Different, but same same
It has been a month and a half since I have stayed here in the UK and I am settling in quite well.
It certainly is different the way things work around here than back in Malaysia.
First things first, it is cold all the time.
Waking up in the morning, I would wash my face and brush my teeth. The water coming out of the tap is so cold, there is no way I could splash my face with the water. I would have to fill the sink with some cold water and hot water from the hot water tap(which is really hot!) before I could wash my face. It is different.
Before going out of the house, I had to make sure I have at least two layers of clothing and a jacket. The cold weather is bearable, but it is usually the chilly wind that bites into the bone. My hands and legs are always cold, not forgetting my face and ears as well.
Instead of switching on the aircond like back at Malaysia, we would switch on the heater or boiler to heat up the house. It is different.
Last time when my brother was at the UK, me and my family back at home would use Skype to communicate with him. I would see and hear him from the computer while my mum would be hogging the computer, talking to him about anything for hours.
Well, now it is happening to me. It is different, and feels a little unreal.
"Hey~ How's it going?" would be their common way of greeting. Or else:"Hey~ You okay there mate?"; "Hey darling/love/mate~".
Once, my English coursemate greeted me, "Hey Eugene~ How's it going?". The moment I turned my head, hoping to reply:"Not bad...What about you?", he was already gone. These kind of greetings didn't expect your reply, it is their habit or culture to greet that way. It is different, and feels a little weird
After washing the clothes, it would be expected to hang the clothes outside on a clothesline to dry them, unfortunately not here. Since it is cold outside, it would take ages for the clothes to dry. Instead, I hang them on my heater and it dries up pretty quickly. Last weekend, I washed my bedsheet and hanged it outside when there was sun, but after half a day it was still wet and I decided to bring it in and I dried it on my heater. It is different.
Back in Malaysia, there were foreigners studying with us on campus. They were labelled international students or foreigners. Now, we are the ones labelled foreigners or international students while the British were the locals. Sometimes, people would mix us up as Chinese from China, or maybe Indonesians, Thais. It is different.
One great thing over here is there are NO mosquitoes or ants! In fact, as long as I have been here, I have not encountered any bugs or insects. You can leave sugar out in the open and there would be no ants marching along to consume it. NO FLIES TOO! But one things' for sure, their dairy products or foodstuffs are very fresh, with little or no preservations. Hence, it is a must to finish consuming them as soon as possible. It is different.
The birds and squirrels here are HUGE! The birds are so fat and big they are not afraid of humans' presence. They only fly away when you try to get really close to it. It must be due to the cold weather here, making them develop larger bodies and thicker furs just so they can withstand the low temperatures. It is different.
The heaviest downpour here is just like a normal rainy day back in Malaysia. Occasionally when it rains here, people don't even bother taking shelter or use an umbrella, the rain is too light. On the other hand, the wind is really strong, hence the reason why people seldom use an umbrella, afraid of breaking the umbrella when the wind is strong and it overturns. Reading off the news a few days ago, there were heavy rainstorms back in Malaysia, I just hope my family and friends are not affected by it. Well, it is different.
The air here is very dry, thus making my skin SUPERDRY(one of the very popular clothing brands here, almost everyone has a SD jacket). My skin became so dry I had cuts everywhere on my hand, I have tau foo skin now, just that it's tan.
Initially I thought that since it is so dry over here, my acne would somehow magically disappear. Unfortunately, it has not improved one bit. Will have to look for some acne creams to apply on my face. But, it is very unlikely of me to do that, lazy me.
It certainly is different the way things work around here than back in Malaysia.
First things first, it is cold all the time.
Waking up in the morning, I would wash my face and brush my teeth. The water coming out of the tap is so cold, there is no way I could splash my face with the water. I would have to fill the sink with some cold water and hot water from the hot water tap(which is really hot!) before I could wash my face. It is different.
Before going out of the house, I had to make sure I have at least two layers of clothing and a jacket. The cold weather is bearable, but it is usually the chilly wind that bites into the bone. My hands and legs are always cold, not forgetting my face and ears as well.
Instead of switching on the aircond like back at Malaysia, we would switch on the heater or boiler to heat up the house. It is different.
Last time when my brother was at the UK, me and my family back at home would use Skype to communicate with him. I would see and hear him from the computer while my mum would be hogging the computer, talking to him about anything for hours.
Well, now it is happening to me. It is different, and feels a little unreal.
"Hey~ How's it going?" would be their common way of greeting. Or else:"Hey~ You okay there mate?"; "Hey darling/love/mate~".
Once, my English coursemate greeted me, "Hey Eugene~ How's it going?". The moment I turned my head, hoping to reply:"Not bad...What about you?", he was already gone. These kind of greetings didn't expect your reply, it is their habit or culture to greet that way. It is different, and feels a little weird
After washing the clothes, it would be expected to hang the clothes outside on a clothesline to dry them, unfortunately not here. Since it is cold outside, it would take ages for the clothes to dry. Instead, I hang them on my heater and it dries up pretty quickly. Last weekend, I washed my bedsheet and hanged it outside when there was sun, but after half a day it was still wet and I decided to bring it in and I dried it on my heater. It is different.
Back in Malaysia, there were foreigners studying with us on campus. They were labelled international students or foreigners. Now, we are the ones labelled foreigners or international students while the British were the locals. Sometimes, people would mix us up as Chinese from China, or maybe Indonesians, Thais. It is different.
One great thing over here is there are NO mosquitoes or ants! In fact, as long as I have been here, I have not encountered any bugs or insects. You can leave sugar out in the open and there would be no ants marching along to consume it. NO FLIES TOO! But one things' for sure, their dairy products or foodstuffs are very fresh, with little or no preservations. Hence, it is a must to finish consuming them as soon as possible. It is different.
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| Taken at London, was walking away from Buckingham Palace Look at how cute the Labarador is and the squirrel feeding on some nuts fed by the old man. |
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| While at Brighton Pier, this seagull (I assume) posing for the camera. |
The heaviest downpour here is just like a normal rainy day back in Malaysia. Occasionally when it rains here, people don't even bother taking shelter or use an umbrella, the rain is too light. On the other hand, the wind is really strong, hence the reason why people seldom use an umbrella, afraid of breaking the umbrella when the wind is strong and it overturns. Reading off the news a few days ago, there were heavy rainstorms back in Malaysia, I just hope my family and friends are not affected by it. Well, it is different.
The air here is very dry, thus making my skin SUPERDRY(one of the very popular clothing brands here, almost everyone has a SD jacket). My skin became so dry I had cuts everywhere on my hand, I have tau foo skin now, just that it's tan.
Initially I thought that since it is so dry over here, my acne would somehow magically disappear. Unfortunately, it has not improved one bit. Will have to look for some acne creams to apply on my face. But, it is very unlikely of me to do that, lazy me.
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