01st February 2009
Having made an appointment with Mr. Duc Xuan Ly, a Vietnamese English man before, I went sightseeing with him around Westminster to witness how Chinese English people organised their Chinese New Year in London. I thought It would be an interesting opportunity to see people' life around. We promised to meet on the Westminster bridge, near the Parliament House, it is a nice bridge in London, standing next to Big Ben. We then went to Trafalgar Square where there were a Chinese ceremony for their new year. It was too crowded there with about a thousand people in the square waiting for a dragon dancing. Unfortunately, Mr. Xuan's Camcorder was not working, we took some photographs and felt boring because we could not see anything standing behind a thousand of people. We could see the performance in a big digital screen, but it was a waste of time. Therefore, Mr. Xuan asked me to visit his friend' family near there. I agreed and went by bus to the agreed place, about 4 km far away from the Square. It was another Vietnamese English family who arrived in London in 1980. We had an afternoon lunch there with Chung cake and a little wine. After lunch, at about 16h00, we watched a football match between Liverpool and Chelsea on TV which resulted 2-0 win for Liverfool. At nearly 17h00, we came back home separately. It was a really interesting afternoon that helped me learn something from normal people'life. I hope I will have another chance.
2nd February, 2009
I had the first class in the target course today from 13h00 until 17h00, then another class at 18h00 until 21h00. I wanted to try all possible options before deciding which modules would be taken this semester. I was ready for the class, but this morning, I was busy writing a letter to my course leader, Prof. Mike Newman, therefore, when I was aware of the time, I thought I would be late for the class. So I rushed out although there was so heavy snow outside that no bus ran in the street. As usual, I took on train to Straford station and then, another train to Highbury Islington. I saw the map in the student handbook and decided to take off the train in Canonbury station to shortcut to the class which was organised in Ladbroke House in Highbury Grove. I walked almost 2 km from the station to the Ladbroke House in order to attend the class in time. In fact, I was nearly 30 minutes late, but to my surprise, there was only on person in the classroom who you could guess was the module leader, Dr. Colin Meade. He and I introduced with each other and He suggested that I needed an international law book to read in order to get some general ideas about the subject we would study: The legal regulation of conflict. Then, we, I meant the class, dismissed.
I went on walking to the university to attend the evening class as I supposed without realizing that the University was closing because of the adverse weather which caused transportation delays in London. I walked more than 3 km to the University to do nothing. Then, I caught a Piccadilly line train from Holloway Road station to King's Cross station with a hope that I would take on a Hammersmith train to Bow Road station. It took me long time waiting in King's Cross station before I realized that there was no train in Hammersmith line. Therefore, I caught a Central line train to Mile End station, then a district line to Bow Road station. It was a long waiting in Mile End station. When I reached Bow Road station and walked more than 1 km to Bow Church station, it was late afternoon. I was not fortunate enough as the train to Lewisham which called on my All Saints station did not stop until It reached Poplar station. I was forced to catch an opposite train to come back, but again, it did not stop at All Saints station. Therefore, again I had to walk back nearly 3 km to my flat under the snowing weather. It was the first day of my MA International Relations Course, but the darkest day since I have been to London.
3nd February, 2009
I stayed at my flat almost all day because I had no class today. The most interesting thing I have been doing is reading a book borrowed in the University library last week, named "Introduction to International Relations" written by Robert Jackson and Goerg Sorensen. I went out shopping in the afternoon to buy food for the rest of week. I thought I had done nothing special rather than reading and sending e-mails. It was a boring day in London. Tomorrow, I had an important appointment with my course leader, Prof. Mike Newman at his office. I need to ask him for his advices about modules I should take this semester, then I will make my own decision. I hope He will make it clear for me tomorrow.
