Studying Abroad

To this day I still say that one of the most memorable experiences of my life was my stint as a student in the UK. I will probably bring this up many more times in the future as I feel it really changed me. Next year it will have been 10 years since I left that country behind and yet it often feels like it was only a couple of years ago that I was waving goodbye to my Malaysian classmates in Heathrow. I've already mentioned three things about the UK that stand out to me, in another post. But what those years mean to me is in more than what was extraordinary, but also what was commonplace. The quaint Covent Garden in London, the little shop where I got a medieval wax seal, the old lady who gave me a token of a boot which was supposed to be for good luck, the artist who etched the very first pencil drawing of my dog (who has passed away now), the numerous, confusing stops in the Underground, the quiet scenery while walking to Buckingham Palace, the bus trips to the country, the small grocery stores and the dime a dozen Body Shops. I can go on and on. I always tell myself that I would love to have my kids experience that kind of a stay in another country. And I feel a certain kind of kinship for other people who do or have done the same thing. This exchange student had these experiences abroad as well. It's interesting to read about his situations and feel the similarities and differences to mine. Truly, studying abroad is a must.

Footie

Whenever I think back to my years in England, I think of 3 main things: the Weather, the Lifestyle, and the Football. Let's go through these topics one at a time shall we?
The Weather: Living in a tropical country is fantastic for some people, but for me, it's often boring. Funnily, I happen to like the cold. When I went to the UK I was overjoyed to find the temperatures I had always wanted. I remember marveling at the colors of Autumn and the sunny-yet-coolness of Spring. I miss these 2 seasons to be honest. They made things so much more interesting for me.
The Lifestyle: This was also quite different. I was a student when I lived in England so that is the perspective I will be using as my point of comparison. Student life in the UK is definitely much more to my taste than student life here in the Philippines. While the scene is interesting enough in my home base, the mix of cultures, the access to more Premiere activities, and the vast choices one finds in a school in the UK, I found, were much more exciting. Aside from that, the many different extra-curricular activities made my head spin. It helped that, as a student, you are given a lot of discounts and freebies therefore making it easy for me to enjoy the student life in and outside the campus without straining my wallet too much.
The Football: Finally, the thing that amazed me the most was the love of everything Football going on all over the UK. I am not a sporty person. Never have been and yet I found myself drawn to the infectious fever that was the English Premiere League and the World Cup. In the Philippines, the sport of choice is usually basketball so it really was new to me to see all these people so obsessed with Football. I ended up quite enjoying the sport and still follow it as often as I can today. I am sure that people who have always loved Football or those who have grown to greatly appreciate it (as I do)would find this site EPL-English Premier League very informative, helpful, and interesting.
As an aside, I always love bumping into blogs that give me a little taste of what I lovingly consider my second home- the UK.

Missing Old Friends

I've been missing old friends and the UK again lately. I've always said that the 2 years I spent on my own in England were the best, most formative years of my life. I went there a young 17 and left an older, and just a little wiser 19. A lot of people would laugh and say 2 years is nothing but I really think that had I not spent those couple of years abroad, in semi-independence, I would not believe as I do about things or relate to different people as I do today. There really is value in being by yourself and learning things first hand, a lot of times, the hard way. There is nothing like self-discovery. I think that was the greatest gift my parents ever gave to me. I hope that I'll be able to give my children the same opportunity when the time comes that they need to go out and find themselves. And I hope as well that when that time comes I will remember what I am feeling right now and have the strength to let them go to do what they need to do.