Life at Bellerbys College

Post Exam Feelings And My Life At The Moment

Posted by Sebastian, just graduated from studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys Oxford

Dear followers,

First of all I want to apologies for my long absence.  I was asked to continue blogging or at least write another entry but since I went back home to good old Germany, I became incredibly lazy. I guess it just happens when you have nothing really to do and you are hanging around, staying up until the crack of dawn all the time, sleeping in until afternoon and then still feeling tired and wondering why. 

In the beginning it is okay to live like that because you have been looking for that for such a long time and you are really enjoying every minute of that but after a while it gets a bit boring though and also you might feel a bit miserable because you are always tired and you are always doing the same. That is why I now choose to do break the circle and do something different, for example writing this blog entry and feeling good and relaxed about that.

I still remember quite the day when we had our last exams at Bellerbys. Both exams, Law 3 and Politics 3 were on the same day, one in the morning at 9 and the other at 1:30 in the afternoon – so we knew it is going to be a tiring and difficult day for us. However it was good that Law was first because it was the harder part. I just remember that I learned over 130 cases for just law, so I really felt like a walking casebook! By now I probably have forgotten most of them again. 

At that time my mind was dominated by names and facts of cases but just knowing the cases is not enough because you also had to learn the legal principles and the information around them that belongs to the cases. In addition there was Politics to learn, so it became really difficult to keep all that in mind and there was a little lack of motivation. I must again thank all the people, for example my parents, brother and friends who told me to sit through this and in the end it all worked out as I imagined.

On the exam day we told ourselves we would not talk about the first exam and compare what we wrote because it would only make us nervous and we would think too much about that. Instead we tried to revise for Politics after the Law exam. I said we tried because we did not feel like revising the information again, we just wanted to finish the exam and then feel free as birds and in my case before the exam it felt like eternity until the Politics exam was due and then the worries began. 

As usual we all hoped the questions would be as we prepared and the luck was with us. However, as far as I remember I have so many things in my mind that I want to write so I can never finish but it was enough to achieve a good pass and to qualify for Oxford Brookes. I already knew that right after the exam was over, it just felt like I did it.

In addition it took some while to realise that we just finished our last and final exam and could now relax and let go. As I told myself, the good time began! 

 The following week my parents came to visit with my sister and they wanted to be there when the graduation for the leavers took place. The graduation was before the results of the exam were out but the atmosphere was still great, relaxed and happy. I am still very proud to have won two awards – one for 100% attendance throughout the whole year and a second for outstanding effort. Two of my classmates also received awards, so we were all extremely happy and I was happy for them because they really deserved them. Besides it was another good occasion to wear a suit!

It just came into my mind that my father recorded most of the graduation. So I will ask Bellerbys Oxford if they want to have a copy of the film to upload on YouTube for everybody to watch. Feel free to watch it then if you are curious!

While my parents were in Oxford with my sister, we went to Jamie's twice – the restaurant of the well known English cook Jamie Oliver and we seriously enjoyed that food. It was very tasty and the atmosphere in the restaurant was fantastic. Also I think we deserved to celebrate all that success.

So two days after the graduation, we were told our exam results and this was another relief! From that moment on, it was all clear that the hard work was worth it and it was official that we qualified for our chosen universities. I was able to finish the Foundation Law course with an average of 75% and my university asked for 65%, so I think they were quite happy to accept me and to change my offer from conditional to unconditional.

After saying good bye to everybody in the college – which felt terribly hard by the way because you have made so great friends with everybody and all that things you have been through together – we stayed in England another two days until we drove home by car which took us a whole day from Oxford to Germany. So after that long journey I first decided to have a very long and good sleep at home and I think it is funny when you think that you drive through 4 different countries while travelling – England, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Finally this adventure in the United Kingdom of England was finished and it first felt strange as you had developed this routine and you were so used to it and it took me a long while – I guess until now – to really calm down because I always thought that I need to do things quickly as I used to while studying and that time is running. I always had to tell myself too slow down now and really try to relax and it is not easy I must say.

Another thing that got me excited right after coming back to Germany was the World Cup, of course (I think another reason for delaying the blog for so long), it really caught my attention and I was very enthusiastic about the German football team and it was a very happy time, especially if you see such wonderful football. The atmosphere in the local pub where I watched Argentina against Germany was amazing. 

