Screw them

Why.. Oh why..

I really hate it when people force me to do something..

Why can't they accept my opinion?

I'm tired of this..!

Cardiff University Pre-Departure Briefing

Croeso !! (Welcome- Welsh)

This post is dedicated to my friends who had missed the briefing last week (19th July) which was held at Grand Millennium Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. For those who have not attended yet, I suggest you go to the one in JB this August.

So, I'm going to go straight to the point. First, they did an introduction bout Cardiff. Cardiff is the capital city of Wales. So there's pretty much of everything there; great shopping outlets, 'Harry Potter' styled buildings plus 330 parks and green spaces. It's also located approximately 2 hours from West of London. (They showed us one video bout Cardiff. I don't have it here, sorry~)

 

Next: Visa. You need to wait for your results first so that your offers changes from Conditional to Unconditional. Then, Cardiff will send you an email to confirm your details for the CAS number. Only a week after you check your details, they will send it to you. (x pasti la plk kalau mmg kne after betul2 seminggu or within that time). After you got your CAS number and TB certs ready, you can apply for Visa. Its called Tier 4, General Student (Diorg kata ada satu lagi jenis Tier 4.. So don't get them mixed up yerrr..) Plus, they said something bout preparing financial document in case diorang nak tgk (I really don't know what that is...)

Third: Accommodation. I'll assume that most of you had already applied them. They said the earliest moving date is 17/18th of Sept. So if you arrive early, you have to stay in hotels or other places first. There's internet access and they will try to mix up everyone in order to create a more diversified environment. To pay them, you can do it either by installments (ada 3 installments) or lump sum by using credit card/ bank transfer/debit card. The first installment are paid after moving in. So, you don't have to pay anything first for accomodation (For undergrads la.. Postgrads kne bayar duit pendahuluan)

Fouth: Enrolment. There are two enrolments needed to be done: online enrolment and school enrolment.The online enrolment is VERY IMPORTANT. We need to confirm the details and pay the first tuition fee installment; 3 to 4 weeks before the course starts. (Yang ni rasanya nnty Cardiff akan hantar email utk remind but the payment kne discuss ngan JPA mcm mne) As for the school enrolment, ni buat after arrive in Cardiff. It's about module choices, collecting timetables and meeting tutors. 

Fifth: Money. For the JPA students, we just bring what the amount that they provided. Other scholarships or private students, they advise to bring enough cash for at most 2 weeks before opening a bank account there. It's advisable not to bring too much cash in hand. In Cardiff, there are about 5 banks (HSBC, Barclays, etc ) Yang HSBC tu, kalau nak bukak siap2 kat Malaysia pnyer, amik yg HSBC Premium. That one is for international. Now, to open a bank account, you need to have student ID, passport and bank letter from school (Cardiff)

Sixth: Travelling to Cardiff. There will be a free coach collection service that will pick you up at Heathrow or Cardiff Airport. But you have to book it first. (Tengok kat website Cardiff).  http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/for/prospective/international/coming-to-cardiff/before-you-arrive/coach-collection-service.html The bus will be provided on the 17th and 18th of Sept and the last bus leaves at 3pm on the 18th. So make sure you arrive before that. If you missed them, boleh datang Cardiff simply by bus.

Seventh: Welsh/Cardiff Culture. 

Tips 1: Clothes. Need to have at least one of these 3 items; umbrella, Wellington Boots (rubber bases) or rain coat. 

Tips 2: Language

Cheers or Ta - Thank you

Lush              - Great or Brilliant

You Alright?  - How are you? or Hello?

Tips 3: Life in Cardiff

-Taxi need to be booked. (X boleh tahan taxi kat tepi jalan mcm kat Malaysia)

- Healthcare free (not include dental)

- Plastic bags costs 5 pence each

- Be prepared to answer questions bout Malaysia. Ex: about the multicultural in Malaysia. They don't quite understand how Malaysia have many races. 

Eighth: What to bring.

Hand Luggage

- Passport

- Offer letter

- CAS letter (Very important)

- University Residential Agreement

- TB Certs

- Medical reports

- Arrivals Guide

- Money

*Extra copies of each document

*Separate the originals from the copies.

