to the bank for 3 consecutive days! Banks here aren’t like those you find in Singapore. I almost burst out laughing over my cup of coffee when I read in this article that said France has neither the exporting prowess of Germany nor the “excellent” financial service of UK.
After spending 2 and ½ hrs in the bank, I grabbed lunch from the same burger shop. The man remembered me and this time I tried this steakette burger. Wonder if I got the spelling correct… The burgers there are simple yet much more satisfying than the ones you get at macs or burger king etc. in Singapore. Haha, I purposely walked on the side on of the road where there’re fewer pedestrians because eating stuff in UK can be quite messy. Didn’t want them to think that we Chinese are a messed up bunch (pun intended)! But honestly, those ang mohs are quite messy also, they just use their hands to eat and not the serviette, which I learnt from them as well because tissue is expensive over here. I seldom eat a burger with just my hand holding it, I usually use a tissue or serviette to hold the burger. But heck, this is UK haha. Not trying to say they’re dirty or unhygienic but “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
Spent the next few hours in the library checking mail and chatting with family and friends. My parents told me to just eat something good and not be so hard on myself! Haha, think they realized they have a good son. My dad also told me not to be such a miser because I told him that I’m going to visit those places of interest that doesn’t charge an entrance fee. Sometimes, I wonder why my parents bother to tell me that they’re going for a BBQ or they went here or there for meals, telling me how good the food is and how much they spent etc. Are they trying to tempt me into spending money? Haha, I almost wanted to try the fish and chips but seeing it costs 5 – 6 pounds, I decided I shall try it when I’m emotionally down! Read about the s/u policy thingie, hope that NUS allows senior students to review their s/u and choose to un-s/u the modules. That way my CAP would improve because I s/u-ed stuff which I think I can score in *crosses fingers*.
It was already 5 when I left the library. I tried to get some dinner but all the pastry/bread shops were either closed or had few selections left. So I ended up going back to hall without buying dinner. Haha, I had my 1st pasta over here for dinner tonight, the ever-ready microwavable 7-11 style of instant-ready-to-eat pasta. See, it’s another 1st for me today… though not something I want to repeat often. You guys at NUS should be thankful there’s fong seng and stop complaining the food there sucks or is expensive because I will hammer or wallop you when I get back. I found out there isn’t boo-us service after 7pm and no service at all on Sundays! I need to walk out at least 20-30 minutes to reach the town area. Geez, order ins are also not cheap, figured I need at least 4 pounds for a decent order in meal. I miss the convenience of Singapore seriously, but I’m a fighter… gonna make things work for me or make other people work for me! Haha, thought I wouldn’t write so much today but it sure is a good way to kill time. Well, it’s time to go back to my anime!
Waking up in the morning, I went to the office to apply for a student smart card which would let me ride the buses (Oh, by the way, it isn’t bus here. The way they say it is Boo-us). Somehow, the guy manning the office didn’t quite understand me, I think it’s not because my English sucks but because of the way we use our lingo. They don’t quite comprehend some of the sentences/statements we use, likewise for us. I got conned into purchasing a 1 pound photocopying card as well as the photocopying machine in my hostel is spoilt.
I had time to kill before my bank appointment, so I walked around and explore, taking the longer routes to walk while munching on a corn beef/potato pastry which is 68 pence. I suppose I’m getting used to having something light/cheap for breakfast. I took many new pictures, and realized the city’s really beautiful, with the castle/cathedral and lush greenery overlooking the river. I chanced upon a Catholic Church as well. It’s the 1st Catholic Church which I came across. Walking further down, I wanted to capture pictures of the Cathedral/Castle so I entered into the backyard of this apartment as it provided a better view to take pictures. Who knows, after I was done taking pictures, I saw the apartment gate being closed automatically as the person drove off! I was stuck within the apartment grounds and contemplated climbing over the damn gate. I saw a policeman walking towards me and almost wanted to ask him for help haha. Thankfully, an old English gentleman came out of his apartment and I told him I was stuck. He gave me the pin to unlock the gate and I was finally free. First time I got caught in this kind of situation. Still having time to kill, I decided to find my way to the castle/cathedral as I only saw it from afar and never close up. When I reached the cathedral, I realized my university was part of it. The university library was housed in the side wing of the castle. Pretty cool eh? One of the scenes of Harry Potter was filmed in the university library as well. I thought to myself, the university is in the city where all the shopping is and banks are.. kind of weird as Durham University is so scattered. It’s not like in Singapore where a piece of land is set aside for the university. The university buildings in Durham are interspersed with other public buildings and shops as well as housing. So it’s quite hard to locate the various university buildings actually.