However, after the World Cup it started to become boring as I mentioned in the beginning and doing the same things all the time is not so satisfying. The only thing that got me excited after that was when I received a letter from Brookes confirming my accommodation and forms for me to fill out. It makes me want to start to study as soon as possible and I am really looking forward to September. Furthermore it is nice that I already know Oxford like the back of my hand and I can visit old friends, for example I will definitely visit Bellerbys in September when they are in their new building near the river and say hello!

I think that more or less gives you a little overview of what has happened in the meantime. I could go on like this forever but I do not want to make it too long so that nobody is interested in reading it any more. I will try enjoy my holidays in Germany as best as possible, for instance I am looking forward to go to a music festival in August and also my niece will be born in August which is really exciting for me. When I think about that I will be an uncle at the age of 20 makes me feel old somehow but I promised myself to be the best uncle possible and a very modern one, too!

In my last post, I promised that this time I will include some pictures and I am holding my promise of course! You can see some pictures from graduation and from my parents and me being at Jamie's with my sister(you just can never see her because she took the pictures) including some of the food there we had.

So I hope you enjoyed this entry and I also hope that I can make some more in the future , hopefully when I am at university I can tell you about my experience there!

Thanks for reading and bye for now.

Big Steps!

Posted by Sebastian, studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys Oxford

Hello dear readers!

I have just decided that it is time to give a little update on what has happened recently.  There was quite a lot going on.  Time is really passing quickly these days and so is the Law Foundation course.

Our teacher Ian always knows perfectly well how to keep us going and busy, also over the weekend – even if we claim we need a little break to recover he insists on giving us our weekly research homework in Politics.  But if I think about it we should thank him for doing so as he is not only testing our stamina and how much pressure we may take but also it is an excellent preparation for University life.  So the sooner we learn how to deal with such situations the sooner we will get used to it and the easier we may find it later or at least we will not experience any evil surprise.

Surely I will never forget how he described Foundation as a three stage course.

In the first term, everybody sits on his lap. In other words, he is going to tell us everything.  In the second term, he is holding our hands which means that he will tell us most but some things are left to ourselves and in the final term he will more or less wave us good-bye because, especially in Politics we are bound to conduct our own research and find out things ourselves and then compare it in class.

Speaking of research, I am really happy to say that I finished my first draft of the extended research Essay everybody has to do in Foundation English Skills 3.  As I said it was not easy to convince myself to do some extra work and go to the library and read books about the Industrial Revolution and trying to understand them as some were written in a very sophisticated way but somehow I did that and it makes me a little bit proud now that I was able to be so disciplined.

I struggled in the beginning, first finding a title – it changed I think three times but then I became better.  Well it is not finished yet completely but the basement, the foundation exists and basically editing and improvement is required now.  In addition it means a relief of stress to me because it had been flying somewhere in my head all the time and I can now focus on other things, for example writing the blog or learning my cases for law.

Studying cases in Law in the third term is also taken to a new dimension compared to the second though they might stick to your mind easier because the situations are more likely to imagine.  However it is possible that the number of cases so far is more than all the cases added together in contract law and there are three more topics to study.  It is another hurdle that has to be taken.  And it might help to think in smaller steps and not to try to see all at once as it sometimes happens to me.  If I do so I sometimes begin to struggle and think I will never be able to finish and I feel unconscious.  Then I always remember what my mother used to tell me: “Think in small steps, do one thing after another!  Then you will see, things will become much easier and after you finished some of your tasks, the mountain you thought you could never beat, is almost climbed!”

In addition I just remember that the course will finish in about a month, so I like to describe this last bit as the grand finale in which we should mobilise all our energy to bring it to a memorable end and we can say that we gave our best and we deserve our break before we are heading to the next stage which will be University.

As I said before much was going on in the last weeks and something rather stupid happened to me the last time we went out to play football at Oxford Brookes University.  Either I lost my wallet or it got stolen.  When I realised that I was quite shocked cause it felt like I lost everything, identification and the way to receive money. As it was an emergency, a good friend borrowed me some money for the bus. 

