The Unexpected Beijing Experience - Part 2

I still remember vividly exactly 21 weeks ago, when I first received the offer from Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) to study intensive mandarin Chinese for 12 Weeks course. And I would ask myself again and again if I would be able to survive the most populous city and known to be one of the most air polluted city too, considering that I have asthma (recurring periods of wheezing in bad air and environment) and I did not know anyone else except for (2) office colleagues in Beijing that I have only communicated with via email who has helped me to advise about places to live and would help me to settle in. 

However, I took the biggest courage after reading a few student blogs and videos of their experiences in BLCU, spoke to a few friends and family, and considered the experiences of friends who have studied and lived in Beijing. I was reminded of my goals and the dreams that I had to achieve. I have always wondered what would have been if I could live and study Mandarin in the city that the main language is from! And I just said to myself, why not it's just 3 months! LET'S GO!! 

What I read on the blogs and videos that we would have to study 4-6 hours a day, depending on which classes we took. And continuously study and practice on our own. Do the homework, try to write the new words on a flash cards and keep practicing conversations with classmates and people around. While people kept saying outside BLCU don't expect anyone to speak English (that's the point anyway right). I knew that this environment would help me tremendously to try and force myself to make conversations and search for words that I did not know how to say or read upon situations like, taking the bus/train, telling the taxi driver where to go, buying things at grocery store, and most importantly ordering food! And I will tell you how I managed to survive the 12 weeks experience in Beijing...

The first week or so when I arrived I depended a lot on my Chinese friend Ying Ying, she greeted my family and I and welcomed us to the city.. helped me to look for my accommodations and registered at the University. She was the one who wrote my Chinese name 丽莎 (Lì shā) on the registrations

paper. And called the house agents for me. Brought me to places that I would need to know (Grocery store, laundry place and searched for good halal places to eat). I don't know how am I ever gonna be able to thank this lady for making me settling in this city so much easier. Considering she had to negotiate and search for the places in Mandarin that I had no idea how to - I would have been so lost! And she kept being my personal dictionary whenever I get into a little trouble negotiating or understanding she's my life saviour, really!

And then there's these amazing classmates of mine in A5 class who would study, eat, travel and explore the city together!! That made everything so exciting, and we always had each other to motivate and cheer each other up (especially on our WeChat group with their crazy GIF emoticons). The WeChat is so popular and useful in China especially, I wish my friends in KL would use it too! And I was so blessed to have met these people that I now call friends, to have experienced this journey together. We would cheer each other up whenever the skies are grey (literally grey because they were polluted) on average they were only 3 or maybe 4 clear days to enjoy and when it is we would take advantage to explore the city better! It was so important to have positive friends around in any circumstances that you want to be successful in anything! 

They were so many other classes that I could have gotten into, I was very lucky to have met these people that enjoys taking selfies as much as I do, and we would have lunch together after classes and study at the Harney's Cafe too. Once again, I learned so much more for being in an international setting and surprisingly half of the class were Koreans so I managed to learn a few important words in Korean too (now am thinking I should learn the language too haha!) That helped me to learn a lot more about myself and others understanding my culture and religion too. Since I would ask them to go to Halal restaurants to try with me! And they did :)) (will be in the #MyFoodHunt Beijing post)

(Picture above) The Beihai Park on the first clear day after 4 days hazardous polluted days, so we decided to get out and clear our lungs with the supposedly clear air and explore the city! PURE HAPPINESS! On any other polluted day, most of the days we would spend it in the class, cafes and restaurants. Our lives would still proceed as any other Beijingers would, just that we would try to stay indoors more. We are obviously foreigners who needed time to get use to this daily phenomenon. haha! After few weeks, it still does not get easier but we had to adapt and accept it anyway. 

I was also happy to have another Chinese friend that would practice Mandarin with me, my language partner (Yu Ban 语伴), Zhou Lan or I call her Lan Jie (Lan big sister) for being so helpful to improve my grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Which helped me to realise that trying to speak is not so hard when I try and putting in extra effort to look up the words in the dictionary even though we would be looking at each other when we fail to communicate properly and laugh it out! haha Nonetheless this friendship gave me so much confidence to speak since she does not speak English at all. So, the deal was that every 2 hour meet up 1hour would be for me teaching her english and I would have to know what it is in Mandarin and the other hour would be focusing on how to make daily conversations. 

On a fairly clear day, inter-class competitions of tug the war and the jumping ropes. It is the University's way to get us out of classes and have a team building which we already did anyway! With our typical peace Asian pose without a miss.  Peace!