Check-in Luggage

- T-shirts, long sleeve shirts

- Long pants, shorts, leggings etc

- Thermal Wear *

- Winter Jackets (Advised to be bought in Cardiff)

- Formal Wear (For formal occasions)

- Traditional Wear (Baju Kurung)

- Toiletries

- Stationery (Senior ckp kat sana x byk pilihan)*

- Dry Food ( Milo, Instant noodles, spices, homemade cookies etc)

- Personal Momento ( stuffed toy, diary)

Student Essentials (beli kat sana)

- Bedding sets (pillows, pillow cover, duvet, etc)

- Hangers

- Table lamp

- Cooking utensils

- Laundry basket

- Washing Liquids/Powders

- Toiletries

- Groceries 

Ninth: Foods

- Cardiff Market

- Local Supermarket (Tesco Extra, Asda- Has halal chicken, Sainsbury)

Tenth: Halal Restaurants

- Cafe' Malaysia (ada nasi lemak)

- Subway (Talybont)

- Uni Kitchen

- Magic Wrap

- The Taf (halal chicken)

- Red Hot World Buffet (partial halal food)

- Restaurants on City Road

Eleventh: Taxi's

- Capital Taxis 029 20 777 777

- Dragon Taxis 029 20 333 333 **(Recommended. Boleh download apps)

- Premier Taxis 029 20 555 555

Twelfth: Mobile network

- Giffgaff **

- O2 **

- Vodafone

- Orange

Thirteenth: Festival of Diversity (F.O.D)

One of the biggest events organised by the Malaysian Students Society where the are a lot of activities such as acting, singing and dancing and showing the beauty of Malaysian cultures.

 

That's all I guess.. There were also slots on work experience. I won't write it in this posts. It's long enough already. I don't think there's much to tell on that anyway. They basically explain on the Do's and Don'ts of CV's.

So...Toodles!

What is INTEC??

I feel like I really need to write something about this. Most people, when they ask me, " Hi, you study kat mane sekarang?" And when I reply "Oh, I sekarang buat A- Level kat INTEC in Shah Alam". And they'll be like "INTEC?? What's that?" or maybe like "Ohhhh.. INTEKMA keee"

*krik* *krik* *krik*

Bila dah penat nak explain panjang2, mesti cakap INTEC, UitM Shah Alam.. Baru diorang "Ohhh.. UiTM Shah Alam.." (The fact is INTEC is now privatised and are no longer under UiTM)

So now I just want to explain briefly about INTEC. INTEC is actually a preparation college to further your studies overseas. Ada banyak program kat sini such as A-Level (UK, US, German), ADFP (American Degree Foundation Programme), AUSMAT, KTJ (Jepun), Korean Programme. Memang banyak.

So, to those yang dapat offer kat sini, I'll just explain briefly. First, situasi belajar kat sini, seriously macam class kat sekolah sebab ada classroom except the study hours dia lagi short kot. Ada banyak gap antara subjects (depends on your programme jugak). As for me, ada satu hari tu ada satu subject je (tak ingat sem berapa). A-Level is 100% exam based not like ADFP. ADFP dia banyak presentations and assignments. Other programmes, I'm not so sure. 

Pakaian. Hmmm.. On Monday and Friday, girls kena pakai baju kurung/ jubah while boys on Monday kena pakai kemeja and Friday baju Melayu. Other than that, you're free to wear anything (yang sopan please). For the girls you're not allowed to wear short sleeves even for the non-muslims. Nanti kena marah ngan pak guard sebab it's one of the rules. Nanti dah masuk nanti, you'll get a briefing on the attires. No worries.

Asrama girls kat Kolej Akasia, Kolej Cemara campur laki pompuan (mostly pompuan kat sini short courses contoh yang pergi Timur Tengah), Kolej Cendana for guys (junior). Kat Kolej Cendana (sebab dia dekat Seksyen 7) I'm not so sure tapi kat Seksyen 18 ni ada banyak la jugak pilihan makanan. Ada Rafi (seriously mahal tapi for the case yang malas nak jalan jauh, ni paling dekat), Imtiyaz, Al Awwal, food court ole2, Burger Bakar, KFC, Ayamas, Mydin, Giant, semua ada. You don't have to worry about finding foods here. Just worry about your money. Mengalir cam air. Sedar2 ringan je dompet. 

Apa lagi ek.. Hmm.. Oh yes.. Bilik. Satu bilik 4 orang. I explained it in my previous post.. Ada small pantry jugak. And dekat Akasia, ada washing machine baru.. Time kitorang nak blah la dia baru letak kat situ. Siap ada dryer lagi. Ada kerusi and meja so sambil tunggu boleh study. Eh.