By the time I reached my home it was nearly midnight and so I had to try to wake up my parents to explain and let them block my card.  I felt a bit disturbed and confused and I also called the police the as well as the bus company because I thought, maybe I left on the bus but they did not have it nor did anybody hand it over to the police.  So during the last week I was rather limited but luckily for every problem there is a solution and so during the coming week I should be able to continue my normal routine.  I never expected that something like that would ever happen to me but it seems that it can happen to everybody and the timing when it happens is always wrong, for instance in that turbulent time when there is a lot to do and you do not need such obstacles in your way.

So, finally everything is now more or less sorted out and things are getting more positive, also because I received a new letter from Brookes, my firm choice, about applying for living in a student hall.  For me it is another big step towards University and a sign that soon it is not only a dream but it will become reality.  But for now, although it can get quite stressful at the college with all that endless tasks, I try to enjoy the last month as much as possible.  Like the saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” suggests that it is not only about hard work but also about having a good time with friends you make and enjoy the international experience.

Unfortunately this time I do not have any pictures to support my blog but I promise that the next time there will be some along the text.  I should have some good ones as the next bigger event featured by Bellerbys and Embassy will be the traditional spring ball to which I am really looking forward.  It should be fun and I am excited how everybody will dress up.  For me I decided to wear a black suit with a white shirt accompanied by a red patterned tie.  My only problem is that I have no idea how to tie a tie, so this will be my task until next weekend.  To give myself a crash course in how to tie a tie.

I think that this should be enough for now.  To, sum up, the course is progressing in big steps towards the end and sometimes it is good to take a break and reflect what was going on and to recall the past.  In that sense, I hope you enjoyed this entry and stay tuned for more!  Thanks for reading, you may also leave a comment.

An Overview of My Time at Bellerbys So Far

Posted by Sebasatian, studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys Oxford

Hello readers and welcome to my first entry.

As you have probably already read I am studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys Oxford and am now in my third and last term.  I started this course in September 2009 and have been asked if I would be interested in blogging for Bellerbys.  I certainly was but there were a number of reasons why I then decided to do it later. Well, more or less it was always an excuse not to do it.  However, when I first started Foundation I did not expect that this course will be so intense which I soon found out. Although I only had three subjects (Law, Politics and FES) in my first term, the amount of work you have to do is quite a lot.  I cannot remember exactly how many essays we had to write but there was at least one per week.

My teacher Ian always kept us going and tried to motivate us even when we were at point where we thought that we cannot take any more.  I would have never thought that it was like this and then there were also the December exams.  closer they were coming the more worried we became.  Furthermore my UCAS application needed to be done and I decided to take my IELTS exam as soon as possible.  So I already felt a bit miserable at the end of this first third.

Luckily I can always enjoy very good support from my parents and friends.  They gave me the strength and the courage to get trough all of these difficult passages.  And in the end it all went well and after we had finished our first set of exams I think we were the happiest persons in Oxford which we also celebrated greatly in a pub.

The second term I must say was then different from the first one in many aspects. Firstly, our class grew in number.  In the beginning our course was really small.  It just counted 5 students.  Here I must say I enjoy being in a smaller class because the teacher is able to address and to talk to people individually which is a good thing.  So for this second term we were told that we will have 5 new people joining us.  I was very excited about this because this is always a good chance to meet new people.  Thus the first week was more or less introduction for the newcomers.  One more positive thing I can add is that our class consists of people that are all from different countries which gives a very international feeling.  Also because of this we often have quite lively discussions in Politics for example and it is just fascinating to hear about how things are in other countries.

Secondly, I had to do one more subject which was CIT – another reason to delay writing the blog.  I felt relaxed and happy in the CIT classes.  This was because my teacher Peter made classes enjoyable and funny, so you never felt that work is overwhelming.  The only thing I disliked about it was that my timetable grew and I had less free time.  It was also awkward to wait for the CIT classes sometimes because on a Friday there was a three hours gap between my first class and CIT and you fancy going home for the weekend.  However, I think CIT was a good module for two reasons.  The stuff you do will not overload your mind and you are always shown how to do it, so not too hard and moreover it is a good module to push your marks up, considering that you always went to those classes and did your work thoroughly.