And I have to thank these two lovely darlings of mine that would be with me almost everyday of the journey together, Ola and Sujin Unnie (sister in korean). We would meet in class, go for coffee break, study together, shopping, travel together (Xian post that I promise to write next) and would be on each other's back no matter what happens! I am blessed to have them to constantly be of support on our crazy WeChat group.  No one else understood me the way they did, and would laugh at my stupid jokes or entertain my ideas of places to go and eat. haha! And they were the ones that gave me a little security if anything happened, I know that I had friends in Beijing who would help me (back to me being paranoid if in case I had an asthma attack considering that I lived alone and 40mins walk to and another 40 mins on foot to go home). Thus, having them to be of support helps a lot! Other than my mother and father who are constantly online on whatsapp and my good friends Wani, Salma, Victoria and Tania who would be there for me too whenever I need a little boost!! 

All in all, you only need supportive and positive family and friends who would believe in things you want to achieve. Which they constantly reminded me of my goals and dreams that I only managed to realise it..... 

My certificate from Beijing Language and Culture University that I completed 12 weeks intensive mandarin course- Elementary level. Congratulations to my classmates who made it to the 20 weeks course. And to many more levels in the future. May we set forth to better things in the future InsyaAllah. I will post more later! 

May peace be upon all of you. Zai Jian 再见

Xoxo, 

One and only MsOrangeLisa

The Unexpected Beijing Experience - Part 1

The first post of the year would be for my experience, and state of mind for the 13 weeks in Beijing, China. That has taught me so much despite being there in a short time span, more than any other cities that I had the privilege living in last year, London, Dubai and San Francisco. The Beijing city, where beyond the Olympic hype, China's ancient history, futuristic architecture and as the daily smog runs through the city. I find myself bewildered by so many things, that a city can offer so many marvels of experience, ancient and modern. 

For 13 weeks, I had to keep up with mental power to adapt in an entirely new culture, language and people. I thought to myself, 'I have moved to all these other cities, and travelled to as many as I could within  juggling 12 months of learning and consulting work. I can definitely do another city for just 3 months!'. Oh no, how could I ever be so simple minded. Everyday in Beijing was an entirely new eye opener, before I left a lot of people have told me to be careful of the pollution, the food is not so good or even be careful of the road traffic. I arrived Beijing with thoughts running my mind to always be careful but it won't be difficult. 

But, I didn't let the warnings/advise take the better of me or scare me from going. I still decided to go and experience this city myself. For that, I am ever grateful that I would have one on my bucket-list checked. I have always been interested in learning new cultures and languages, thus all the travelings. 

And WHY Mandarin out of so many other world languages? I have always wanted to learn Mandarin Chinese particularly because I am surrounded by so many business people, or encounters in my life that needs me to be a Mandarin speaker considering business partners, colleagues or places I would go to would speak Mandarin or Cantonese. And being a Malaysian that lives in this multicultural country, I have so many Chinese friends, teachers, colleagues, and neighbours included. Thus, I would always be intrigue to know what they are speaking about and wondered if one day I could reply back or have a conversation with them too. And WHY NOT? China is a major economy power, and continues to grow at 7.2% rate according to China central Bank.  

I started learning Mandarin since I was 6 years old, my parents sent me to a kindergarten that had Mandarin class included, I went to a primary school that had Mandarin extra classes, and I continued learning Mandarin on my own with private tutoring in high school, I went to a language college while I was pursuing my Degree in Sydney, and even when I started working continued in Inter-Cultural Language School (ICLS) Uptown Damansara, every weekend for 2 hours classes. Yet, I have always been a Basic-Intermediate level at best for conversational. And when I met an inspiring lady that told me she learned her basic Mandarin in Beijing Language and Cultural University for 6 months, I told myself that I would do the same! It was her strong influence that made me wonder if I could one day achieve this and finally master the language better in the mainland. 

And I chose Beijing out of all the cities, as it offers so many things I have always wanted to see or heard of so much, especially the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Bird's Nest stadium, and the Beijing Old Hutongs, and experience the modern yet filled with so much history. Having said that, I have never been to China (Hong Kong with exception visited before they join China).  While Beijing is China's preeminent city, hosting more traveler than any other city in China- and for a good reason, all in I was intrigued. 