Finally it was time for my bank appointment. I was early by around 20 minutes and yet I was only served 1 hour after my appointed time. I had my 1st cup of coffee in the bank as well. The staff were polite and nice, casually chatting with the customers. One of them saw me waiting for around ½ hr past my appointed time and he offered to get me a cup of coffee or tea. It was then I realized I missed having coffee. Haha, drinks here are not that cheap, but I was wondering to myself “a cup of coffee here is actually cheaper than coffeebean/starbucks in Singapore, why can’t I afford to buy coffee/tea here?” Well, that’s because food isn’t cheap over here… Finally it was my turn and I got a shocked when the lady told me “you can’t open a savings account here, only an international student account is available”. I was like “what the F***!”, I told her that I wouldn’t even be there for 12 months because that international student account would bind you to the bank for at least 12 months and you have to pay some lame subscription charge of 5 pounds a month for some services such as a debit card etc. which I didn’t need. All I wanted was to have a simple account with an ATM card. Gosh, I told her that and she said I can’t open a savings account because I’m not a resident and am an international student. I told her that I have no use for all the lame services that was provided for international students because I already have a debit and a credit card. After a while of discussing, she said she would further clarify with her manager. Haha, she asked if I wanted to get a drink and I told her I wanted tea. I know I’m damn kiasu now, anything free also take, but that’s the life of a student on budget right? That’s my 1st cup of tea as well! Finally they opened an account for me which was the “basic bank account”. In Singapore, isn’t savings account the same as a basic bank account? Anyway, I told her my banking needs earlier on and she could have just told me that I needed a basic bank account and not a savings account. After all, I’m a foreigner so I wouldn’t know their labeling… but at least my bank account’s finally settled. A tip for those who want to come to UK for studies, do check where you’re headed for and see if there’s a HSBC branch at the UK area. If there is, just open a HSBC account in Singapore and ask them to email HSBC UK to open an account for you. Trust me, it would save you all the hassle of paperwork and time wasted in a bank, your account would just be ready for you by the time you arrive with all the necessary cards. I had to go to the bank for 3 consecutive days! Banks here aren’t like those you find in Singapore. I almost burst out laughing over my cup of coffee when I read in this article that said France has neither the exporting prowess of Germany nor the “excellent” financial service of UK.
After spending 2 and ½ hrs in the bank, I grabbed lunch from the same burger shop. The man remembered me and this time I tried this steakette burger. Wonder if I got the spelling correct… The burgers there are simple yet much more satisfying than the ones you get at macs or burger king etc. in Singapore. Haha, I purposely walked on the side on of the road where there’re fewer pedestrians because eating stuff in UK can be quite messy. Didn’t want them to think that we Chinese are a messed up bunch (pun intended)! But honestly, those ang mohs are quite messy also, they just use their hands to eat and not the serviette, which I learnt from them as well because tissue is expensive over here. I seldom eat a burger with just my hand holding it, I usually use a tissue or serviette to hold the burger. But heck, this is UK haha. Not trying to say they’re dirty or unhygienic but “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
Spent the next few hours in the library checking mail and chatting with family and friends. My parents told me to just eat something good and not be so hard on myself! Haha, think they realized they have a good son. My dad also told me not to be such a miser because I told him that I’m going to visit those places of interest that doesn’t charge an entrance fee. Sometimes, I wonder why my parents bother to tell me that they’re going for a BBQ or they went here or there for meals, telling me how good the food is and how much they spent etc. Are they trying to tempt me into spending money? Haha, I almost wanted to try the fish and chips but seeing it costs 5 – 6 pounds, I decided I shall try it when I’m emotionally down! Read about the s/u policy thingie, hope that NUS allows senior students to review their s/u and choose to un-s/u the modules. That way my CAP would improve because I s/u-ed stuff which I think I can score in *crosses fingers*.
It was already 5 when I left the library. I tried to get some dinner but all the pastry/bread shops were either closed or had few selections left. So I ended up going back to hall without buying dinner. Haha, I had my 1st pasta over here for dinner tonight, the ever-ready microwavable 7-11 style of instant-ready-to-eat pasta. See, it’s another 1st for me today… though not something I want to repeat often. You guys at NUS should be thankful there’s fong seng and stop complaining the food there sucks or is expensive because I will hammer or wallop you when I get back. I found out there isn’t boo-us service after 7pm and no service at all on Sundays! I need to walk out at least 20-30 minutes to reach the town area. Geez, order ins are also not cheap, figured I need at least 4 pounds for a decent order in meal. I miss the convenience of Singapore seriously, but I’m a fighter… gonna make things work for me or make other people work for me! Haha, thought I wouldn’t write so much today but it sure is a good way to kill time. Well, it’s time to go back to my anime!
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