4th February, 2009
I had classes today with 2 modules which I registered after consulting my Course Leader, Prof. Mike Newman about difficulties I would face. I had a short friendly talk with Prof. Newman in his office at about 11h00, through which He confirmed my registration and signed my registration form for me to submit the Post-graduate Center later. He expressed his ideas that I could take any module, but at least I had to take one core module this semester. That was an answer I expected him to speak. Then, I went to library to study and do something to kill the time before the 17h00 class started. I had not learned much, because I did not have any target in reading books or doing things in the library, it was really sleepy. I thought It was ineffective time in the University.
The class started at 17h00 with module GIP028N: Theory and Research Methods. It was a really theoretical subject and I thought a bit boring at first. In fact, it was something like watering off a duck's back, because there were too many information, names, new theories in International Relations that I have not heard about before. I could listen to the lecture, I meant every word, except new words, but I only understood a little. The first class lasted only one hour. The second class was longer, 3 hours long, which was GIP008N: Contemporary International Political Economy. It was better for me, both the study climate and lecture, which I could catch up and understand better. The things I need do are reading, reading and reading, and then reading again.
5th February, 2009
The only morning class is today's, which lasts from 10h00 to 13h00 with Dr. Colin Meade. He speaks a typical British English, a bit fast, but not difficult to understand. I think I have 3 classes, related to International Laws, with him, 1 now and 2 next semester. I feel he is open and easy to get sociable. His class today was like an introduction to Module LLP004N with a historical explanation.
6th February, 2009
It is rainy today. In the morning, it was snowing heavily, fortunately, snowing had lasted for a short time and then raining. Also, in the morning, I went out to go for a walk and buy a shampoo in the market. Then, I stayed in the flat and studied, but I had achieved nothing until the afternoon when I understood a bit better the content of the reading in Module GIP008N (Contemporary International Political Economy). At about 13h30, I went out again to Royal Mail Docklands Delivery Office to get my post parcel which I guessed a book I had ordered online before. However, I did not have it, because I did not return to that Office. I was told to get it late, about 17h00. So I decided to take it tomorrow morning. Then, I had a chance to send the second mail to my wife. The mail contained my report to Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. I hope It will be sent to my wife next week.
7th February, 2009
Today is another Saturday (07th Feb. 2009, and 13th Feb lunar year) alone again in London where I will have more than 1 year ahead to study. This morning, I got up early as usual at about 7h00, I think waking up or getting up at 7h00 is very early in London where people have to go to work at 10h00 and often stay up late in the previous evening. At about 9h00, I went out to collect my post parcel in Burdett Road, about 3 km far from my flat. As I guessed before, What the parcel contained inside was a book of International law I ordered some days ago and I did not collect yesterday. Then, I came back to my flat and spent whole day studying and reading for the GIP008N which I will have class on Wednesday. This evening, I will pay much attention to another subject: GIP028N, which I will have class on Monday. I think I should try and try more to understand what I am going to do and I am doing.
8th February, 2009
I had a day off with my friend, one guy from Vietnam - Thanh. Also, He is now studying in London MET University, but in other campus, the City Campus. In the morning, I got up, had something for breakfast and then went out. First, I wanted to explore the place around my flat and walked for a morning exercise only. However, when I was out in the market nearby, I found it boring in the morning, maybe it was so early that even shops were not open. Suddenly, I felt tired and tired of studying on Sunday. I decided to go out for a relax day off. Then I thought of my friend, going to visit him and having lunch with him at his flat. In the afternoon, I came back, a bit tired, but I was totally pleased with my decision in the morning. Study is the next to do.
9th February, 2009
It is the most confident day in London I have had so far since I was here. Today was not a special day, but I had a class of GIP028N in the evening from 18h00 to 21h00. Nothing special happened to me in the morning, but chatted with my young bank account and did a book reading. In the afternoon, I decided to go to University early at about 14h30 because I wanted to get my laptop registered with the University in order to use its wireless internet. It was easy, just bring the laptop to an IT main help k in Tower building for them to install a management software and get an account, then I could use wireless internet in the University.
