Staffordshire University- Memoirs from Stafford (Part 1)

As if my mood is not bad enough, the weather had to chip in

One of the houses in Stafford; reminds me of my NS days

My time in England is the most memorable time in my life. Never before was I so far away from home. Never before was the environment so different from what I had previously experienced. Never before was I ever felt so alone. I guess it made me a little off balance.

When I first set foot in England, I was greeted by the worst autumn weather Stafford had ever seen for a long time. It made me appreciate the kind of weather I can expect in England. Too many things happened at once. Moving into Stafford Court, dealing with the weather, eating new food, and meeting new crowd (predominantly white), meeting new supermarkets. I guess that played a part in making me feel sorry that I came in the first place.

The local people...

One can say that I was quite uneasy. Moving to a new place, away from people I know, does affect me somewhat. A lot of changes happened too fast is not good for me. I supposed how I feel at the time may not be what others felt. I know some people who would be happy to take my place; away from parents, away from the somewhat strict Asian society that they are used to in Singapore. But I wonder if they would actually like it here. Will they feel insecure like I did. Will they long to cling to those things that comforts them, things that are thousands of miles away.

This is Aston Hall, where I stayed.

I didn't get along well with the rest of the International students. Not that they are bad, it's just that I'm quite shy. I tried to mix around more, but somehow it does not have the effect that I intended. I don't know what's wrong, but I guess I'm more edgy than I thought. .

Come to think of it, for the first few months all the International students tend to stick together. After a while they began to make new friends with the locals in the University. I start out early in that area; my first group assignments I partnered with two white guys, Tony Emms and Tim Webb. They're blokes from Lichfield.

Another problem that I faced is that I can't seem to stand the cold weather in England as much as the other International students. I mean I have to wear a coat in lecture theatres! No joke; I feel that cold. It's like after walking or spending some time in the cold weather, I actually brought the 'cold feeling' into the lecture theatre with me. The other guys were wondering why, when they were in the lecture theatres and taking off their thick clothing, I was putting on my gloves with my teeth chattering. Weird, huh?

By the way, there's no sun in England between September and December. Just a lot of grey clouds.

Food! Where to find 'halal' food! It's not easy for a stranger to find 'halal' food in Stafford. For a while I had to be a vegetarian. I found out later that there is a shop that sells halal cooked food in Stafford town, but it only opens at night, so not much help there. I tried to cook for myself. Well, to be more exact I have to cook for myself. The result was that I got burned a number of times. Sometimes, after cooking and eating dinner I took a walk around the halls of residence, not because I want some fresh air, but because I need some fresh air; my stomach aches like hell.

As time went by, I guess my situation gets worse. I decided then that maybe it's good if I go for counselling. Maybe I need a helping hand to get through these nine months.

How I feel the first days in England

Pam Bennett, Counselor.

Ahmad Daud Jaffar, MSc. Singaporean.

Adrie Wan Ahmad, BSc(Hon) Engg. Malaysian.

Gareth Higham, British and very proud of it.

Jamali Natijol, BSc(Hon) Computing Science. Singaporean.

Pam Bennett
At the Student's Welfare Office I was greeted by a lady whose name I've forgotten. Anyway, she introduced me to the only cousellor in Staffordshire University, Stafford site. Her name is Pam Bennet. She's a very nice person. We had a lot of talks together. Almost every week. I kept this notebook that I use to jot down what was discussed. A lot of things have been said. She noted how quite a few students seek counselling service. And that even includes local students who are still new to Stafford. We talked about a lot of stuffs, stuffs that I wouldn't put on a web page. Some discussions focussed on specific people that I met in Stafford. Some focussed on me. I guess we talked about anything and everything.

You can say that I was quite impressed with her. I guess she's well trained. Last time I saw her she was planning on doing something for the next batch of International students, just so they can have an easier time coping with the new environment in England. I hope she succeeded.

Mei Shand and Elaine Cockbill
Anyway, I happen to meet a Chinese lady living in Stafford with her husband Jim Shand ( a Scots, and very proud of it). Her name is Mei. She's helping out Rev. Elaine Cockbill, whose mission is to welcome International students on behalf of the University's Chaplaincy. The Rev. is away doing something in South America. Anyway, she's been sort of a foster mother to me, taking care of me and helping me settle in. She's been helping me out with the problems that I encountered in Stafford, and for that I owe her a lot. She's the one that chose for me the duvet at the supermarket so that I don't feel cold at night, for which I am most grateful (not all duvets are of good quality). Rev. Elaine Cockbill returned from South America late November. Mei introduced me to her. She's nice, somewhat quirky. Good sense of humour unless you forgot to put on your seat belt when you're in her car. Something about insurance policy.

