Sandy's diary in Manchester (Sept, 2000)

Just click on any of the following underlined dates and you can get to know what's going on with me that day.

16th Sept, 2000 (Sat)

in HK

It must be one of the most important days in my life. I didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. I had been busy packing my luggage, thinking about what I should take with me or what I didn't need to. But I didn't think I could sleep even if I went to bed early. There were so many things occupying my mind.

I woke up early in the morning and dealt with some minor things before having lunch with my family at a Chinese restaurant. I grasped this opportunity to enjoy those of my favourite food like "barbecued pork bun" as I guessed I wouldn't have much chance (or I couldn't afford) to taste it abroad. At around 2:30 p.m. it's time to set off my journey.

I don't know how to describe my complicated feelings while I was on my way to the airport. My parents, my eldest brother and two of my good friends saw me off. I didn't cry when I was saying goodbye to them. I don't know. It seemed like I didn't feel anything at all at that moment. My mind was blank.

This was the first time that I travelled by air alone. It's totally different from the last time when a friend of mine was with me during our trip to Australia. I got no one to talk to and so I just switched to different channels of the mini-TV to kill my time. Same as the last time, the flight I travelled by was Singapore Airline, my favourite. I was looking forward to my dinner. ^0^ ... (see the following)

17th Sept, 00 (Sun)

on the flight and in the UK

On the flight...

So, there I was, waiting for my dinner, which I regarded as one of the enjoyable activities I could do on the plane. I chose an "international" one and the food was great. There's my favourite - cheese, which I didn't taste very often in HK because a small amount of it costs me around HK$40!

Another long-hour flight was about to set off soon after I got off the first plane. This time I had to sleep (it's supposed to be at night in Singapore time) and I got three chances to enjoy eating. Let me give you a piece of advice: do think twice when you make your decision on the choice of your meal! I wanted to try something new and so I chose to have supper of Indian style. But it seemed not to fit my taste (it's not about discrimination, of course!)... I was lucky in that I got a chance to talk with a British man sitting next to me. He had just finished his trip to Australia with his wife and they were going back to Norwich where they live from Manchester. Well, not a bad start to my stay in England, as I could start speaking in English with a local... Most of the people including me grasped a chance to stretch our hands and legs after sitting for long without doing anything but sleeping and eating, when the plane stopped at Mumbai for some passengers and for getting more supplies of food.

Off the flight...

Over 150 overseas students with lots of luggage. Nothing to do but talking and laughing. Not many officers. Around TWO HOURS of waiting time before I could get back my luggage and tread on the British soil. Ha, efficient... - that's the time I met my FIRST friend (a Hong Kong girl) in England, who was just standing behind me in the queue for visa...

A coach arranged by a few universities in Manchester to send students to the campus arrived and, like someone who had just found the new continent, I looked around while we were on our way to the students' residential area. After being told that I did have a room to live in, I got my key and I couldn't wait to see my room. Here I made another NEW friend - also from HK - without whose help I didn't know how long it'd have taken to move in...

What do you think about American fast food chains like McDonald's and Kentucky's? The price is not low if you wanna try it here. Having found that all the shops were closed after 5 p.m. on Sundays, we decided to have our dinner at Kentucky's as a concert was being held in our stomach... So, my first £ (actually it should be £3.29 for a fried chicken burger meal!) went to this food chain shop, the food of which, just like McDonald's, was regarded in HK as kind of cheaper food which ordinary people can afford. But it seems it's the opposite case here...

That's my first night in England...

18th Sept, 00 (Mon.)

my 1st schoolday

Actually it's not a 'formal' schoolday. It's kind of an induction week, during which you'll be introduced to everything about the university, your department and the surroundings, supposedly. I saw some of the lecturers and classmates today and was asked to choose the course units for my master studies. So, with nothing to do, I went to the city centre alone and bought some food for my meals.

23rd Sept, 00

my first weekend at Manchester - A visit to the Trafford Centre

Two friends of mine and I went to the Trafford Centre, which everyone at Manchester should visit. We didn't buy anything actually cos first we didn't think we could afford to and second we're now waiting for the Christmas, after which there'll be a big sale and so by then we can... ha ha.....

On our way to the Trafford Centre, we also took a quick look at the outside of Manchester United Football Ground where there were lots of fans in the early morning (what'd it be like when the match - Manchester United vs Chelsea - began?).

24th Sept, 00 (Sun.)

my quick visit to Manchester United's store at Old Trafford (I owed gratitude to a British friend of mine!)

30th Sept, 00 (Sat.)

a trip to Blackpool

It's coming soon on the part of "my car", where I'll talk about my travelling experience.

Please keep an eye on Sandy's diary!

This page was last updated on Thursday, 16 October 2003.

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