I had more than 2 hours before the class started, so I went to the library to continue my reading. The reading was a bit difficult to understand and it took me longer time. At 17h30, I went to classroom to wait for my 3 hour class. I found out that I was the only student in the classroom until my prof. Gus Fagan came in, saying that I was in wrong classroom because the GIP028N would be taught in another classroom, and he asked me to follow him. At that time, another student joined us to the new classroom. The lecture today was a bit easier to listen and understand the main ideas of the subject. I registered the presentation topic and its date which will be next Monday. I think the time is very quick, but I will do presentation with a very confident female student from Germany, I guessed. I discovered that there is another Vietnamese student in the classroom who has spent a semester here already and now is entering the second term of the course. At the end of the class, I had a talk with her and got some important and useful information about the ways and experience of study here in London MET university. With a good lecture and experience after the class, I am now much more confident with my study that I feel a bit easier in days ahead.
10th February, 2009
I stayed in my flat today, to do nothing but study; I mean I have spent whole day staying at home and doing some book reading and note taking for my presentation and next class. It was a good news that my confidence has improved a little bit since yesterday class with Prof. Gus Fagan and a short talk with a classmate also from Vietnam. Thanks to that, I read books and documents a bit faster with more patience. Another good news is that two key professors in my class have replied my letter which I wrote to make a proposal or request an advice. Even Prof. Gus Fagan gave me an appointment during the next class to talk with me about my problems. I think lecturers take much care for us and all students, fortunately, I am among them. There's light at the end of the tunnel for me, I hope the light will be a starting point for me to lean forward.
11th February, 2009
In the morning, I got up very early with a hope that I would go to Get Ahead conference on time which started at 10h00. I went out of my flat at a quarter to eight to catch trains in order to be at the University before 9h00 to register my attendance. However, it was unfortunate for me when I got to know that all conference participants had to register online before. Once more, I had nothing, but came back home to continue my reading and study. It was a bit expensive experience in term of time waste. In the afternoon, I went to University to attend two lectures from 17h00 to 18h00, then from 18h00 to 19h00. I had nothing especial to talk about the first 3 hours in the class, but the last one hour. It was the one hour seminar, the first seminar in my course. To be honest, it was very useful and effective for my study, this helped me to understand deeply and remember the basic knowledge of the previous class. Although I spent almost time of the seminar listening with some idea expression, I thought I had obtained many achievements in that one-hour.
12th February, 2009
I had another good day with a morning class and a fully worthy money spending afternoon. During the class, I had a talk with Welbeck Abbbey, 47 year-old Ghana guy who has 5 children among whom there are two twins. I think he also likes to befriend with me and so do I. It was good to have more friends here in the cold UK. After class, I went back the main location of the University to have something done in the library. First, I photocopied documents for my reading. Then, I searched in library' catalogue to find books for other modules and I found two books that I needed. I continued to photo, but I dared to photo one chapter from a book, I thought that was enough for today, I would photocopy another chapter in the other book in other day to avoid infringing "copyright" law.
13th February, 2009
I spent nearly whole day at home reading and studying. In the afternoon, I took a break opportunity to go to the Health Care Centre nearby to register. Fortunately, I got what I wanted easily - a form to be filled in and some instructions for registration when I would come back there. Good. Early next week, I will come back there with a fulfiled registration form and be registered. It was a Friday - 13th, but it was a good day for me as well.
14th February, 2009
It is the Valentine day, the festival of Love and Lovers. I thought I would have lived in an atmosphere of love in Europe today, but it was a big mistake. What I had done was shopping for next week, then went out with a hope to enjoy a joyful day in the streets where people in love might go with each other and enjoy. However, as I said, It was nothing special out there in the streets, even I reached the most crowded and busiest street of London, Oxford street, one of the biggest shopping centre in London. I intended to buy a contract phone, but I was not successful again. I thought I might not be destined by fate to get a free phone here in the UK as I wish. Then, I came back to study.
