This is my 4th entry for today (I've been slacking off for almost two weeks now, :))! For this entry, I would like to share about my 1st visit to Reading (about 20 minutes by train from Oxford).
The day before, we have friends (Kamaruddin, Maslizah and their 2 daughters) from Newcastle for a pre-planned visit (they've informed us a month before). We were expecting another guest from Reading, whom we were told a long lost friend of ours. Maslizah was being very mysterious about this 'friend', but being impatient we managed to find out through Maslizah's friendster page (this took a minor investigation on the net, hehe).
Well, it turned out to be Salwa a.k.a Wawa, my classmate from my diploma and 1st degree years in UTM Skudai. It has been almost 5 years since we last met. She's currently pursuing her Masters degree in University of Reading in construction management, which also the course and university that my wife went to for her Masters degree in 2004/2005.
All of them spent the night at our humble crib, and Alhamdulillah we managed to fit everyone in the confined space of our flat. Wawa invited us all to a BBQ gathering of Malaysians in Reading the next day. I've never been to Reading before, and my wife was very keen to go back to her old place, so we accepted the invitation.
After a short outing at Oxford city centre, we took a train to Reading. My 1st impression; the city centre was very much bigger (and more modern) than Oxford. Reading has few similar features with Oxford; conservation of old prominent buildings such as churches and shop houses. We went to Riverside Shopping Centre and later took a bus to the BBQ gathering.
At the gathering, we met other Malaysians who are currently doing their PhD. It is really a small world after all, as I met my seniors from MRSM Muar and also my friend's elder sister from UTM. We had a great time chatting and mingling with them, when it was finally time for us to leave for Oxford at around 6.30pm.
It was a very tiring day, but it was nice to meet other people and share stories about doing PhD abroad. I hope that I can visit other places in the UK in the near future.
The day before, we have friends (Kamaruddin, Maslizah and their 2 daughters) from Newcastle for a pre-planned visit (they've informed us a month before). We were expecting another guest from Reading, whom we were told a long lost friend of ours. Maslizah was being very mysterious about this 'friend', but being impatient we managed to find out through Maslizah's friendster page (this took a minor investigation on the net, hehe).
Well, it turned out to be Salwa a.k.a Wawa, my classmate from my diploma and 1st degree years in UTM Skudai. It has been almost 5 years since we last met. She's currently pursuing her Masters degree in University of Reading in construction management, which also the course and university that my wife went to for her Masters degree in 2004/2005.
All of them spent the night at our humble crib, and Alhamdulillah we managed to fit everyone in the confined space of our flat. Wawa invited us all to a BBQ gathering of Malaysians in Reading the next day. I've never been to Reading before, and my wife was very keen to go back to her old place, so we accepted the invitation.
After a short outing at Oxford city centre, we took a train to Reading. My 1st impression; the city centre was very much bigger (and more modern) than Oxford. Reading has few similar features with Oxford; conservation of old prominent buildings such as churches and shop houses. We went to Riverside Shopping Centre and later took a bus to the BBQ gathering.
At the gathering, we met other Malaysians who are currently doing their PhD. It is really a small world after all, as I met my seniors from MRSM Muar and also my friend's elder sister from UTM. We had a great time chatting and mingling with them, when it was finally time for us to leave for Oxford at around 6.30pm.
It was a very tiring day, but it was nice to meet other people and share stories about doing PhD abroad. I hope that I can visit other places in the UK in the near future.
Me and my wife
From left: Maslizah, Siti Salwa, Kamarudin and MeTill we meet again. Wassalam.
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