The reverend knew that I'm having some problems. So she took the trouble to invite me to places with some other folks whenever there's a chance. She's around at the Chaplaincy every Tuesday, so I visited her almost every week. Sometimes she prayed for me; I think she thinks I'm noble. Heh! I remember something she said about me being able to admit to my shortcomings, and she said that that is good. I don't know why, but there's one thing that she said that I remember relatively well. It's a verse from the Bible; 'For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-control.' [2 Timothy 1.7] For some reason this one verse sank into my head and never got out. Through Elaine, I get to meet other local folks and students of all kinds. One particular group is the 4 Chinese girls from China. They are the first batch of students from Mainland China to study in Staffordshire University. They are Bessie, Lily, Kelly, and Amy.

Studying in Staffordshire University
The University is not located in one location, but its locations are within Staffordshire County. It's segregated into three sites; Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, and Blackheath. The Stafford and Blackheath sites are quite near to each other, while the Stoke-on-Trent site is only accessible to the Stafford students by bus, train, or car. The Stoke-on-Trent site is more lively with its clubs, pubs, discos, and a relatively large number of students. It is quite a large town with more places of enjoyment, and more places to buy muslim food. The Stafford and Blackheath sites are more of a small town setting. There are pubs and discos, but it's just not as crowded as Stoke-on-Trent. Students taking the Computing courses under the School of Computing are established at the Stafford site, and that's where I spent most of my time.

My university stint was only one academic year long. This is because I was admitted directly into the final year (4th year) of the course. While I was in Singapore, I studied at TMC Computer School, a private school with affiliations with several universities in Australia and the UK. Staffordshire University was one of them. I took a 'Higher Diploma in Computer Studies' course in 1995, and completing it in May 1997. The Higher Diploma was awarded by Staffordshire University through TMC Computer School, so the university had no trouble verifying my qualifications. In England, their system is such that the students there did two years Higher Diploma course, one year industrial placement, and a year for the Degree. Because I was an overseas student, I was exempted from the Industrial Placement. And since I had already earned my Higher Diploma, I was given direct entry into the final year.

Studying in an English university is quite an experience for most of us. There is a lot of empahsise on self-learning on the part of the students. While the subjects taken by each student is not a lot by Singapore standards, students spent most of the week doing research, studying in the Halls of Residence or Library, or involving in study groups. Of course we have to do all those other chores ourselves like shopping for supplies, cooking, taking the laundry, stuffs like that. We planned our own schedules. Some of the students developed buddy systems where the students helped one another in doing their chores, which tend to ease their burdens a little. Of course there is always time for games, somehow we always find the time. Although there was a lot of things that I had to do myself, I felt a sense of independence that I never felt when I was back home.

The academic year spans from end of September to the end of May. It is divided into 3 terms. The first two terms constitutes the first semester, while the third term is in the second semester. We had exams after each semester. For the whole academic year, each student has to do a project. Each project consists of four modules. Each semester is allocated two modules. Apart from that, each semester a student have to take four modules each consisting of a subject. Some subjects stretches the whole academic year, which means that they consists of two modules, one module for each semester. Thus, each semester a student will have to take six modules, adding up to twelve modules for the whole academic year (eight modules + project).

One of the things that I noticed about the lecturers there is that they expect the students to find out for themselves before asking them for help. Especially in tutorials, they expect to see progress in what the students are doing. If not, they'll not entertain the students' queries. I remember one lecturer who, after being bombarded by questions from the students, decided to excuse himself from the Unix lab. Of course they give the students initial help, but the message from them is that they expect enthusiasm from the students in performing their work. I think it is the British idea of self-reliance, or was is self-learning.

Anyway, most of the International students had no trouble adapting to this style of learning/teaching. And as for myself, I felt quite comfortable with it, partly because we were aware that things in England are not like at home and we were prepared for anything.

The local students tend to work together most of the time. They seem to help each other more enthusiastically. There was one time I was struggling with my assignment and this local noticed the expression on my face. The next thing I know he was sitting next to me, telling me about a certain book that he came across that will help me finish my assignment. And yes, that book helps. Especially when in labs one can see members of one assignment group helping another group that runs into some difficulty. They don't seem to care much about who gets the highest grades.

Singaporean and Malaysian students tend to generate alot of horror stories when it comes to studies. There is an attitude of selfishness among the students. Not only in terms of sharing information, but also to the point of sabotaging other people's grades. It's a shame, really. We shouldn't show such bad examples to the English. Anyway, let's not talk more about it.

Mei Shand and her husband Jim. They live in Waterside, which is on the outskirts of Stafford.

Rev. Elaine Cockbill from the Chaplaincy. She's like a second foster mother after Mei.

Every Friday the muslim community in Stafford organised Friday prayers, which is conducted within the University. The last time I was there they used Aston Annexe, a walking distance to where I lived, as the venue for Friday Prayers, Hari Raya celebrations, and such. Thus, I didn't miss too many Friday prayers, for I don't have a good excuse. Heh.

There is a mixture of races everytime the muslim community held a function. From English, to Arabs, to Pakistani, to Indian, to Malays. It's mult-cultural in nature. I guess that's one of the reasons I like attending such functions, which is good because I need motivation to go for Friday prayer.