In addition I have moved to another host family which marked a third change of circumstance for me.  I think this also helped me to settle here in Oxford and gave me some peace.  I always remember the day when I first came to my first host family and my parents and aunts were with me as we enjoyed the last days together in England.  When the door opened they probably did not expect that they were with me which was very funny.  However it was not quite what I thought it should have been and so I finally decided to make that move after thinking about it a lot and I do not regret it.  I am now living with two other guys who are very friendly and nice in another family.  I really enjoy my room as it is not only bigger but also I like the furniture(lots of storage room) and the way it is set up. It just gives me the feeling that I am at home here and when there is any interesting football match for instance I can watch it on the TV in my room – so go Bayern Munich!

All in all the second term was better for me and I then knew better how to do my work and not get stressed.  I just told myself to slow down a bit and not to think about everything so much which in the end gave me some confidence and I was able to improve my overall average about 5% from 70 to 75%.  It makes me a little bit proud of course.

In addition I think in the second term it was different how you saw the people around you.  Because of the fact that you have been with all this people for one term already you were happy to see them again and in the meanwhile you got used to them and made friends.  In my opinion to have friends in an unknown environment is the key to be happy and do a good job and was also one of the reasons maybe why I was not completely happy before.  I put down my head only to work and then forgot that there is also the other side of the medal which is to enjoy yourself and simply to have fun and party. 

Perhaps it was also because I was a bit shy in the beginning and did not want to ask anybody. Luckily this has changed now and there is one thing in which Bellerbys Oxford is outstanding and I value a lot.  It is the fact that it actually consists of two schools joint together, so Embassy CES and Bellerbys.  This allows you even to meet more people and make new friends due to the fact that students studying at Embassy do change from time to time.  However in some cases you would have wanted that they could have stayed a bit longer.

The most release of tension in my opinion was the arrival of my offer from Oxford Brookes, my preferred choice!  The offer came really quick so I was very happy when I saw it, another good reason to celebrate of course.  I also went to an open day of this uni and after I have been there I really really want to study there and I know it will be the right place for me.  It also gave me motivation to do good in my exams.

So now I have arrived in my last term here at Bellerbys and in the meantime many things happened and events took place and my feeling says that this term again will hold some surprises ready and will be different from before again.  The first week is over now and I saw a quick start into the topics of my subjects.  No time for long introduction, really jumping in what is on the syllabus.

In Law this is the law of tort and can you believe we have already had over 25 cases in just the first week.  Fortunately I am now aware of that your teacher can bombard you with information and I just take it easy.  Whereby in FES 3 this term I may find the most difficult because students have to do their own research essay.  Even finding a good title gives me some trouble and then going to the library and look for the information about this topic can be pain, for example if you are looking for books for one hour and then admit that you probably have to change your title as you did not find any relevant information at all.  And of course the nice weather at the moment keeps me from entering a library, so I decided after 4 hours of research that I will relax now and then met two friends at Oxford Castle.  It is a lovely place because there is a big hill that you can go up to and it gives you a very nice view and it is located in the middle of the city. 

Actually I wanted to go play some football as the school always organises a friendly between Embassy CES and Bellerbys but I can also go there next week.  Weekends for me will probably involve a good amount of time being in the library to do my research which I hope I will enjoy more in the future but I was told that this will be the way it is in university but at least they will give me the title.

Well I think that this is enough information for now.  I hope that you enjoyed it.  I just wanted you to give an overview of how I felt during the time I have been here since September and how this will continue.  I am happy to share some of my thoughts with you! 

I will also provide some pictures from my hometown in Germany to give you a little idea of how it looks where I come from.  They will appear all over the blog not to make it look like a wall of text.

See you next time, stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Learn more about studying at Bellerbys College Oxford.

Exams and Christmas in Oxford!

Posted by Bushra

Asalam-o-alikum and sorry fellows.....,but what to do, friends???  I was so happy and excited that I literally forgot to share my emotions with my buddies out there, that how I felt to be done with my first term exam on the 5th of December 2009..... How I felt, knowing that ahead, no studies for a month, can u imagine ???   A month absolutely without academic pressures and constraints....... Knowing that the term break was to be full of outstanding events such as; Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year.... and I will be able to enjoy and celebrate all of them not only with myself but also with my family members, who enhanced my celebrations a thousand times by coming to UK from Pakistan, and to let you know, just for me!

