back to school

For the Edinburgers, today is their first day of a new academic year. I was not sure what went on in my head but today was also the first day I stepped foot in a university after I left the 'Burgh.

I actually had never planned this so-called road trip beforehand. The next thing I know, I was on the way to Semenyih to visit the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus. It was a long journey away from where I live and the traffic was quite bad. I made a mistake of wearing black jeans because today was exceptionally hot and I felt as if my legs were in a sauna.

The scenery on the way there was different from what I'm used to. In fact, I felt as if I was far up north of the country rather than being near the capital. I finally reached my destination approximately 50 minutes after leaving home and wow, I was actually quite impressed with the exterior of the university.

I have been to the University of Nottingham in the UK four years ago. I might be wrong but I thought the Malaysia Campus looked similar to that of in the UK. Then I was told that they were actually trying to build it similar to the one in the UK. After stepping out the car to explore the campus, I realised that I have made a huge mistake for not bringing my camera.

The first stop of the tour was the library and thankfully it was fully air-conditioned and worked well. Once I stepped in, I wished I need not leave the room. I explored the EEE sections, I guess the geeky electronics girl has not left this body yet. It was funny that I still found the books interesting even when I have bitched a lot about the course.

Next was the triple E building. Nothing can beat The King's Buildings in my former university. There was nothing much to see at the Malaysia Nottingham's triple E building but it was still exciting being in a place where I know what the fancy equipments do.

I went around the Student Union and then noticed that there were a lot of Nigerian students. Most of them were well built and I felt very intimidated walking pass them. They were indeed very stylish and no doubt an eye-catcher. I apparently bumped into one lad and he nodded his head in the "How're you doin'" style. That was quite funny.

The layout of the university was nicely done however with the tropical weather Malaysia is having, I personally don't think many of the chill-out spots can be utilised. There was this beautiful lake in front of the main building with ducks swimming around, but I highly doubt that students would appreciate walking around the lake in this heat. There was also a nice big fountain somewhere in the campus but because the trees were only being planted, they couldn't provide shelter from the burning sun. Whereas indoors, I saw the potential of a great chill-out place and it was still under renovation.

An interesting place to go to today. I don't regret any single bit of it.