Dear Diary,

Today I will be talking about my overseas education experience that I have been through for the last 7 months. For the past 7 months, life was not as easy as what everyone see from my Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. It's impossible for me to post a nasty experience on my social media account because I'll be labelled as attention seeking. So here I am to fill you in on the nitty gritty bits of the good and bad.

I'll split this post into several sections and I'll be starting off with the basics of my day to day life.

1. Daily Life

I'm currently staying in a flat with 7 other girls whom 5 are British and the other 2 are Russians and we each have our own room with a connected toilet. (En-suite room) I really love how we have our own private space and a communal space (Kitchen). Initially, I'm really worried about staying with 7 other girls who are complete strangers to me but it turned out pretty well. Our kitchen might get a little dirty with all the leftover washing in the sink but at least we have it cleaned twice a week by the Residence Cleaner.

I have heard stories of flatmates stealing food or having house parties every single weekend. But thank god that in my flat, we pretty much trust each other with our food and we didn't have anyone going around stealing others food. Also, my flatmates aren't the crazy party people type, so we never once had a house party at our place before, which I'm really thankful for that. It's not a good sight to walk into the kitchen in the morning, seeing all sorts of rubbish, food, leftover drinks etc.

I think my body clock is really screwed up at the moment. I usually sleep around 1am and wake up at 10.30am almost every single day and probably later on the weekends. Living alone and being miles away from your parents will make you realise that household chores is really horrible. Every single time I cook, I'll plan how I should cook to utilise the least amount of cutlery and utensils, else I have tons of things in the sink waiting for me to wash.

And you have to plan some time to do your laundry because the pile of worn clothes are increasing as day goes by. It takes 45minutes for the clothes to be washed and 1 hour to tumble dry the clothes. The most horrible part is, if your washers / dryers are not in your apartment and you are late for either of them, your clothes will be chunk on top of the washing machine / dryers because others aren't willing to wait for you to take your clothes out.

Next up will be grocery shopping. The food that are sold in the supermarkets are usually expiring in 0-6 days time. Some time, the supermarkets may display food that are expiring on the same day and if you don't ever keep track of the expiry date, you'll find rotten food in your fridge when you want to cook them. I once had expired milk that tasted sour and pumped with gas and I had rotten chicken before and I never want to have such an experience again.

It might really sound easy to do all the above task, but to be honest, saying is easier than actually carrying out the task. I usually take 1-2 hours to cook my food and I usually take 0.5-1 hour to wash my dishes. See how much time can be taken up by these two task that seem really easy?

2. Master chef Training 101

Before going to abroad, I know how to cook a few simple dishes like bolognese spaghetti, baked salmon, corn & pork ribs soup, rice etc. But after getting here for a few months, I learnt much more than the basics.

I feel that cooking is therapeutical and it makes my soul happy! Nothing beats a good home cooked meal when you know it's low in oil, condiments and free from MSG.

And to be honest, all my friends around me have learn how to cook pretty well and some might not even know how to cook rice before arriving here. If you're wondering, the guys here can cook really well and it might even be better than some of the girl's cooking.

3. School

In the UK, all degree programs is an Honours program where you'll do your honours directly as compared to Singapore where you are required to an additional year in school. I'm currently studying in the Business School in the University of Exeter which is located in the South West of the UK in Exeter, Devon.

Most of the students in the University are not from Exeter and in fact, most of the British here are from other parts of the UK and are staying miles away from home too. In the Business School, there's a fair mix of nationalities varying from China, Europe, Thailand and the list goes on.

My school made it a point where each student have to take up 120 credits of module per year. A 15 credit module will be studied for half a semester and 30 credit module will be studied for a full year. Each module is allocated 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of tutorial. The lecturers here have specific Office hours that are 2 hours each week where students are allowed to go for consultation with the lecturers without making a booking with them. And by the way, each year is made up of 2 semesters and 3 holidays (Christmas Break, Easter Break and Summer Holidays).