Hey, don't get me wrong fellows when I say, NO MORE STUDIES....... It happens that many people take it negatively and create false impressions regarding studies, let me tell you what I meant, "when anything starts, and become consistent for a sufficient amount of time, is challenging, there are three groups of people connected to this statement.  Firstly, those who do not even dare to accept the challenge keeping in mind the fear of defeat, secondly, those who convince their hearts to accept, but lose, comparetively better, and finally those who bravely and confidently accept, keep working for it, never give up and ultimately win it and that's what I did by getting over my term exams successfully.  My heart yelled, YES, I DID IT, I WON, I WON THE CHALLENGE......but this did not happen so easily :P

The clock was ticking at the last minute, it was the Politics exam, I was writing the last word, my mind was full of energies, enjoyment, plans and much more that resulted in a very annoying moment which was the development of friction between my pen and paper to an extent which made me feel that I will never be able to finish it!  But I knew that I had accepted a challenge not to lose, but to win it, so I did it, and went straight up from 1b ( the exam room) where my teacher was.  Unfortunately he was engaged with an other class, even though I could not wait, I put my face against the window to just let him know that I DID IT..... as soon as he looked at the window , he understood and in no time and came out of the class to greet me, WELL DONE BUSHRA........ I cannot explain how satisfying those two words were for me!

Hmmm...... now was the time to plan and sequence what was bubbling into my mind.  First I decided to explore Oxford which I had tried to do since I started my term but due to my schedule, it seemed to be very difficult to spare time for recreation.  But it was highly unfair to explore and view the historic,old, beautiful and architectural buildings, parks, colleges, sites and lots more in only one day, because the very next day I had to go to Luton where my family was gathering and I wanted to see each and every site of Oxford.  So, I postponed this plan until I get the opportunity to view this beautiful and fasinating city.  So, in order not to waste the day I called my friends to celebrate the end of term and we planed to go to a pub named Copper, a small but lovely one.

     
  
It felt great to see so many people with only one feeling at that time, that is, ENJOYMENT.  No matter in what way they do it, some show it in a funny way, others do it soberly, many just do nothing except gossips, chit chats, looking around and observing others, relax as well as rock with the beat of music and I guess me and my friends fall in the third category, because that was the first time I, as a Muslim, stepped into a pub and tell you wha, it was great.  It was a totally new and wonderful experience for me.

The very next morning, as planed, my brother came to take me to Luton.  I was happy and highly excited that I am going to see my family.  It takes around 50 minutes from Oxford to Luton but it felt like the time has stopped.  Those 50 minutes were like never ending, I diverted my attention to the journey which was full of beautiful scenery and finally, there I was, in Luton.

Bushra is studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys Oxford.

At Last....... Me And My Dream Place!!!!!

Posted By Bushra

"Asalam-o-alikum" everybody, I can not express how excited I am to be a blogger for Bellerbys, as I am going to experience this designation for the first time and look forward to enjoy it.  Oh... see I proved my excitement as I forgot to mention the meaning of my two introductory words, never mind, it happens.  Well, these two connecting words belong to Arabic language which means, Peace Be Upon You.  I, as a Muslim and all the other people of the same religion greet each other in the same way.  To simplify, it's to say hello in a different language.

So, as soon as was appointed a student blogger, I immediately started stretching my imagination boundaries on a canvas which included political issues, latest technologies, current affairs, controversial aspects, etcetera etcetera.....then suddenly I turned off my think tank and switched on my common sense.  Within no time a fundamental question popped up on to my mind which was, how about INTRODUCING MYSELF IN THE FIRST PLACE??????

I laughed at myself and eventually got embarrassed as well, I hope that you could very well imagine why?  Sometimes, when you are gifted with something which you never expected and you don't even want to think of losing it, you start putting too much effort into it without realizing that even fewer could do, ignore something which you believe to be least important and that in fact turns out to be the heart of the matter. So, lesson learnt is that it's good to keep your eyes on the prize, but you surely won't get it if you would not keep in mind losing it as well...

Anyways, lets get started...  I am Bushra Malik, from the country of Pakistan, city of Karachi and province of Sindh.  I did my matriculation from Pioneers Cadet Academy, Hyderabad, Pakistan and scored 87%. I passed my intermidiate exams from Bahria College Karsaz, Karachi, Pakistan and achieved 76%.

