Thursday, 19 July 2012

Akan datang: Preparing for university studies abroad

Hi there, it's still only mid-July at the moment but I know that a number of my younger readers will be starting life at university in late September/early October and will have a lot of things on your mind - particularly if you're heading abroad. Having studied in France and the UK, I can understand a lot of your concerns having been there myself all those years ago. I shall be doing a two part piece soon for you guys in mind.

Part 1 will focus on what preparations you should make now before leaving Singapore. Part 2 will focus on a to-do list, for you to get done within the first few days of settling into your new country. I might even do a part 3 as a Q&A if there are many questions. But before I start writing, I am going to open the floor to my dear readers. What are your concerns? What areas are you most worried about? Feel free to ask any questions you like however trivial or embarrassing and you can even add a note to say, "please don't publish" and I will answer your question without publishing your comment. So my student friends, over to you! Please leave a comment, thanks.
Do you know what awaits you at university? 
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13 comments:

  1. I19 July 2012 at 13:19

    Hi, I currently study medicine in England and though I've already been through this I thought it'll be good to re-collect what worried and excited me the most in the months prior to me leaving Singapore.

    Mainly I was looking forward to:
    -the weather (I cant stand the heat)
    -the experience
    -the novelty of studying abroad
    -just the whole fresh experience of leaving Singapore and starting anew abroad (which I do not regret a single bit)

    I was concerned about:
    -living away from my parents: the cooking, cleaning and what have yous
    -the cost of living (which I reckon aside from London and the south counties, is cheaper than Singapore)
    -having to speak differently and whether the locals would understand me
    -having enough friends

    Just like to put in my 2 cents worth, its very refreshing to study overseas with independence from one's parents. Though when I left Singapore it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement, now that I'm back in Singapore, I can't wait to go back!

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent19 July 2012 at 13:30

      Thanks for your comments, yes if you have anything to add please feel free to share :)

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  2. Unknown21 July 2012 at 00:44

    Dear Limpeh,

    I am going to Wales to read medicine this Sept. It is my first trip to UK (or Europe, for that matter) and I am a little concerned about the sudden shift of culture and the whole "leaving friends n family" thing, esp since I ORD right before school starts!

    Since you lived in Wales for a while, would you be so kind as to share some advice on living in Wales (Cardiff)?

    Thanks

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent21 July 2012 at 08:06

      Hi there, Cardiff is a lovely city and you are going to have a good time. I have to get out of my house in 30 mins and go to work (working all weekend) and will have to write more in a few days.

      I love Wales, speak Welsh and would love to share some pearls of wisdom. Please give me a few days and I'll write more for you once I emerge from this super busy period of work okay?

      Oh and hardly anyone in Cardiff speaks Welsh, in case you're wondering. There is a range of Welsh-competency in Welsh cities - some places have 80%+ Welsh competency and in Cardiff it is like 10-20% only.

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    2. Limpeh Foreign Talent21 July 2012 at 08:09

      Oh but in the meantime, just for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTO7yLTytAE Just in case you're a fan of Dr Who / Torchwood. Ooooh :) Any other specific questions you may have, please let me know, diolch yn fawr :)

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    3. Unknown21 July 2012 at 17:53

      Don't be in a hurry! I'm very grateful for the insights you've shared through your blog thus far! I'd very much like to hear how you integrated so well with the locals. I've lived in Sg my whole life and I do not want to end up forming a ghetto with the Asians/Sg'ians in Cardiff! (Kind of defeats the purpose of going overseas for studies)

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    4. Limpeh Foreign Talent21 July 2012 at 17:59

      Glad u enjoy my blog! Sure I can have a chat about integration or making friends in general.

      Any other issues that you are concerned about? Please ask away, after all this is going to be written for people like YOU, so please let me know what's on YOUR mind, thanks!!

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    5. Unknown22 July 2012 at 03:38

      Great! In that case I ll just fire away. What are some misconceptions SG students have when they first get there (i.e. expectation management)? Would you recommend French or Spanish (or any other L) if I could learn 1 lang there (most useful)? How to get the most (in terms of life, not acad experience) out of your time and $ there? What about part-time working (I understand they have min wage there), is it manageable, easy to get (esp for foreigners)? Must you learn Welsh to fit in? Other not commonly asked about advice you have regarding living in uk and europe? Pardon my English.

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    6. Limpeh Foreign Talent22 July 2012 at 08:24

      Hi and thanks so much for those questions. What I have decided to do is this: rather than do a "this is what you must prepare" check list, I think most people have that already lah. I will just do a series of Q&As on commonly asked questions, such as the ones you have come up with. More fun, more direct, more useful.

      I have started writing a piece on 'making new friends, fitting in' based on your previous comment and it's going to be an entire post on that issue of friendship at university. Some of the other questions you've asked today are easier to deal with, so I can answer 2 or 3 easier questions on one post ... but friendship is a big issue, I can talk about friendship till the cows come home as it means a lot to me.

      I am currently doing a short contract in conjunction with the Olympics just to be able to say I was involved - I made a great friend there whilst on the contract. We went to the same university, both have lived in France and we have so much in common - the only difference is that I am 36 whilst he is 23. We did spend a lot of time working together chatting, and talking and one of the issues we talked about is making friends when you're new to a work place and for me, I am so used to turning up somewhere and just getting on with it despite not knowing anyone - whilst my younger friend was really quite nervous and I had to be like "relax, I'm here, you can talk to me..." I did tell him, hey, you're going to get a real job after the Olympics and you're going to have to get over this shyness and learn to fit in, no matter what environment you end up working in y'know.

      OK, once again, I have to get out of my flat in 30 mins - more Olympics related work today. If I may ask you please my friend - keep those questions coming in, it's hard to do a Q&A without Qs :)

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    7. Limpeh Foreign Talent23 July 2012 at 01:12

      Here you go ! http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2012/07/university-season-part-1-making-new.html

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  3. Limpeh Foreign Talent4 August 2012 at 16:12

    Part 4 http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/university-season-4-working-as-student.html

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  4. Unknown25 April 2014 at 09:39

    Hi limpeh, I have read many of your articles and really enjoy reading them. I love reading about your experiences and was very inspired by them.

    I am planning to study engineering abroad after I ORD, EEE infact and have offers from Edinburgh, Manchester, sheffield and nottingham. I am currently finding it hard to decide amongst them and would like to hear any helpful advice you may have.

    Also can I ask what factors did you consider when you decided to give up your Singaporean citizenship for British citizenship, are there any tips you could recommend for getting citizenship or work permit there?

    I am also impressed with your command of so many languages, I have tried to pick up french during my army time but it seems hard to apply it to when I have no one to speak it too. Do you have any tips for learning a new language or any method that you would use for learning one?

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent25 April 2014 at 23:28

      Hi Rongrong,

      1. As for those universities, I would defer to the ranking within the UK (google UK universities league tables) but none of them particularly stand out to me. I would also look at the course content to see how they defer and any of them have anything special.

      2. As for giving up my pink IC, I have blogged in detail about this: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/why-i-gave-up-my-pink-ic.html and http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/part-2-moving-abroad-answering-your.html

      3.As for languages, I have also blogged extensively on these issues:

      http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/foreign-languages-chapter-3-syndrome.html
      http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/q-parents-foreign-languages.html
      http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/tourist-season-part-6-holiday-languages.html

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