Croeso I Caerdydd

Fourth day here in Cardiff and I finally have the time to just chill.

Honestly, I have a huge feeling that half of why I'm lethargic right now is caused by pre-departure stress and preparations. I had to go to Warta almost every single day since I kept forgetting to buy the simplest things; from Brahim and Maggi mee packets to shawl pins. I spent most of my last days in Malaysia with close friends and most importantly, my family and cats. I left till the last minute to properly organize and pack my luggage. I owe Ina many thank yous since she came about an hour before I was due to leave the airport. We repacked my luggage, rolling almost everything and stuffing packets of Milo and Brahim in any little space we could find.

As soon as I finished my supper on the flight, I immediately fell asleep and woke up above Belarus. Funny thing was, a few minutes after, I fell asleep, again, and I woke up in Rotterdam. I rarely sleep for long hours on flights since I'm a light sleeper but this one was a first. I think it was purely because I was so, so tired.

I reached Heathrow around 4.50 AM but I had to wait till 10 AM before I could board the bus to Cardiff. Once I reached my halls, settled my GP registration, I unpacked, took a shower and off I went to the post office to collect my BRP and the city to buy a few necessities; pillows, toiletries and decorations to make my room feel like home. By the time I was done, I was carrying a huge heavy bag which I gave up mid-walk and ended up taking a taxi back to halls instead. Since the only meal I had for the day was a salmon sandwich which Hatta kindly accompanied me to buy at Heathrow, by evening I was not only jet-lagged and exhausted, I was also hungry. Way too hungry, that on my first day I had already felt like complaining that I want rice. I want Wong Solo. I want to go home just to eat. Luckily, Nadz came over and brought me to a place called Zi's Cafe. We had rice, African chicken (which, by far is the bomb dot com, I can eat this forever here) and simple lettuce with oyster sauce. Immediately I felt like home - with my stomach full, I came back, took another shower and I was flat dead again.

That was my first day experience here. The rest of my days were filled with settling university and bank matters, exploring the city by myself - of course, with casual random trips in and out of Zara and Primark. The city is about 5-7 minutes walk from my halls. Halal meat and Tesco Express is right in front of my house, plus an abundance of Halal restaurants all in walking distance. I'm so happy I chose to stay here, everything is near and convenient.

On Friday night, I turned on my camera and apparently something was wrong with my lens. My mood obviously flipped since God knows how diligent I've been maintaining and caring for my camera. Again, thanks to Nadz, she accompanied me to the city on Saturday morning after a huge breakfast of pancakes and hash browns (by far, the best hash browns I've ever eaten). We went to Camera Centre at Morgan Avenue. Although it was costly, I was so happy to finally use my camera... too happy, that we went to Cardiff Bay right after so I could take pictures.

The people here are so nice and I love conversing with them. I come out of almost every taxi here with a new perspective, it's mind opening really. A nice Pakistani driver talked about equal rights and justice of men and women in Islam, a Somalian driver talked about the education in Malaysia and the UK. At the Camera Centre, Simon, who helped me with my camera talked about music and it's always a joy getting to know someone has a similar taste with you. Knowing what people think is something enjoyable to me, especially when it concerns current affairs and I'm simply in love with the environment.

My new, everyday view.

Anyway, I'm still a bit jet-lagged but my body's slowly adjusting. I'll end this post with a few pictures of this new city I call home. Let me know what else you'd like to know about my journey here! Till then, x.