 
 
Following this, I entered into my professional life as a medical student.  I was doing great in my academics but there was something I realised that was not perfect, something unsatisfactory and something was pinching me inside that this is not was I wanted to do or what I wanted to get into, that this is not what I was destined for...  With this in view I kept on thinking until I finally reached the pin point and got the answer.

As for my opinion and experience, Observation, Thinking, Analysis and finally Conclusion, are the four key aspects, if not part of an individual’s mental capabilities and are not exercised in the current era, which is extremely complex, competitive and unpredictable, then he or she will never be able to taste the original flavour of life they had been living, will be unfortunate in understanding the bits of it, will always remain in the grip of confusion and unsatisfaction.

    
 
To simplify, they would never get to know what they want from life, what is it, which seems to be unsuitable, unjustified and unacceptable according to them, how could it be ramified and lastly, what is the utmost that one can do in order to resolve highly obscure issues, justify the unjust and over all, put wrong things right and make right things perfect.  Therefore, organiszation, self factuallisation, broad vision, team work, analysing and thinking about a matter beyond facts have become mandatory in order to live as an acceptable member of a society.

The crux of the matter is that, according to the inspiration I got from these undeniable facts as well as two of the shining stars of my country, first, Barrister Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Founder Of Pakistan) and Barrister Choudry Aitizaz Ahsan, who commands respect and a well known Law professional internationally, I can, beyond any reasonable doubts, mention that, Law is the only profession which could show a silver lining in the clouds, which provides the opportunity to become commandant of the above mentioned skills and which could give me a chance to show my existence and make my life meaningful.

 
 

Besides my keen interest in learning pure law, I would also like to engage myself in social and legal structures that underpin our society, in other words, Communication and Culture, as I consider them the essential founding elements of any successful society.  As we know that the developing countries struggle to create robust economies and higher standards of living, it is clear that the Rule of Law is essential to this effort.

Countries such as Poland, which have concentrated on maintaining strong legal institutions and demonstrated more economic and political stability, are more successful than those who have ignored the vital Rule of Law in building and maintaining the society, unfortunately, my own country, Pakistan.  Hence, I would like to clarify my interest by providing a good theoretical and research base that Law and Society programme is the best link provider between the two.

   
 

During this programme, I would be able to gain an excellent exposure to political, legal and social concepts, laws and statutes, public advocacy documents, public debates about socio-legal issues, statistical and legal research studies and finally, court and tribunal decisions.

A part from the academic view of my life, I see my capabilities being drawn on a much bigger canvas.  I understand that besides being passionate academically, one should value the entertainments blessed in life in order to keep exploring what he or she is treasured with.  Keeping this in view, I will fail in my obligations to myself if I do not make a mention what kind of a blend I am made of.

Nothing gives me more pleasure in this life than helping creatures and facing challenges.  Three small memorable incidents in my life will suffice.  One, I instantly jumped and saved the life of a small child, who slipped out of the hands of his mother into the deep waters of a swimming pool.

Two, during the excursion trip to the snow-bound Northern areas of Pakistan, while I was accompanying my father who was serving in Pakistan Army as Colonel, we observed a poor boy, fourteen years old, burnt to third degree due to busting of an oil stove.  My father asked me to carry him back to the Combine Military Hospital approximately 150 km away from the sight of incident.  I felt so proud once when that child came running out of the hospital and welcomed me when I went to see him after six months of safely dropping him into the hospital.

Thre, during my vacation holidays in 2007, I got a chance to visit Austria Vienna, the only thing which appeared to be most sensational to me was jumping from a tower 502 m high, known as bungee jump, and I did it. However, as far as my routine life is concerned, I like cooking, listening to soft music, reading, sporting and gym.

To conclude, a person blended of all above in my shape, made it to Bellerbys College Oxford to attain knowledge of protecting the innocent and holding responsible those who does wrongs to humanity “The Law” from age old institutions of Great Britain and be a productive and useful  member of global human society.

This Is Not A Goodbye... But A See Ya Soon!!!!

Posted by Linh

Windy... cold... lonely... and strange...

