This year's christmas was my best christmas ever! The many christmas before this was either just another holiday or an occasion to visit relatives. If we're lucky, we won't have to be dragged by dua go to some silly church events (Really, really hate it!). My first christmas in England hasn't been disappointing at all. To start with, I love the festive atmosphere here. It's just like Chinese New Year or Hari Raya in Malaysia, with everyone on the street rushing to shop like mad, as if everything's free.. Radio's always playing christmas carols, elevating my mood all the time.
I went to Lauren's house from 24-26/12/2005. Lauren's one of my PBL-mates. Her house's at the outskirt area of Manchester which is Macclesfield, Cheshire, about half an hour away Manchester university. The first thing I learnt is tha
t u don't call her parents aunty and uncle like we do in Malaysia, but my their first names - Chris and Philip. I thought Lauren and I did a fantastic job decorating the christmas tree. I have never seen a christmas tree with so many decorations. I spent most of the time in Lauren's house watching television and eating chocolates - which is what christmas is all about according to her... I was really impressed by their hospitality. They let me stay in a really beautiful room of my own n even provide me with towels. Chris was always asking me what I'd like to drink! So I've tasted everything from orange juice and soft drinks to wine and gen. At the night of christmas eve, Chris put wine, mince pie and egg at the fire place and on christmas morning, there were all gone! And there were socks packed with presents at all the children room's doorsteps, and there were more presents arranged under the christmas tree! So Santa did came at night! I was already so excited early in the morning on christmas day. The presents opening part was the best! I received so many presents from Lauren's family and my PBL group - about 20 altogather, which was really a pleasant surprise! I couldn't ask for more... i was almost spee
chless... No wonder everybody loves christmas, if this is the amount of presents they usually receive. Then Lauren n I helped to prepare the brussel sprouts for christmas dinner, which is also rather fun. They actually had their christmas dinner at 3pm... what an odd hour for dinner.. Before eating, we had to pull open some crackers and wear the party hat (a silly old british tradition). I wonder how many kg of meat and sugar I consumed in these few days.. On boxing day, we went for a walk at a nearby national park to burn off some calories. There was this particular spot at the park called 'The Edge', a stony high area which allow people to oversee the whole of Cheshire county and a bit of the Greater Manchester area - exceptionally breathtaking. So thats how I actually spend christmas, christmas eve and boxing day. Chris sent me back to university on boxing day evening.
The next day (27/12/2005), I headed to Leeds to visit Rachel, another of my PBL-mate. It was
meant to be only a day trip (I'd even bought my return ticket) but there were heavy snow that evening, which meant it could be dangerous to drive, so I decided to stay over for a night and just came back today. There were more peoeple in Rachel's house because many relatives was visiting, so the house was noisier that Lauren's house. Rachel's parents (Linda and David) were equally hospitable.. And similarly I spent most of the day watching DVDs and TV programmes. Their dog (Flush) was a bit overfriendly that she kept trying to licking me... ewe... i hate animals! Really well fed all the time. Tried the christmas cake that Linda made. It's just like christmas puding, something like fruitcake, but again too sweet for me. Like Lauren's house, I slept in a spare 
room for guests which was a room with double bed. I guess Rachel's family was more formal and quiet (reflects Rachel's quietness) but I still thoroughly enjoyed talking to them. Apparently both Linda and David were Manchester graduates as well, so they do know quite a lot about Manchester. It was snowing the whole night that this morning the grounds are already covered with several cm of snow. At about 11am Linda drop me off the station and Rachel brought me for a scroll around the Leeds city centre before I head back to Manchester.
I will never forget the things that happened these few days for the rest of my life. Besides having great fun, they also got me thinking about things like cultural differences and how to handle them. But for now, it is also important for me to realise that time to have fun's over and I have to start opening the books again for the upcoming exam. Finally, I just want to shout 'I love PBL 15!!!'...
I went to Lauren's house from 24-26/12/2005. Lauren's one of my PBL-mates. Her house's at the outskirt area of Manchester which is Macclesfield, Cheshire, about half an hour away Manchester university. The first thing I learnt is tha
t u don't call her parents aunty and uncle like we do in Malaysia, but my their first names - Chris and Philip. I thought Lauren and I did a fantastic job decorating the christmas tree. I have never seen a christmas tree with so many decorations. I spent most of the time in Lauren's house watching television and eating chocolates - which is what christmas is all about according to her... I was really impressed by their hospitality. They let me stay in a really beautiful room of my own n even provide me with towels. Chris was always asking me what I'd like to drink! So I've tasted everything from orange juice and soft drinks to wine and gen. At the night of christmas eve, Chris put wine, mince pie and egg at the fire place and on christmas morning, there were all gone! And there were socks packed with presents at all the children room's doorsteps, and there were more presents arranged under the christmas tree! So Santa did came at night! I was already so excited early in the morning on christmas day. The presents opening part was the best! I received so many presents from Lauren's family and my PBL group - about 20 altogather, which was really a pleasant surprise! I couldn't ask for more... i was almost spee
chless... No wonder everybody loves christmas, if this is the amount of presents they usually receive. Then Lauren n I helped to prepare the brussel sprouts for christmas dinner, which is also rather fun. They actually had their christmas dinner at 3pm... what an odd hour for dinner.. Before eating, we had to pull open some crackers and wear the party hat (a silly old british tradition). I wonder how many kg of meat and sugar I consumed in these few days.. On boxing day, we went for a walk at a nearby national park to burn off some calories. There was this particular spot at the park called 'The Edge', a stony high area which allow people to oversee the whole of Cheshire county and a bit of the Greater Manchester area - exceptionally breathtaking. So thats how I actually spend christmas, christmas eve and boxing day. Chris sent me back to university on boxing day evening.The next day (27/12/2005), I headed to Leeds to visit Rachel, another of my PBL-mate. It was
meant to be only a day trip (I'd even bought my return ticket) but there were heavy snow that evening, which meant it could be dangerous to drive, so I decided to stay over for a night and just came back today. There were more peoeple in Rachel's house because many relatives was visiting, so the house was noisier that Lauren's house. Rachel's parents (Linda and David) were equally hospitable.. And similarly I spent most of the day watching DVDs and TV programmes. Their dog (Flush) was a bit overfriendly that she kept trying to licking me... ewe... i hate animals! Really well fed all the time. Tried the christmas cake that Linda made. It's just like christmas puding, something like fruitcake, but again too sweet for me. Like Lauren's house, I slept in a spare 
room for guests which was a room with double bed. I guess Rachel's family was more formal and quiet (reflects Rachel's quietness) but I still thoroughly enjoyed talking to them. Apparently both Linda and David were Manchester graduates as well, so they do know quite a lot about Manchester. It was snowing the whole night that this morning the grounds are already covered with several cm of snow. At about 11am Linda drop me off the station and Rachel brought me for a scroll around the Leeds city centre before I head back to Manchester.I will never forget the things that happened these few days for the rest of my life. Besides having great fun, they also got me thinking about things like cultural differences and how to handle them. But for now, it is also important for me to realise that time to have fun's over and I have to start opening the books again for the upcoming exam. Finally, I just want to shout 'I love PBL 15!!!'...
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