So like I mentioned in my previous post, I flew over alone to the UK for an interview with Manchester Dental School in February. Yes, just the one. Yes, it was a huge risk.
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| Hollaaaa at yur cabbage bitjyvhtyjvh |
At the time, I'd been rejected by 1 dental school, interviewed by 1(a phone interview), awaiting a response from another and was invited for this interview. I pushed my interview date for the one of the last dates allocated for international students as a result, hoping that I'd hear back from the last one. This would've allowed me to fit both interviews in one trip, because it costs soooo much to fly over.
And guess what? I screwed up booking the flights. By the time I realised, it was literally FOUR hours til I was supposed to leave KL enroute to Dubai then London. And I was still at home. In Kuching.
Anyone who knows me personally will know that I pretty much don't swear at all. All the times I swore 'Fuck' and actually meant it (as in, not because somebody asked me to say it to see what I sounded like.) are extremely sparing.
This incident is definitely one of them. I just kept going 'Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!' Because it was for sure that I couldn't make the flights.
The worst bit of it was telling my parents. They didn't even scold me, they just went silent and walked away for a while. Gosh, my heart sank :(
Long story short, I went into crisis control mode and called up the airlines so I could get the refund. And gone online til 4am searching for flights over instead.
Everything worked out in the end and I flew over 1 day later than I'd planned.
A very expensive lesson learned : Just arrange flights with the same airline or just go to the travel agency next time. Or take a dang direct flight.
I checked and double-checked and triple-checked and...yeah. Guess sometimes you just see what you expect to see, and not what's actually there *shrugs*
Honestly, felt damn stupid la. You'd have thought all the time-telling and problem solving in primary school would've prepared me for that moment :\
So after about 20 hours of travelling and transits, I finally arrived in London Heathrow all greasy and groggy and cranky. Couldn't get any sleep on the plane so I watched lots of movies and shows - including 10 episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is sooo good. It has Terry Crews aka Latrell from White Chicks in it, so how can you possibly go wrong?
And it wasn't over yet, I had to go through immigration and take a 30 minute ride on the tube to central London. I swear I almost DIED lugging my 20+ kg luggage up and down all the flights of stairs in the tube. No escalators :( And this was at several stations, because I had to make an interchange. Travelling so far away alone was, of course, pretty scary at first, but I dealt with it okay. It helped to know what to expect and to know to be ready to be resourceful, and at times, just go with the flow!
Finally made it to Goodge, where I met my best friend, Yong, whose place I was staying at for the couple of days I was in London! After a goooood shower at her place and settling down, we set out to meet Florence and Sharon for lunch.
It was soooooo cold, like 10 degrees at the time I think. And the wind was so strong and dry. I now understand why authors use the phrase 'the biting wind'.
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| Cue the epic Sherlock intro music |
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| My mom bought this down jacket in Singapore for me without asking me -___- Thanks, mom, but, really? It's puffy and glossy... Photo cred to Sharon |
Let me just say, it's bloody hard to find a toilet in the UK. It's not like here in Malaysia or Singapore where every overhead sign in the mall will point you to the nearest toilet. Also, shops in London are shophouse style, and not in a mall like we have here. Hence, no public toilets. Sorry, this bothered me a lot because I REALLY had to use the toilet!!
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| I'm thinking of YOU, Harrods, and your hidden toilets |
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| Took this photo of a street directory to make our way to Harrods on foot |
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| Random statue at a park lol sorry |
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| Half-assed shot of Buckhingham Palace |
While it felt so surreal that I was across the globe from home and in an entirely new environment for the first time aaaand it was London, arguably one of the most exciting and iconic cities in the world, I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should've. Guess it was due to all the travelling and the pressure building for the interview. In hindsight, it was really a shame. I went to see a lot of touristy spots, like Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus, the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and I just took half-assed photos :( My body was just rejecting the weather, man, I guess. Not to mention, I was fighting jetlag. I honestly felt so drowsy and my stomach was hurting and it was soooo cold I used my scarf to cover my face like up to my nose. Sharon even lent me her gloves because my fingers were about to fall off. Looking back, I really wish I put in more effort to properly document my trip.
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| Sharon's super kawaii gloves aka my saviours |
The very next day, after a much needed, heavenly night's sleep, Yong and I set out for Manchester by train! Since my interview was set in Manchester, I stayed there for much longer than London. I'll save that for my next post :)
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