Makan @ Essex Diner

Hey it's day3 of university! It was really nice meeting some of you randomly on the university campus, and for meals.

If you still read this, we're gonna buka puasa together at Essex Diner (formerly Essex Express) on Square 3 tomorrow (thurs, 4th oct). Come along at 6:30pm! I'll try to be there a little earlier to book seats.

I know it's not the healthiest of places to eat, but the food there is halal and it'll just be good to meet some of the others around on campus you haven't had a chance to meet yet. It'll be harder once everyone begins with their classes, esp the masters students, who I'm sure will hit the floor running next week.

If you're reading this, please spread the news. I'll contact those whose details are with me now.

This Saturday is Freshers Fair, where the campus will spring to life with all the different societies setting up booths and you can walk around and join the clubs to get involved with some extra curricular activities. We'll have a booth for the Malaysian Society. Look for the flag!

Anyone want to host Raya makan next week? :))) if not we just have in classroom lah..

If you still need help moving in, just give me a call 07738954522 or ext 5713. I will bring askar2 yg macho to berkhidmat untuk negara.

Packing

I've just started packing, and came to realise there are a few items which you may find useful to bring over/nice to have with you over in the UK if you haven't reached the 20 or 30 kg luggage limit already.

- batik/kurung/traditional dress for cultural occasions
- something for formal occasions (suit/dress) if you intend to attend conferences, etc
- misc malaysian souvenirs to give away/show friends (eg postcards)
- you can buy indomie and maggi for about 50p a packet (or less if you buy a whole box) in chinatown in London
- your favourite random spice mixes – eg. adabi chicken curry, rendang, sambal belacan, tom yam, etc. most are available in london’s Chinatown, but you’ll spend about 60p-1+ quid for a small packet. might as well chuck a few small packets into your luggage
- milo can also be bought there. expensive though. i'm bringing over a box of chinese tea leaves.
- kaya! – haven’t come across shops which sell kaya. Fresh kaya normally lasts about 1 month +. If you’re a big fan (like me), it’d help to bring along 1-2 packets.
- Moisturizer? (I didn’t find it too necessary)
- Lip gloss (absolutely necessary)

Computer paraphernalia:
- External hard disk (rm 200 for 80gb. abt 40-50 quid in the UK. useful for backing up your files)
- Usb thumb drive (rm36 for a 1 gb thumb drive. 6-10 quid in UK)
- Usb port extension (if you're like me and find that the 2/3 ports on your pc isn't enough)
- Microphone and earphones (if you intend to skype back home. if you don't have a pc, you can also skype from the computer labs, so these items will be useful anyhow)

All electronic items here are cheaper. Value Added Tax is at 17.5% in the UK. So if you were thinking of getting a digital camera and mp3 player, it’ll be cheaper here.

If you're thinking of getting warm clothing, my advise would be to bring over 1 or 2 sweaters/jackets at most and go shopping for something warmer when you arrive in the UK. It'll be about 12-20 degrees when you arrive, still not too cold. cameron highlands is at 15-24 degrees celsius, if you need a point of reference.

Feel free to add to the list, and all the best packing!

Pre-departure info

Prepared a very rough guide, "University of Essex for Dummies" (shamelessly ripped off Imperial College), which you can download HERE. Thought it best I post something here for those who can't make it to Mid Valley.

Information there may not be entirely accurate. I would encourage you to refer first to the official university documents (ie the freshers handbook, international students handbook, and undergraduate/postgraduate students handbook. the other two handbooks that will be of interest to you are the accomodations office handbook and the accomodations network handbook. All of them will give you a very comprehensive and detailed guide to settling into university).

Listed below are a few sites which will help you in preparing for the year ahead in the UK.

http://www2.essex.ac.uk/stdsup/intstuds/prearrival.shtm
a pre-arrival guide to all international students. Contains links to several informative documents – the international students handbook and the freshers handbook. Both will be posted to you shortly after confirmation of your acceptance into Essex.

http://www.essex.ac.uk/international/MYS

contains information specifically for applicants from Malaysia.

http://www.educationuk.org/pre-departure/
British Council’s pre-departure site

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/pages/advice.htm
UK Council for International Student Affairs guide to international students

If still in doubt, google ;)

(l-r): yau zhang, farida, liyana, benjamin, markus. (missing: wan)

nice to finally meet some of you!

get together/pre-departure briefing

Update! (25 August 2007)

We'll meet in the centre court in Mid Valley Megamall at 1pm tomorrow (sunday). I'll be wearing a blue brazil jersey. Give me a call when you're there

cheers,
Markus
017-304 6073



Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted, and I know we've been talking about organising a get-together for some time already. Apologies on my part for dragging my feet. I've been a bit busy.

Let's set two dates to meet up

1. Teh-tarik/Mamak session.

Date: 13 August 2007, Monday
Time: 7pm
Venue: Devi's Corner, Bangsar
Agenda: Dinner and get to know one another


2. Pre-departure Briefing

Date: 26 August 2007, Sunday
Time: 1pm.
Venue: Mid Valley Megamall, TBC
Agenda: Lunch and briefing on preparation to leave for UK.

For the Pre-departure Briefing, let me know if there are any questions/topics you'd like answered there. It's the first time we're doing this, so it'd help if we could know what you'd like to know so we can start looking for those hard answers now

Let me know if you have a better suggestion for time and venue as well. If you need transport also let me know.

Do spread the word. I'll send out an email to all those whose emails are in the msoc email account.

-
Markus