On the 1st of January, I put my 1st steps on a far-away country, wondering where I would go, what the new school was like, would people treat me well, or I would be thrown in a strange or racism environment? (lol, i know that sounds a little bit pathetic, but well, at that moment, in order to refill the emptiness of inexperience, I put an experience of imagination :D )

Later, I met a member of staff from Bellerbys College who had to throw away his first day of new year to pick up an unknown girl instead of staying at home, enjoying a celebration with his family or friends.  And instead of being such a stranger or feeling angry of my appearance, he seemed to be very nice, asking me about the flight, how I felt.

Then I met Ishy - the host mother of my new home, who had to wake up at 5 a.m to wait for a stranger to come.  She smiled at her and gave the new girl not only her first UK breakfast but also a cozy feeling that mad her feel protected as if there had not been any 20 hour flight at all.  

....

Eight months have already passed so quickly, and here I am, in the farewell party, saying goodbye to people I have gotten along so far...

Thank you Jackie, as we often say to you, YOU ARE THE BEST MANAGER WE'VE EVER MET.  No matter how many students there are, no matter how many works you have to do, somehow, you always manage to talk to each of us, help us on every step of getting to a suitable university.

From advising us how to write personal statement, how to fill in the UCAS track process until finishing choosing firm and insurance choices, you have shown us how much you care about each student here.  Awww, we are gonna miss you so much.  I wish you would always be like you are now, a super-cute and devoted manager!!!!

Thank you all teachers in Bellerbys, especially Susannah - our English teacher, Hassan - our Accounting teacher, Peter - our CIT teacher, Phillip - our Mathematics teacher, Rachel, Hilal, Ross, Linda, Sam - our Economics and Business teachers.  Haha, I'm sorry if I miss anybody or write your name wrongly. (Yeah!  Naughty student, I know, lol)

Through your lessons, I have learnt many, many new and interesting things which then help me to realise that I was not wrong when choosing Bellerbys Oxford and choosing this course.  I hope that your health and your career would always get better and would be an inspired motivation for you to get on!  And I also hope that your future students would be as good as ME (haha)!!!

Well, first it was really hard for me to write this final post!  I wrote and deleted, and then wrote again and deleted... haha, it's even harder than my first post!

I still have a lot to say to many people, such as staffs in Bellerbys - who have been really nice and helpful; my classmates and other students in different courses I have known; people living in Oxford I have luckily had a chance to meet, to talk and to share my feelings when I was happy or sad; a boy smiling at me on the bus; a stranger I have not even known her name who tried to comfort me when suddenly see me being depressed...

Life in Oxford, life in Bellerbys has taught me so much that I could never ever forget.  And now flying back to my country, I know I have more confidence, more to be proud of myself when facing my parents and my friends, because I know that I have had such precious experiences for my own!

I will come back to England soon to go to Aston University in Birmingham.  So THIS IS NOT A GOODBYE BUT A SEE YA SOON!!! :D

But for this moment, happy summer holiday! ^^

Aloha Summer!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Linh

It has been so sunny in Oxford recently!  So sunny that you just wish to be on a beach, enjoying sunbathing or feeling the supremely cool water on your never-stop-rising-temperature body. 

So, well, even we still have classes at school but we still enjoy screaming out loud: “Hello summer, hello sunshine and hello sales season!!!”  That’s why my friends and I spent our Sunday shopping in Bicester Village.

 

There were many famous brands here, such as Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana or Dior.  The most exciting news, however, is the price was perhaps just like in normal shops.  We spent more than four hours there.  Well, we did not buy much but, believe me, just having a window shopping can not take you less time because there are a variety of things there.

We came back home at about 6 o'clock. I bought a t-shirt from Polo and a cardigan from CK and the total money I spent did not come to £50!  The trip makes me feel that the more time I spent here in Oxford, the more I love it and certainly, the more I will miss it I go back to my country.

Hope you guys have a nice weekend too!!

Hey You! Try Your Best Ok?

Posted by Linh

It‘s already June - the month of exams (Help me God!!!).  But I still decided to go to Germany the second time.

The main reason of this three-day trip was my mother (oh….well…and some Vietnamese food she brought with her).  My mother went to visit my brother for two weeks.  It has been six months I have not seen her (Time goes fast, doesn’t it?).  My first impression was that she was thinner.  And the second impression was that she coughed a lot.  Poor her!  I sincerely felt scared of time, she looked older.

