Starbucks

“Can I have a grande Hazelnut latte with cream on top.”

“I’m staying in”

“Do I get discounts for using my own cup?”

Subway

“Can I have a foot long Italian Herbs & Cheese Tuna Mayonnaise.”

“Yup (Cheese and toasted)”

“Lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and pepper.”

“Light mayonnaise and BBQ”

Cardiff Bus

“Can I have a day pass please?”

“Thank you (as leaving the bus)”

Cardiff Taxi

“Can you send me a taxi to Victoria Hall. I am going to the city centre. My name is Rafie (you spell it wrong anyway).”

General Phonetic

Oh yes, I am a fan of… NANA. N for November. A for Alpha. N for November. A for Alpha.

Phone number

“Zero, Seven, Nine, Six, Five, Five, Six Five, Five…”

“Six Five Five (again?)”

“(Yes, I know what I’m saying) Yes, Six Five Five, Two Five.”

“Can I repeat it once again? Zero, Seven, Nine, Six, Five, Five, Six Five, Five, Two Five.”

“Yup, you got it.”

And some friends will praise for the number, quite close to Pizza Hut.

Tea

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Yes, please.”

“Sugar and milk?”

“Yes. One or two sugar.”

For now, that is all I can remember. Will add few more as these memories come flashing back.

I have been studying in the UK since September 2007 – almost 3 years now. Apart from the things that I discovered in what is life in the UK, there are still few matters in which I wish to share and today is regarding the education.

Why UK?

I was here in the UK because of a scholarship opportunities that I received from Petronas. I am glad that I am graduating this July 2010 with a honours Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In the first place, I don’t get the choice to choose which country I wish to pursue my education. It was all set by them. But I am glad that I am here because I believe I have earned more than what they expect me to earn here.

Isn’t it famous to be UK graduate

It is famous. People have high expectation of you. But it is rather subjective. The UK graduates that earn that respect are those who have taken all the opportunities. If I were to tone it down, if you are a UK graduate and you can go back and talk about UK, inside out. Not many will be able to do that.

It is not my intention for you to drink what they drink and party like they do – because I never do things that against my own principle. Perhaps you should try to listen, experience wherever necessary and judge, regardless what you believe in.

Living in London is not the same as living in Cardiff. But wherever you are, be the local there. Travel with the people, talk with the people. Some people don’t care about these things, but these are things that allow you to share with people when you are back in Malaysia, at least for me.

Money matters

I am grateful that I am sponsored here thus everything from accommodation, tuition fees and pocket money is covered. It depends on where you are, but the cost of living in the UK varies. For cities like London, you need a deep pocket money. You will be amazed how much does it cost for transportation only. Food? That is already different pocket money. So, if you were to come here in the UK, city-wise, I’d go for more cost-effective cities like Cardiff, Sheffield and Manchester.

Although it maybe argued that top universities will charge internatinal students up to quadruple times what they local students are paying (that is how universities here makes money – International students). But wherever you go, make sure it is worth it.

And by worth it, I mean:

• Your degree is recognized by a perfessional institution. For example, my engineering degree course is recognized by IMechE, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
• Always check out the university ranking in terms of the department you wish to join. This list is for the top UK universities for Mechanical Engineering. Note: Choose the subject on top of the table to see yours.
• And what you heart tells you!

View Larger Map

Working in the UK?

It is hard but not impossible. With the immigration issues that the UK have to handle at the moment, I would expect getting job in the UK is quite hard. You have to convince your employer why they should take the extra steps employing you rather than local graduates.

I would love to serve Malaysia through working with Petronas. And that is my dream. So, I am not looking forward to working here. But if you are thinking about it, I wish you a success!

Earning money is nice, but doing something that you love doing driven by passion is a whole different level. Bottom line is, whatever you do. Make sure it counts, make sure it is worth it!

P/s: I would be happy to answer any questions, just drop your comment below.

Photo credit: a.drian, lewishamdreamer

Like previous Trydan meeting, I have shared about four website links and a video mainly on time management, photography and design. This time, I believe it is more about website platform and a bit of news from me. I hope you will find it useful!

// elgg

elgg is a professional social intranet platform that allow you to build a website which enable your visitors to register and utilize the features available on elgg platform. It is an open source platform meaning that it is free and you can modify it as you wish. I had never officially try this platform but I will spare sometime to give it a go and maybe design a template for elgg.

// Joomla

Joomla is an award winning CMS platform thus no doubt many people are using them for managing websites. Lately, I have also involved with re-designing a website on Joomla platform as well as modifying codes. Personally, it is fun!

Anyway, Joomla is great because of the modules that it offers. With certain modules that you implement to the platform, you can evolve a website to become an event booking sites, e-commerce and social networking sites. It is also open source! I am looking forward to carry out few design project using Joomla if it is the right platform to use.

// WordPress

I have been praising WordPress so much that I feel like spamming to put it here. Yet, they deserve a mention. Being free and yet so powerful are the main reasons why I love it so much. CNN, Ford, Wired and The NYT have been using WordPress for their website platform and you can’t be more serious than that (or at least you cannot be wrong!).

Looking on the perspective of a web designer/developer, if my client would love to have a paid publishing platform, I am more than happy to point out ExpressionEngine or Light CMS. Easy?

// Portfolios

Portfolios is commercial photography and illustration showcase which is going to be held in London on the 9th and 10th June 2009. I might not be able to make it because I have signed up for the Business Start-up Week (8th -11th June 09) organized by Cardiff University.

Anyway, I am going to bid farewell to all because I will be going back to Malaysia on the 20th of June for the summer break. I am sure going to miss all of the people that I have met. After two years living in this lovely country, I believe it is good to have a time out and spend some time in with your family and old friends. I hope to be back on the 30th September. Take care and hope to seeing you later! Bye!

Note: The next meeting is on the 29th May 2009. Why not give a try? You’ll love it.

Joe McNally – National Geographic photographer (Personal favourite!)

Rescue Time – If you would like to know how many hours you have spend social-networkingly, this is it.

Keep Me Out! – Too much on Facebook? This will help you. Watch my video on how it works (4:04)

Few other quick links:

• Twitter Favourites

http://twitter.com/…yourtwitterusename…/favourites

That is how you browse your twitter favourites. Yes, it is a bookmarking tool for your favourite. From the twitter website, it is the one that you put a “star” or “heart/love” on twhirl.

• WordPress – state-of-the-art publishing platform

What if I tell you that CNN is using WordPress platform? Nowadays it is more than just a simple publishing tool. Please don’t be confused with wordpress.com, check out WordPress.org for more info. Who else is using WordPress?

WIRED, Ford, MarthaSteward and more. If you are on blogger, livejournal etc, do you know that you can import it your blog to WordPress platform. Curious? Contact me

I believe that is all for now. Thanks to all and if you live around Cardiff, why not join us every last Friday of the month.