Being a 'Presher'

It is at this time of year that the new undergraduates – ‘Freshers’ – are thrown into the British university system through a now revered experience known as ‘Freshers’ Week’. Naturally, is it these bright-eyed school leavers that the media focuses on, without considering the lesser known breed of students also embarking on new courses: postgraduates. Somehow there needs to be another name for us; ‘Fresher’ does not quite do justice, we feel, to our superiority, experience, and our inability to deal with more than one night out a week. Etymologically, perhaps a direct antonym would be suitable, in order to highlight how fresh we are not. Sadly, ‘stale’ or ‘spoiled’ do nothing to quash rumours that we’re an embittered group of perpetual students.

Given that we’re at least three years older and have an entire university life (plus the consequential debt) behind us, it is little wonder that postgraduates feel smug when observing the excitement of our less-qualified counterparts. The enthusiasm shown on move-in day is received with many a wry smile and a cynical, knowing look. We know they will run out of money by Wednesday and will stumble out of the Students’ Union as we are heading in.

Of course, Freshers’ Week is not all about drinking; there are societies to join, clubs to attend. Gone are the days when we optimistically signed up for everything offered to us; postgraduates know now that we’re not going to have time to justify the membership fee. More, we feel like a total fraud going to Freshers’ events, and explain to anyone who will listen that we know what we’re doing, thanks very much.

Being a ‘Presher’ is often an isolating experience. The provisions for making friends that are so readily available to those starting university for the first time are not relevant to those who have been there before. Particularly in smaller universities, there could be a more inclusive attitude to the postgraduate community who, along with international students, are often ghettoised. It would be good to see organised postgraduate events and socials: after all, we could teach these Freshers a thing or two.

Paphos and Trudos - Cyprus

I have returned (tanned - horrah!) from a family holiday in Cyprus. Lovely country, destination of choice for so many Brits thanks to approximately 345 days of sunshine a year, and the wealth of hotels that the island boasts. Thanks to a last minute deal from First Choice, we flew out to Paphos from Bristol and stayed in a lovely hotel for a week. Wall to wall sunshine and a pleasant pool are, frankly, quite enough for me to fill my time with for a week, but my Dad, being of adventurous spirit, wanted to explore.

We popped into Paphos to see what was around the resort, and I was unsurprised to find the town mostly consisted of touristy shops by day, and bars and clubs by night. Dad commented that he 'didn't think much of Cyprus' after digesting this limited offering, but that's a bit like saying you don't like Britain because you've been to Blackpool, or you don't like Spain because you've been to Benedorm. There is more to Cyprus than dodgy drinks deals, although the seafront in Paphos is tackier than a child with a lolly.

The Trudos mountain range is a beautiful stretch of countryside, punctuated by pretty villages and dramatic drops into cool valleys. We explored two of the monasteries in the hills, and got more of a sense of the old Cyprus.

Of course, the time came when I decided that I simply couldn't move from my sunbed any longer, and I passed the rest of the time by the pool. Lovely. Having returned home, I am delighted to find that Strictly is back on the BBC tonight, and may turn my hand to a bit of blogging on the subject. Watch this space.

Hockey and homecoming

Having returned from Asia last weekend (sorry for the non-updates, any of you that were waiting to hear news of my safe return...) I have been unpacking and packing again for the next couple of week's madness.

Thursday saw my departure to Cardiff to see the opening ceremony of the UK School Games, an event that involves 1600 young athletes from across Great Britain. Having watched my little brother thrash Scotland at hockey on Friday I decided I was the lesser child in my family, and that playing sport is something that I genuinely wish I enjoyed. But there we go.

Today's match will decide the winners of the competition, and, having beaten England in a match that saw Daf get the winner, Wales are in a very good position. All Welsh fingers are crossed in anticipation, but no one really minds as long as they come higher up the league table than England. What is funnier is the parents who, spurred on by their offspring's fervour, stand on the sidelines of the pitch yelling their heads off and berating not only the referee, but the other team. Let's remember folks that these are kids, who play sport for fun. Seriously.

Last night a friend and I occupied the VIP seats outside the Muse homecoming concert in my hometown of Teignmouth, Devon. The tickets were £40, I really don't have that kind of money. Nothing on this scale has ever arrived in the sleepy seaside town that I fondly call home. Despite it being a bit of a hole, the town really came alive, and even in the streets around the concert there was a real festival atmosphere, with the cider flowing pretty freely. I love being a Devon girl sometimes.

Check out the details of the UK School Games here

Intrepid explorers and cocktails on the beach

The poor blog has been slightly abandoned in the last few days thanks to us having an all round excellent time in Penang. We moved from the glorious Holiday Inn (boo) to the lovely Shalinis Guesthouse - a small Hindu family-run enterprise right by the beach, where you're free to use the kitchen (yey!). We have been making use of the tea-making facilities, a fridge, and a lovely balcony to sit on, and all for a measly 16 pounds a night for the room.

