18 September 2004

First update

Hi everybody
I know its been a while but , I realy didn’t have access to a computer till now.
Well its been quite a journey for me.
My flight from India was at 9.30 ..i really lost track of how many hours it took , partially because it was too exciting and partially cause of all the different time zones.. well it really was exciting for me flyng for the first time. I got a window seat both on the cochin – doha flight as well as on the doha – Manchester fligt. Really got some great views. Kerala looked so green , while the Arabian gulf looked like huge maps spread out all over the ground.
The stop overin doha was a bit uncomfortable . it was really hot and there was no place to sit down.. a lot o people standing in a hot place doesn’t sound too good does it. Any way the flight was not too bad . I was so excitedthat I did not sleep one wink in all those hours. We finally reached Manchester in the evening at 6 uk time. My cousin and his wife were there to pick me up. We drove down from Manchester to Doncaster where he stays. It was really exciting for me and I had to keep reminding myself that it was no dream and that I was really in u.k. the things and people around here are so organized that its all so unbelievable.. while we hwve people to do all sorts of things in India, here they have machines for every single thing. They try to avoid using manpower where ever possible. The people here know what is expected of them and the stick to it. So u wouldn’t have traffic police or parking attendants or sales men really telling you what to do. And moreover they are so courteos that even if something were your fault they would apologize to u. I think sorry and thank you are just about the most commom words I veheard since I ve been here.
Went to London on a brief stop over on the way to my cousins in laws place. Wow it really was something. Here I was standing and staring at some of the most famous places in the world…something which had existed only in books and t.v uptil then.There was the Big ben, parliament building, Westminster abbey, the London eye, downing street. Whew all that at one go was almost too much to handle. I`ve got a few snaps which I geuss I ve sent a link to. Hope u ve all got em.
Well. We finally got to Plymouth after a five hour drive from Doncaster. We just about managed to make it in time before tha accommodation office closed for the day. They gave us a list of properties to chose from as I had applied for a student share house, which is basically a large house which is shared by different student. We viewed a few properties before finding a really nice one with a decent rent. Its got a medium sized room with bay windows facing the street and comes with a cot , a mattress , a desk, a drawer, a bedside table, a stand and an artificial fireplace. The bathrooms and kitchen are common and the kitchen is fully equipped with freezers, fridges, ovens grill. Microvave, toasters , electric kettles washing machines and driers. Theres also a common loungewith t.v and vcr. There are a total of 7 rooms. And right now there are two Chinese, I honk kong, and one French student apart from me. Well that’s exciting is nt it?
Now coming to the university…we are just having the international students orientation programme, where we met a lot of students from all over the worl…and believe it or not there are students from 120 countries here. I have already met some from denmark, Norway, italy france, Maldives, honking, china, Malaysia, srilanka, spain, usa, Canada…whewthose are just theones I remember. Last evening we had a boat trip around the Plymouth sound estuary. It was graet and there were some spectacular views but it was also freezing here..
Coming to the weather..to put it in one word it is unpredictable..sometimes sunny , sometime rainy but on the whole its cold.but not too much. A few warm clothes can handle it. But it does get really cold towards January, i`m told.
Well that’s it for now…. I ve still got an international students night in the students union tonite. The orientation continues till the 19th..and then its classes on the 22nd. So i`ll have to do all the enjoyment before that and get focussed by then. I`ll keep u all updated. I`m unable to share many snaps right now as I have a problem offloading them. But i`m sure I can work out something.
Before I sign off I once again want to thank all of you who have been by my side and helped me get to this stage. I hope I will have all your support and prayers as I prepare for this phase in my life. I do miss all of you.
Take care,bye for now
Love
Thomas, Thom, Thoma, Thommachen, or however u call me.

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