The day I first arrived Beijing, I could tell that I was in for a challenging 3 months. From the moment I needed to speak to the driver which hotel I was going to, or what are our plans for the week. Despite having the basic 50 words or so in my Mandarin vocabulary. We still managed to go about the first week, looked for accommodations, registered in the University that I have always wanted to go - Beijing Language & Cultural University (BLCU). Which I had an offer 2 years ago but did not have the courage then until I graduated from HULT that had given me all kinds of experience and confidence to take on moving from one city to another. 

I was blessed with so much last year, and achieved so many dreams at once. Syukur Alhamdulillah (Praise to God). It was all in good faith that I did everything with good intentions and with the best support system, parents, family and good friends. And managed to pull through the challenging 3 months, that I am happy to say I could at least have a decent conversation with a restaurant/cafe owner, taxi driver, or buy anything at the convenient store. Bought my travelling bullet train tickets with ease. I completed the Level A Mandarin intensive course, we had daily 8am-12pm classes, with listening, writing, speaking all included. Learning a new language which I thought I had the basics. As the last 10 years was not enough, I always had to learn everything from the start as I did not practice or was too shy to try to speak. 

Thus, making the decision to be in Beijing was a good one to pick up the language quickly, I was forced to speak. I was in the learning environment. Making a mistake was okay, as I was learning, (so the Chinese would forgive me I hope) and I had no choice, I could not give up. I had to look up any word that I needed to say in a sentence, ask my Chinese friends who could speak English or look up in my digital dictionary what was the word on the signage. And having the supportive and fun classmates that always had me excited and happy to get up at 6.30am and be in class at 8am every Monday-Friday.

And some days I had to go through smog (some days had bad pollution up to 540AQI - the worse I had to experience), which I would check my Air Quality Index application every morning before I leave the room and the bad road traffic on foot for 40 minutes from my room to the class. That took a lot of my mental power, to wake up and forced myself to be strong and GET TO CLASS! Despite the culture and environment shock, I was always happy to see new things, learn new words, meet new people, and most importantly eat really good Chinese halal food. I was really surprised to see HALAL (food permitted to eat according to Islamic guidelines) signage within the University compound there was one Muslim restaurant, and within my home vicinity I found 5. And I know exactly where are the best places to eat in the city(I will have to write a different post for this #MyFoodHunt in Beijing). 

I have so many things that I miss about Beijing now, and everyday I do. I wish I had more time to explore other cities too, and I managed to visit Shanghai and Xian (travelling in China post will be up later too). I would have to catch up on my blog postings huh! 

All in all, travelling in the city was so easy, taking a taxi was so cheap, the subway train only costs 2yuan (equivalent to USD$0.30) and there's an app that assisted me (Beijing Subway Guide). And although the block  no access for Facebook, Instagram, Google, you would need VPN access to unblock which I willingly paid $8.99 monthly to get a good access from ExpressVPN provider, or you could find free ones but I could not be bothered when I first tried, I was kicked out every 3 minutes it was not worth it as it added to my stress (Mainly because I need my Instagram access at all times haha! Social media addict problems). 

Other than that, I could go on and on about my challenging experiences or moments that I would have been scammed but was lucky to get out of it. I will save that for Part 2 of this post. And more of my learning experience, the must visit places because this post is getting on too long as I had so much to write every day, but was not able to since I had to focus on learning and exploring the city! Only on good blue skies kinda day which was on average 2 out of 7 days a week. But it still got me so challenged to wake up and grab more of the cities vibe. Till the next post!  再见 zài jiàn Goodbye! May peace be upon all of you 

Xoxo, one and only Msorangelisa 

Myriad of cultures and learning experiences at #Hult

I have always had a keen interest in travelling, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, languages and of many other interests - food cultures.  My main driving forces in choosing my postgraduate school it has to offer all the above. I first heard of Hult International Business School in Taipei when I attended the Harvard Model United Nations (WorldMUN) in 2010. I received a booklet of which courses were offered and my first impressions of HULT were how the 5 global campus in Shanghai, Dubai, Boston, San Francisco, and of course London, rotations and international business aspect of the school were beyond what I could imagine. I knew just in that moment that I would want to attend one of the world's most international business school.

Here I am today, experiencing everything I could only imagine a few years ago. Pursuing my Masters in International Marketing in London campus, will be rotating to Dubai campus and San Francisco campus all in one academic year! I am most certainly happy to be a Malaysian here amongst the 140 nationalities here in London campus. I have always enjoyed learning from other people, therefore the opportunities here are learning hands on team work projects, other than the classes were all the activities out of campus. 