Both Christmas and Easter break is about a month long each and the Summer holidays is around 3 months long and exams fall after the Christmas and Easter break. And yes, we do have to do Essays and / or Presentation individually or as a group which means that you will have to work with people from another nationality.

In the UK, Teachers are allowed to hold Strikes for their rights in terms of salary or other benefits as long as they have applied for it. Lessons (lectures and tutorials) that fall in that time period will be cancelled and rarely will there be any make up lessons.

The Student Guild is similar to a Student Union but I believe in a much bigger scale because they are fully in charge of all the societies that is made available to the students. There's a wide range of societies to choose from, from a nationality society (Singapore Society / International Society) to a hobby society (Baking Society) to course related society (Business and Economics Society) to sports society (Tennis Society) and the list goes on.

4. Hobbies

Because most of us have nothing much to do other than studying, we all became huge drama series fans from K-drama to HK drama to the American series. You'll really tend to spend more time online doing random stuff like Facebook-ing or shopping online. You can not imagine how addictive online shopping is, especially in the UK where Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Zara etc are usually priced slightly cheaper than Singapore after all the discounts.

And good news for students! There's a website that's called Unidays which shows you the different student discount offered by the major brands in the UK. And usually, the student discount is offered throughout the year AND IT INCLUDES SALES ITEMS. Cheap thrills, hehe.

If you're thinking how often sales are held, in the UK, the biggest shopping sales is held on Boxing Day which is a day after Christmas and in June. Everywhere will be pasting ON SALES posters or sign but the sales really start when it's a 2 or 3 weeks after that sales really started as item prices are really slashed. By the way, there's usually sales almost 365 days in most stores and this is told by my British Flatmate.

5. Friends

You'll meet people from all walks of life and people from different parts of Britain or other parts of the world. You'll miss your friends back home because you have to make new friends that might not allow you to feel as comfortable as you are with your friends back home.

And even though, I feel that racism do sadly still occur in our current society, I believe that if you do make an effort to talk to people from a different country, you'll still be able to make friends. And if some racist retard tries to make you a joke because of your skin colour or whatnot, your friends who is of a different nationality will definitely still back you up :)

6. Stepping out of your comfort zones

Studying overseas needs or forces you to step out of your comfort zone. For instance, if you're not an outspoken person, you have to learn to step up to be a more outspoken person to make friends, network and even work with other students for the school project. Or it can also be in terms of overcoming your fears of spiders by catching one that is lurking in your room.

7. Weight Gain

I can't emphasise how depress I am over my weight gain. I gained more than 6-8kg ever since I got here to the UK. Initially, I don't usually cook, so I eat quite a bit of junk food. And somehow, I fell in love, like head over heels, on chocolates when I used to hate them. I can finish a whole Oreo Cadbury Chocolate bar on my own in an hour and still crave for chocolate. And I'm a massive fan of Ice creams. Till date, I bought more than 20 tubs of ice cream. Don't judge me, they're only SGD5 per Ben&Jerry / Haagen Dasz tub and yes, I do know I could get more stuff other than 20 tubs of ice cream.

And by the way, I'm not the only one who have gained weight. Some says that due to the cold weather, your appetite will become bigger, so that explains your increase intake of food which results in a heavier you ):

8. Food

Truth to be told, you'll miss Singapore food more than ever. We are really lucky people to have all sorts of cuisine from almost everywhere at relatively affordable price. You'll miss hawker fares and simple home cooked meals that you previously took for granted for. And yes, you'll try to mimic those food by cooking on your own.

And if you're sick, it's really hard to find food that is not heaty in a western country if you're living in a small city / town. I remembered I was down with fever, sore throat, cough and flu but I had to cook my own meal despite feeling terrible because I can't find any where that serves porridge in my town.