All the time I have spent in England, I always thought for myself, just focus on the study, sometimes scared that I was not as fashionable as other girls, sometimes calling back home to ask for money.  How horrible I was!  Yes, it was true I tried to ask about my parents through my relatives as well!  And now I knew how protective my parents were of me!  They have asked other people did not talk much about them to me and asked more about my situation.  And how stupid I was, believing in what they said, and thinking that everything was fine.

Now sitting here at the airport, waiting for the flight back to England, I still remember the wrinkles on my mother’s face when she was waving me goodbye!

The exam is coming!  Through this blog, I just want to say to all of you guys that: HEY YOU!  TRY YOUR BEST OK?  ‘CAUSE THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE SPENDING THEIR WHOLE LIFE FOR YOUR FUTURE, WAITING FOR YOU TO COME BACK!

Lol!!!  Sorry if you feel this post annoying!  Anyway, wish you guys best luck in the incoming exams!

Punting…Happy birthday…and Study…

Posted by Linh

Hello everybody!  How are you?

Since my last trip to Paris everybody was hoping to hear something amazing, unexpected about our second bank holiday. On Tuesday, the day after bank holiday that we had to come back to school, my English teacher asked me: “How was your weekend?  Another trip?  Italy?  Or Rome?”.  I had to apologize if you were disappointed but I just spent it right here in Oxford.  Believe me, it wasn't as bad as it sounds.  Actually, it was awesome!  Sometimes you don’t have to go far away to find happiness.

I spent the first day with a group of Vietnamese students studying in England, some of them live in London. We gathered at a Vietnamese girl's house and cooked a traditional food with rice noodle.  It was delicious.  Then we went punting.  Haha, it was funnier than I had imaged at first.  We hired three punts because our number was 15 people.  I asked to try to row the punt.  It was harder and exhausting than I thought.  It just took 10 minutes to knock me out.  Fortunately, other boys who wanted to show off by rowing the punt felt out of the punt.  We had a good laugh together.

 

The next day, on 24th May, I spent all the day with my classmate to prepare a birthday party for Saray - the girl from Venezuela that went to Paris with me last time.  She was going to be 19.  We gathered at an Iranian friend’s house.  The party started at about 7 pm and lasted until 12 am.  I wished that my birthday party would be like this too.  But it seemed impossible, as I would be back in Vietnam at that time. (Hix!)

Well, there was nothing much to talk about the third day as we were too exhausted to stay awake half of the day, lol!

Anyway, it was a really good time!  As we are getting older every year, every month, every day, every hour and even every second, it’s good to stop yourself sometimes, thinking of what was happening in your life, knowing that, sometimes, you did this badly, sometimes, you acted like a hero, but whatever has happened, you know that your friends are around there, ready to share any moment of your life.  And I know that moment spending time with your friends was always awesome!!!! ^^

What A Term!

Posted by Theresa

Hmm!  You cannot imagine how hectic this third term is.  You can just imagine how university will be; extra hard work.  This is why I cherish Bellerbys College because it prepares one for university education; both the stress part and the relaxing times.  I know what you are thinking?  The stress is much but if one does what they have to do in time, then comes the relaxing part which is revising the notes.

This term was all about researching, course work and presentations, all in a very short time.  This has really been very university like.  On your own with little help from the great teachers of Bellerbys.  My Foundation English Skills lessons have really helped me to progress as well, especially in researching and writing essays in all my subjects.  The best part of my English course is the presentations, where we research formal academic English topics.  It is not really easy, it is all about hard work, zealousness and determination.  Thus, one can learn many things from one another's presentations even on things never heard before.

In fact I am very proud to say that I have really gained my academic writing, vocabulary and many other things on my English course in Bellerbys and the rest of my mates would agree very much with me.

As for studying Law, I advise you viewers to compile a list of those you want to sue and keep for me because when I come out a just and competent Lawyer, I would deal with each of them one by one!  Foundation Law has really given me an insight of what studying Law would be like in the university and what and what is required for world of Law.  Politics is a subject that would never be forgotten in my life, it is a very interesting subject with action and predictions.

In conclusion, it has been worthwhile doing Foundation at Bellerbys College Oxford!  Stay tuned for my goodbye message to present and future viewers.