15th February, 2009
I spent the whole day in my flat studying.
16th February, 2009
It was a rememberable day in my academic life in London MET. It was the day I had the first presentation in English on an academic topic on the subject of Theory and Research Methods - a difficult module in London MET in my opinion. Katherine Somova - a Russian student who has spent a semester in London - and I had given the same topic in the Seminar this evening and we were together speaking in front of the class in the seminar hour after the two hour lecture. Each of us got a question, prepared and guided the class in a discussion about the given topic. Katherine was the first speaker as we agreed upon because she prepared a more comprehensive question and I supported her ideas with my question. The seminar went on well. Katherine was the one who inspired her confidence to me so that I was speaking very confidently. I can say I had done better than I ever thought before. It was important for me, not because of the seminar's results, but my confidence I gained after the seminar. Thanks to Katherine's active role in the seminar, all class had a chance to discuss and speak and I thought it was a good moment for us to get together with each other. In the Q&A part, I was asked only a question, but I could answer well, even I thought later that I should have talked more in my answer with more supportive evidents and information. However, It was so good for me in the first academic presentation.
Another good news for me was that my lecturer gave me some good advices to help me to study in the next days. I thought the good advices of my professor should not be made public, I did and I would do this.
It was an happy end of a good day in London.
17th February, 2009
I spent the whole day studying, thinking about my ways of effective reading and study, then studying again. Differently from some days before, I studied better in a comfortable mood (state of mind) with many positive thoughts in my mind. I think I will keep this comfort towards the end of my MA course. That mood of comfort could help me a lot, I hope.
18th February, 2009
I had nothing special during the day. In the evening, I had two classes as usual. They were not as much important as I thought. The first lesson, one hour, was delivered with REFERENCING OR FOOTNOTE in essays or anything academic works. The lecturers gave us a general definition about the topic and then, nothing more. The second class was even more boring. The lecturer was busy or had something else to do, so he did not come to class. Instead, another lecturer came and opened a video disk for us to watch. It lasted one and a half hour before we came back home. The disk told us a very funny story named "YES MAN" about what was called "globalisation".
19th February, 2009
I had a class in Ladbroke house - a building of London MET, about 2 km away from the main buildings like Tower house, rocket building... of the University. The lesson was about International Court of Justice, one principle organ of the United Nations. The second part of the class was Seminar on the topic of ICTY (The International Crime Tribunal for former Yugoslavia) and ICTR (The International Crime Tribunal for Rwanda). The topic was not a big matter, but the problem to be raising later was that "Who did? and Who justise?" - it was my question. I wanted to question what was the justice here with such a kind of tribunal or court. I told the class about the Tiananmen protestors oppression in 1989 and My Lai Massacre (Pinkville) that the US troops killed more than 500 villagers (civilians without weapons, most of them are women and children) in a raid in My Lai village of Vietnam. I raised the question: It was happening in Yugoslavia and Rwanda where someone did something wrong and were brought to justice. However, It was the USA and China who did something more than terrible, so Who did that and Who will set up an International Court like such a court mentioned above to justice. And then, a discussion was taking place.
20th February, 2009
In the morning, I went out to collect my post parcel in which I thought there was a book sent to me because some days before I ordered to buy an online book in Amazon. It was a good book at a good price. The book was suggested to buy by my lecturer who said to me that "as a beginer of the International Relations, You should read that book, it is written for the beginers and easy to understand". And it is true that the book is well understandable. Next in the morning, I prepared something for my next week seminar using the newly bought book. I spent the whole day studying at my flat. Oh, in the afternoon, I went out to relax for more than an hour with shopping, buying mobile phone card (top-up my mobile). The rest of the day was for study.
21th February, 2009
I had nothing to do today, except study and going for a walk for one hour in the afternoon.