Bas ada disediakan untuk pergi INTEC kat Seksyen 17. And for those yang studied in all girls or boys school (yang takut ngan opposite gender), I'm sorry but this bus memang campur yeeee.. Try to get use to it. And ohh.. There's a tradition in INTEC whereby the people sitting would hold the books for the one standing. Memang camtu. Kita kena saling tolong-menolong sebab kadang2 bas tu bergoyang dengan dasyatnya and ada orang yang badan dia kalau kena tiup angin boleh tumbang tu, memang tak akan stabil.

I think that's about it kot. Overall, my life in INTEC was super awesome. I really love the people that I met here. The library is super big and the lecturers are all dedicated. Now, I just hope for the best result. Oh examiners, moga hati anda tenang when marking my papers. I'm worried. Due to overstress time exam, I got sick and did badly in my examination. Muntah 30 minit before masuk dewan exam + otak blank even bila paper dah ada depan mata.. Ya Allah, tu antara ujian yang paling berat. Dah belajar penat2 dua tahun tetiba blank, hanya Allah yang tahu perasaan time tu. Serious nak nangis. But, never mind. I did tried my best. Overseas or not, lain cerita. InsyaAllah, kalau x putus asa, and teruskan kejar cita2 no matter where you study, you'll succeed.

                 

      Gym kat Dewan Berlian                                      Dalam library

                 

                                                            Pusat Islam                                                 Computer kat library

That's it for now. To juniors, Good Luck

ps: I'm from batch ALUK 10

RENEW MALAYSIAN DRIVING LICENCE

What you need to do:

1. Go to a nearby JPJ office. In my case, I went to the JPJ at Bangi.

2. Take your number. There'll be an officer at the counter. Just say you wanna renew your 'P' licence and they'll give you your number.

3. Bring your old licence and your IC PLUS a passport photo. In many cases, they'll just use your IC's picture. But as for me, the officer asked for my photo (thank god I brought a spare photo in my purse!)

4. Pay at the same counter. As for me, sebab renew lambat punyer pasal, kne charge extra RM15. I renewed both car and motor licence for 5 years with the total of RM150.

5. Finish. You just have to wait a little longer and they'll call out your name to take your new licence. The new one is pretty cool. Dia jenis keras mcm IC.

PS: PERGI AWAL!!! Like seriously. Because I overslept, bertolak dari rumah kol 10 pagi, ambik nombor giliran pukul 10.28 pagi and I had to wait for more than 2 FREAKING LOOOOONG  hours!!!! Pukul 12.52 tengah hari baru settle semua. And bear in mind that I was standing (while wearing wedges) the whole time. Sebab memang terlampau ramai plus I let the elders sit first cause I can't bear to watch them standing. They need the seats more than I do..

That's all for now. Adios!

RENEWING MALAYSIAN PASSPORT~

Hi there. Has been a long time since I last updated due to hectic A- Level preparation. Now that I'm done with that, and have nothing else to do, I decided to share on how to renew your passport (I did them several days ago). I really hope it can help you guys out.

Firstly, I went to the the bus station in Kajang. Here's the address. Lot 3-60, Tingkat 3, Kompleks Perhentian Kajang, Jalan Reko, 43000 Kajang, Selangor. You can google map them to find your way there. In case you're living far from here, just go to any immigration office near you.

What to do:

1. Take your number. From the door, the counter is on the right. (Don't worry. It has a big sign on top of the counter. You won't miss it). There, they'll ask for your IC and old passport. Give them both and they'll give you a form to fill in.

2. They'll call your number and just do what the officer tells you to. Basically, it's just rechecking the info on your passport and fingerprint check. Plus you take your new picture there. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE A PASSPORT PHOTO BEFOREHAND. I didn't know it before so it's a waste of money (I paid RM 10 for that). However, I'm not so sure about other offices, but I think that they'll take your photos there. It's up to you. If you wanna play safe, then just take the picture early (I heard that the place in Hartamas require the passport photos with white background)

3. Pay. They'll call your number to pay in another counter. The fees are RM 100 for 2 years and RM 300 for 5 years.

4. Pick up your passport. You have to wait for your passport to finish. In my case, coz there wasn't many people at that time, so I guess I had to wait for about 10-15 minutes. Remember, GO EARLY. Just in case. You don't want to wait for hours right?

That's about it. The office in Kajang was so efficient and I'm pleased with their service.