With different cultural backgrounds, experiences and classmates from different parts of the world. Truly makes it a unique experience. And how our cultures are unique in its own way, how to deal with different cultures, understanding our differences yet embracing our common goal, being globally connected in one Hult network. 

Being in one of the world's international city- London. This city surprises me every time how international it can be that different nationalities are all in this cultural hub, there's always something new, and so many sights to visit, theatres, museums and green spaces. Of which we have had different encounters and opportunities to experience our myriad of cultures, amongst the many Hult campus speaker, society, and multicultural events. From the Diwali night, Winter Ball, Paintball, Hult Visionary Speaker by Unilever CEO, and our own cohort activities -travelling together, spending an afternoon at the Hyde Park with some football and picnic, indulging in different food cultures where we would occasionally have a lunch or dinner outside of school from Chinese, Venezuelan, Russian, Columbian, Lebanese and many others. Which makes my understanding of my fellow classmates better and respecting the differences as they would for mine.

In the last 6 months here in London were one of the best learning experiences and have made me even motivated to continue pursuing my life aspirations of meeting more people and learn all the different cultures in the future from the Hult network I have made here. Which will be beneficial in my international business encounters that have made everything even more valuable, especially from all their energy, motivations and the friendships I have gathered here! 

To many more learning experiences! 6 months till graduations ~

Xo,

your one and only msorangelisa

My Hijab Journey since 2009

I had constantly received questions 'why do you wear the hijab?', 'don't you feel warm with the hijab on?', 'were you forced to wear the hijab? 

Each time I get to answer these questions I feel liberated and gives me strength that I am able to give a chance for others to understand my religion, culture and who I am. Before giving an opportunity for any stereotype, fear and judgements upon me and the hijab. An opportunity to explain that it is not an oppression on me or that it was forced. An opportunity to explain that it is not a symbol or sign that gives anyone the opportunity to fear me donning it and to call me a terrorist. 

I for one particularly understood why Islamophobia - a neologism that I often hear that conforms prejudice, hatred against Muslims and ethnic groups who are Muslims even existed. I studied International Law for 3 years in University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. Where I realise that in 2009, this term was widely used in newspapers, public spaces and online media often to relate news regarding terrorists acts. I constantly had to discuss issues regarding 9/11 and terrorism was a topic that was discussed for weeks if not mentioned in class and acts of Al Qaeda would relate to muslim, and Islamist terrorist. 

I still remember vividly the word Islamist terrorist were used 26 times in just a page of 3 pages journal to prove the point that the terrorist was muslim and they were a group that should be feared. And naturally I constantly felt a little defensive once it is mentioned or discussed in the lecture. I would say I was also a little emotional that my religion was discussed in such a way that was linked to these sort of acts and were oriented in such a way that these acts were permissible by a few verses in the Holy Quran. That to me were misinterpreted and were taken entirely out of context at that point of time. Not that I was justifying or condoning the acts of the terrorists. It was just unfair to categorise a muslim and Islam in the same context. Whereas Muslim is the individual and Islam is the religion and one of peace. When an individual Muslim commit his/her sins or doings it is upon his choosing not the religion that I believe teaches forgiveness and compassion on others.

There was a YouTube video I watched of Queen Rania speaking on this topic >the link here > Arab = Terrorist = Islam = War. She explains why this equation is entirely wrong and she tackled this issue consistently since. Truly she is my personal hero for giving me some strength to continue my responses regarding terrorism, Arab-Israeli conflict and Muslim women empowerment. (This topic calls for another post. I shall focus on the main topic regarding my hijab journey).  

I started donning the hijab permanently since Ramadan (fasting month) of 2009. It was the first year I arrived Sydney and I was only 18 years old then. Many have also asked, how did I come to the decision to start in Sydney not since I was back in Malaysia. My simple answer - I realise that it was time for me to change myself. Obviously, it was more than just that. It was a time when I start looking at the world in a different perspective, I realise how humble my life would be if I had only thought about myself and be modest in my thinking, my words, my actions and what were the purpose of life. 

It was a year of self discovery, as I had also lost a few close family members to me in the same year. It was a year of questioning my identity and who I am as a human being and why do I call myself a Muslim when yet with much embarrassment ( I did not pray 5 times a day it was sometimes only 3 or 4, I did not know why we eat Halal food, I did not know why we can't drink alcohol). Not until I was asked these questions when I lived in Sydney and rediscovered my religion and my love for my life as a Muslim. Sadly it was all taken for granted before. I was told what to do, go to religious classes and failed to understand it by heart when I thought I did and finally in 2009 where I had embraced this beautiful religion whole heartedly. I had a solstice moment for myself. 