We've ventured into Georgetown, not altogether successfully thanks to everything shutting for the beginning of Ramadan, but a wander around was nice. Mostly, we've enjoyed lazing on the beach, a (particularly potent) cocktail by the water's edge for Sarah's birthday, and doing lots of reading.

Today, however, we decided to turn explorer and caught a bus to the entrance of Penang's National Park. After registering with the park officials (in case we got lost!) we set out, armed with only a basic map, half a chocolate cake, and a box of fish curry from the nice lady by the roadside. After a close encounter with some demon monkeys, and a sighting of a tiny crocodile in the water (eek!) we headed into proper jungle. An hour in, we stopped for lunch in true local style, avoiding the ants/ bugs/ butterflies etc, then carried on to a beach rumoured to have a turtle population.

Sadly, our turtle search proved fruitless, but we did manage to spot a white bellied sea eagle (yes, we've just looked it up, no, it wasn't a seagull) which was amazing. The huge majestic bird circled overhead, as we ate our Kendal Mint Cake (found crushed at the bottom of the rucksack) and drank our water.

After a relax on the beach we trekked back, and despite sweat to rival any athlete, and me nearly breaking my neck on a very slidey patch of mud, we made it back in one piece. Potentially the days biggest disaster was when I entrusted Sarah with the job of pressing the button on the bus to get the driver to stop. She thought I'd seen a nice art gallery; we missed our road.

So, an excellent day had by both of us, and a real taste of jungle adventuring. Tonight we ate at the fantastic food court down the road (not nearly as glamorous as it sounds) and intend to have a drink on the beach later. This. Is. The. Life.

Penang, the luxury route

So, Sarah and I have spent a couple of days relaxing in a lovely hotel on the island of Penang courtesy of my Dad (thanks!), enjoying such luxuries as a clean shower, actually effective aircon, and gloriously white sheets.

Our journey here was less than fun, stuck as we were on a bus that moved at 20 miles an hour, for six hours. It was grubby, hot, and not that entertaining a ride. I was terrorised for much of the journey by a small cockroach that continually crept up the window, but didn't hang around long enough to be caught. Tired as I was, and somewhat emotional, I spent a couple of hours staring doggedly at the hole from which it emerged in an attempt to scare it out, with limited success. However, the great beach, night market, and the prospect of trips out in the next couple of days have raised our spirits, and of course, a bit of high-end accommodation has helped.

It's back to the beach for us, and here begins our last week (boo!).

Tea and hills

We could hardly have come to the Highlands and not seen a tea plantation, so this morning we got up and headed up to the BOH (Best Of Highlands) plantation north of Tanah Rata. The views up there were simply astonishing, and the tea factory was free to look around, and really interesting. Both of us sampled a cup sitting on the balcony overlooking the tea fields, which was pretty cool. The shop sold many kinds of tea at a really reasonable price, and the thought of bringing home something that we had seen in production meant that we made a purchase or two.

Having cadged a lift to Brinchang from a really nice South African couple (taxis are such a rip-off), we wandered around the smaller town, and then came back. After a quick stop, we walked out of Tanah Rata and took in some of the amazing views of the hills and valleys. It's been really nice being able to walk without sweating ourselves silly, and there's been a lovely breeze all day. You only have to look down the main street here to see the hills, and it's really very beautiful in an almost Alpine provincial town sort of way.

Tomorrow we head out to Penang by bus, which should be a change of scene again. Bring on the beach!

KL to the Highlands. Malaysia that is, not Scotland

So, today we left KL and headed by bus (plush bus) up to Tanah Rata, a small settlement in the hills in the Cameron Highlands. Driving up here was an experience in itself: 45km of hairpin bends, punctuated by villages on the hillside and stunning waterfalls, as well as some serious drops. Our coach driver took it all at a speed quite happily, accompanied by the odd groan. The huge lunch we enjoyed at Central Market earlier could have been a mistake.

Our last day in KL was excellent, and we both really felt like we'd 'done' the city by the time we left. Having promised to regale culinary exploits I'm afraid I might have to disappoint. We ended up going out for a fantastic curry (although what it consisted of I couldn't tell you), and then were both far too full to manage to squeeze in any pastry. I half-heartedly bought a coconut tart today, which was a total cop-out, but very good.

Yesterday we made it up KL tower (the Petronas Towers having limited viewing opportunities) and took in the wonderful panorama. It was an excellent way to round off our time there, and gave a sense of scale that had been hard to achieve frequently travelling by underground train.

So, the hills. Just a stop off really before we hit Penang for the penultimate stretch (sob) but a great opportunity to cool down and take in some beautiful scenery. The town itself is not much, but there's everything we need here for a couple of good days. No doubt there will be more to tell tomorrow.