22th February, 2009
I had a shopping list to do today, therefore, I decided to go out in the morning to save time for study in the day. Unfortunately, It did not seem a wise decision because today is Sunday, all shops open late and Tesco supermarkets open at 12h00. I went shopping, but it was too early to shop, then I came back to my flat. It was 12h00 I went out shopping again for my next week survival. The last thing to do in the day is to study.
23th February, 2009
Today, I missed an appointment with the Aberfeldy Practice where I intend to ask for a home doctor there. The appointment was at 9h00, but when I remembered to have the appointment, It was too late. Although It was too late, I went to the Aberfeldy Practice hopefully to make another appointment or there would be a lucky opportunity. In fact, I was not as lucky as I was expected, but I got another appointment to meet a doctor or a nurse in the health centre at 10h00, 6th March, 2009. In the afternoon, I went to the University to make some photocopies of reading for my next seminar. I had to spend the whole afternoon in the library, looking for an article of Robert W. Cox in the Millenium: Journal of International Studies Vol. 10, No 2 which was published in 1983. At last, I found that article, but the afternoon had gone and it was time for study in the class.
24th February, 2009
I spent the whole day studying at home, even I did not go out for a walk as usual.
25th February, 2009
I have 2 classes in the evening from 17h00 to 18h00 and from 18h00 to 21h00. The first one-hour class was about a research mothod called as impact assessment. As our lecturer introduced, this kind of method is very important, especially when applying for a job for UN agencies. With this method, you have to assess the impacts on environment, people's life, national development... It sounds good for anyone who want to work for IOs. The second class was also given by Prof. Frank Bouwer, a very good lecturer in my course. He lectures the Module GIP008N - Contemporary International Political Economy. I have found this Module very interesting with him, maybe not with other lecturer. One important thing in the second class was that I had some minutes to ask Frank about my final essay of his Module - Foreign Direct Investment. With his advice, I think I have got a general idea about what I should do and write in my essay. He promised to have a look at my outline when It would have finished. In the seminar this evening, I felt more confident to express some ideas in the spirit of seminars as Prof. Frank said seminars are giving the chances for students to be confident in making speech in the public.
26th February, 2009
I went to University in the morning for the class at 10h00 at Ladbroke house. The class of International Legal Institutions was about the function of maintaining peace and security of the United Nations provided in its Charter. And we had an 1 hour seminar at the end of class, discussing about ICJ functions why it is so busy at the moment and whether or not it should review other UN principle organs. It is an interesting question.
After class, I was called to go to visit my friend' flat where I intend to move in some days later. I think the new flat is better than my flat now with two points: It is situated in a position near my University, about 15 minutes travelling by train and the environment of life the flat is providing is happier. This makes me interesting and really attracts me to move.
27th February, 2009
I spent the whole day at home studying, almost time for reading books and documents. I found study here is devoted to reading. I faced a hard reading concerning with Robert W. Cox.
28th February, 2009
The last day of February would have passed normally unless there was a musical event, VOICE UP, for Vietnamese students in the UK annually organized by the SVUK. First, I was asked to go with my new flat-shared mates. Tickets for the event were normally sold at 15 pound and 25 pound (VIP). We decided to buy VIP tickets to sit together. Fortunately, this afternoon, I was phoned to be informed that there was an invitation for me if I wish to go. It was such a good news that I might save some money by reselling my ticket.
The performance started at about 20h30, one hour and a half late than scheduled time (19h00). Therefore, we were considered as on time. There were 10 songs from 10 contestants represented for all Vietnamese students in the UK among which one was English song and 9 others were Vietnamese songs. I had to say all contestants are so good and professional in performing their chosen songs. I thought it was an excellent evening for Vietnamese students in the UK and a chance to meet people. Some contestants sung from their heart when they performed their songs, I meant they were wholehearted, even moved to sing their origin Vietnamese songs in the UK. At the end, 3 students were chosen to be winners with prides: 1000 pound, 500 pound and 250 pound respectively. The pride was not big, but the show brought a very enjoyable evening for students. That was the biggest pride for us. That was a good end of my second month in London.