It was not an easy journey in the last 7 years - I was once called a terrorist as I walked on the streets of Taipei yet I had only hoped for some directions around the city, I was looked upon with fear as I entered in the stores, I was yet again called a terrorist as I walked out from a shopping mall in Sydney as a few young boys did, and was also once thrown bad eggs towards my direction at a Kingsford bus stop in Ramadan 2011 (luckily I was with a friend standing behind the bus stop stand and only a little splash on my shoulder). Yet again, I held it on strong as it was truly my decision to show my identity as a Muslim lady in these places that I believed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was not shaken by these acts but it strengthened my beliefs even more. 

What came to my surprise most of the time I have received much respect and recognition for being a Muslim and my hijab as my identity to that belief. When I go to restaurants they know I am looking for halal food, no alcoholic cakes / beverages. And that it is not a question when I ask for a small space to pray in the corner of the restaurant. Or in fitting rooms. My beliefs were to some becoming a little familiar in cities where people understood Islam and with no judgements just respect. Syukur alhamdulillah. 

Yet in my own country,there are still issues regarding women and hijab. There were also news that some women were not able to get a part time/full time job at retailers and offices because they were donning the hijab. This prejudice made me realise that it is time that more women with hijab on should share their stories and prove how valuable they are. Even with the hijab on it does affect any ability, skills or knowledge of a person. (Obviously this is an issue I have to write another post for). 

I was also called to write on this post due to a Telegraph UK newspaper article that there are talks about  Banning Muslim Women from wearing veils in School and Public places. This got to me with a shock and in this country UK that embraces multiculturalism and most certainly obvious in the city that I live in now, London. I have not received any prejudice or fear upon anyone in the public space or had I also instigated any fear upon the public. Had I gone outside for a run to the London Bridge and walked to school near Chancery Lane minding my own business with my hijab on. Honestly, what part of choosing to hide away parts of the body is deemed inappropriate. I may need to seek answers on this.

I hope that this post this not instigate any fear or prejudice upon me as I had only intended to share a piece of my humble thoughts onto my writing space. I have also not intended to hurt anyone's feelings. If I did, apologies for it. I may not be the best Muslim women or a role model with hijab. However, I am constantly trying to be a better Muslim, daughter, sister, friend, human in our human race. Here is a movement of #WorldHijabDay of a Muslim sister I am truly proud of. She is sharing the knowledge and spreading love, compassion of what Islam truly encompasses with the World Hijab Day. 

In summary, with the hijab it did not only hid my hair and parts of my body, it also changed me as a person and wanting to be better each day with positive thoughts and helping to inspire others. Looking at life in a bigger picture, while it did not made me feel constrain or limited yet inspired me to achieve more in life. Had it not made me feel warmer with the hijab especially Malaysia is a tropical country with 32 celcius. It made me feel cooler since the direct sun was not directly upon my body. It had not only changed my inner thoughts but it surely did give me more meaning and purpose of life. 

That is it for now. Till the next post!

Muchos love and salam,

Khalisa your one and only Msorangelisa

Here are also a few Muslim headscarves illustration worn differently and explained :

                                                               

 Find more info here : Religion Islam beliefs Headscarves and Islam Beliefs - Hijab BBC News

The Mini Malaysian Night

Salam 1 Malaysia - this is how we usually greet in official government functions and events back home. It is a concept, national campaign introduced by Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Razak to enhance national unity and harmony.

Of Malaysian food and culture - nothing less of a country filled with rich Asian culture, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Baba Nyonya, and multi ethnicities. I am proud of my country and what it has to offer the warmth, people, beaches, culture and especially- FOOD! Some signature dishes in each states and our 'Mamak' (where I usually hang out to get Indian -  Roti Canai and Teh Tarik).  My other usual favourites are nasi lemak, and sambal udang / sotong ( chilli paste cooked with garlic and prawns or squid).

Since I started school in London a month ago, I have been thinking of home and my favourite dishes especially the Nasi lemak whenever I am hungry (it'd be so good to get some food)! My classmates are multi cultural and we all come from different backgrounds. I am sure we all have a keen interest in learning each other's culture - hence why I chose HULT International Business School.  It would be a great opportunity to start hosting a cultural dinner.