In the UK, you'll probably spend 10 Pounds to 30 Pounds on a meal, which means SGD20-60 per pax. It might not sound like a lot, but if you eat out quite a bit, you'll definitely burn your pocket. And if you think school food will still be affordable, yes they are much affordable compared to food outside of school but it cost at least SGD7 for a meal. How I miss those good old Primary / Secondary school days when a bowl of noodles or rice only cost $1.

9. Traveling

This is my favourite part of studying abroad. Your proximity of wherever you are, makes it so easy for you to travel around. And not forgetting, it's cheap. If you're wondering how cheap it is, you can get as low as SGD120 to go from London to Paris by train or even cheaper if you're taking a budget airline from Britain to other Europe countries.

I feel that every city that you visit has a story and being able to be immerse in it, is more than the face value of a ticket. Every trip will make you grow a little from the little things that you see and you will be more street smart than before.

10. Weather

It's mostly cold in the UK and it gets colder up north. Thankfully, I'm down at the South west of the UK where it's still bearable most times. The temperature can fluctuate drastically from 15 to 5 degrees from day to night during Spring and Summer and it's usually below 10 to -5 Degree Celsius in Autumn and Winter.

Trust me on the fact that winter is not all pretty as it doesn't snow every year and if it does snow, it means that it'll be wet and messy and even if it doesn't snow, I think you'll rather stay indoors instead of the freezing outdoors. It's not fun hanging out in the cold at 0 degrees btw.

11. Home sick

This is probably the most horrible part of studying abroad. You're miles away from the people you love and you'll miss everyone. It's hard to keep a conversation going every day from the time you fly abroad till you fly back home with your family / BFF, due to the time difference and the amount of stuff you have to do. But it definitely feels good talking to your close friends once in a while and having them to reassure you that they got your back when things get tough.

12. So how do I apply?

To apply to the UK, you can opt for 3 routes.

(1) Via UCAS to apply directly to the university

You've to write a page long essay on why you would like to apply to the UK University and you'll require your teacher from your poly / JC to vet that you are well suited for it. Application dates for this route should be closing.

This intake of students will be able to start their university in September later this year and they will start from Year 1 of Univeristy.

(2) Via the INTO route, taking up a diploma course

You will have to apply this through an agent if I'm not wrong and you'll spend a year at the INTO school which will prep you for you later university life. They have two intakes each year, September and January. This route will allow you to advance to Year 2 of University after your diploma.

(3) Via the INTO route, taking up a foundation year and following a UK Univerisity

This route is similar to the (2) route, however, instead of starting from Year 2, you are required to start from Year 1.

*The INTO route is suggested for students who does not meet the requirements of a degree program in terms of their grades or their English level ('O' Levels result).

I'll say studying abroad is definitely a great experience because you'll be pushed out of your comfort zone where you will become a much more independent and stronger person. I won't say that all is easy and I will tell you it's actually really hard to get used to the life over here. It always seem like I'm always enjoying life over here via my social media, but truth to be said, the grass is always greener on the other side. 

So to all you people out there, be thankful for everything your family and your loved ones have sheltered you with. From the simple task of laundry to making a meal and even taking time off to bring you to the doctors, appreciate it. All these simple task were taken granted of because that's what people assume what our family members or loved ones should do, but come on, we all know that they are doing all these because they loved us. I felt like I grown up quite a bit in terms of my mentality towards life and how I view things. I appreciate the alone time that I have. You know the funny thing about being alone is that when you truly learn to appreciate the time you have alone, you don't really feel lonely and that's how I feel. I love the freedom that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I don't have to be restricted to choices or compromising my choices and that's what I love most about going out alone, especially traveling.

So that's all, folks. If you're interested to know more about an overseas education or if you wish to compare the degree systems in the various country around the world, do contact Serene from OAL (Overseas Academic Link) at 62244775 or enquiry@oal.com.sg.

Do note that I'm not being paid to recommend OAL and I'm just one of the students that they have helped assist during my application period. Consultations are free but I believe they will be able to provide professional and accurate advice on studying abroad.