Therefore last Wednesday, I have invited my classmates to dinner at Malaysian restaurant -Pak Awie London in Paddington. I wanted to introduce my Malaysian food  (since they were asking when we could get some rendang and roti canai which some knew of or had before). Some 20 awesome friends came to experience this Malaysian mini night I hosted.

Here's what we had for the night~

 They tasted the cucur udang (fried prawn fitters), chicken satay (skewer grilled meat with peanut sauce) & fried wantan in the starter platter. 

Hungry people waiting for their main dishes - I offered them the Nasi Lemak / Laksa Johor with teh tarik ( pulled tea with condensed milk)

 My classmate Giulia from Milan trying her Laksa Johor (a speciality dish from state of Johor) it is yellow mee with fresh salted fish, seafood, coconut, chillies, ginger, galangal, some other herbs cooked gravy with condiments of (red onion, cucumber, bean sprouts)

 Happy faces getting ready before eating! :)

They were trying the roti canai (paratha bread with curry lentil) that would usually look like this ....

Roti canai with curries, lentil (OMG so hungry by looking at this pic!)

 A picture while Marco (at the end of this table) my Italian friend is saying 'is this all I am eating, I need more food" hahah no I am just exaggerating but he did say he wanted to eat more to me later since Italians do eat a lot and the Laksa Johor wasn't enough he ordered fried rice and chicken. 

 Benedetta and Salvatore my Italians trying the Laksa Johor

  Silja from Germany trying the Laksa Johor

 This is the Nasi Lemak (coconut rice, beef rendang, sambal prawns (chilli paste cooked), fried chicken, fried anchovies, half boiled eggs and cucumber, peanuts.

 While Salvatore trying the "Sago Gula Melaka" the (sago pudding with palm sugar syrup). He said it tastes funny because of the starch and its gooey but he liked the syrup! haha

 This is one of my personal favourite dessert - the ketayap! Its desicated coconut filling and crepe like (green is because of the pandan leaf colouring/flavouring)

 Lama and Chrine my lebanese ladies likes the banana fritters! 

All of us with Malaysian flag infront of Pak Awie (although can't see the flag clearly but I was really proud still and always)

My own experience from introducing my food and culture is that I managed to learn the words in English and experience across cultures how we are different but still remain respectful of each other. It was my experience to introduce how to eat rice with hands, and how some cultures would eat with forks for their rice or wouldn't eat spicy food. I am so proud of them they truly kept an open mind and immersed themselves with the culture. Had so many questions about how it is cooked, what it is made of. I also enjoyed explaining bits of history here and there. Also, the picture of the His Majesty King (Yang Di Pertuan Agong) and Queen on the wall of the restaurants entrance and explained a little bit of the constitutional Monarchy system in the country (glad I knew that! Phew). 

Last but not least, It was my learning experience too and most importantly I am proud that this truly shows that in Malaysia - it is what we are known as the 'truly Asia' country and its values are just multicultural. Hope that I could host another mini night for other classmates (since there are 75 of us in class and other cohorts) and glad to be in the Multicultural Club at HULT that would help to promote and have other cultural dinners hosted by others. That's all for this post folks! Till the next post - on my Spain getaway weekend to Malaga and Granada. Woop woop!

xx your one and only 

MsOrangeLisa

23 and getting younger.

Hello again blog world and everyone else reading this! :) 

I have had so many chances to start over or continue to blog again. Finally, I have decided - blogging time is back!

I started blogging in 2008 then moved to Facebook notes in 2010. Then, I had a few hiatus years from 2010 till today. So many life events happened since. I just have one very important update today. Syukur alhamdulillah

On last Saturday I turned 23 in one lovely city I call home now, London. Well at least for the next 7 months from this date. I am still young (the title of this post only shows that I am in denial haha), filled with ambitions and most importantly I am a Masters of International Marketing student at HULT International Business School. Where it is ranked #1 for International Experience and 5th for International Business by the Financial Times, and is among the Top 30 business schools in the world and Top 20 in the U.S. by the Economist. More posts about my school and the classes soon.

A proud HULTian I am. 

My Birthday wish this year is just to get some English breakfast and spend some time with good friends exploring the London City and its beauty  - checked !

Hope that I can find some time amidst the classes, assignments and many more exciting days here to update this blog from time to time..

Can't wait for my birthday getaway to Spain this weekend! Will be updated with more photos and beautiful sceneries of the Andalusian coast. Can guess which city I am off to? :) 

xx your one and only Msorangelisa