YONG, Valerie (130055723)
Stage 2 B940
YONG, Valerie (130055723)
Stage 2 B940
YONG, Valerie (130055723)
Stage 2 B940
160 Hotspur Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 5BH
2 Apr. 15
My dearest Mummy and Daddy,
I do miss you. Have the house been lonely and empty? Here in this letter, I would like to
bring you through my very own experiences and journey. Are you ready? You may have
imagined me to have adapted a British accent, but personally I did not. Well, I may have
become more knowledgeable to give a sensible reply. It is sad to know that despite being
surrounded by tall people, it did not aid in making me one of them. HAHAHA! (Obviously it
wouldn’t)
On the bright side, as a student, living out in a whole new world, you would be impressed by
how many creations, innovation flowing out of my brain in order to adapt a new lifestyle. The
biggest opportunity thrown straight at me is the FREEDOM OF EXPERIMENTING. It is
fascinating! Enthralling! Mesmerizing! Together with the exposure to different pitch,
frequency, speech, style, food and culture the people have possesses.
I am being bombarded with impressive architecture while walking through Newcastle making
me feel like in a movie. The Vintage looking brick buildings, the large green scenery, cherry
blossom trees in spring, red leaves in autumn, snow in winter and even free range cows in
front of my very eyes. It may seem normal to those here but at least not to me.
It is now April 2015 already, couldn’t believe how fast time past. My second year in
Newcastle University is soon coming to an end. It had been filled packed with activities, that
none of my days here was ever bored. There is surely something for me to do. However, I
really do missed the hot and humid weather in Singapore where you will not have to wrap
yourself like a dumpling, even walking and moving around feels a little uncomfortable.
Maybe it’s just me though. With a positive thinking, I have the chance to dress according to
the seasons, with its fashion style also changing. One biggest achievement is that I have
adapted to the cold temperature perhaps? At least, I have a better tolerance for the cold so do
not worry.
Indeed, Newcastle is a student city as it is filled with students everywhere you go. You will
be really surprised how a busy and happening town that can turn into a ghost town during
times like Christmas. The emptiness almost felt like what normally is filmed in a horror
movie. The Tyne Bridge and the Angel of North are both a must-see as they are only found
here in Newcastle. Compare to Singapore, there is a lesser variety of food here in Newcastle.
But a place where I loved best is the Grainger Market which is a vintage style place where
fresh foods following seasonality are sold which is rare back home. My favourite fruits like
blueberries, peach, cherry and strawberry can be priced as low as 10 peaches for a pound. It is
almost unbelievable as prices of those foods usually cost 5 times more in Singapore. I can
assure you that I am eating well with all the good food here. Surely, Grainger Market would
be one of the things I will miss. There are collections of pictures I have collected so do look
forward to my visual journey when I am back.
YONG, Valerie (130055723)
Stage 2 B940
As for my studies, (Biomedical Science) lectures have always never fail to fill me with many
interesting and fascinating information that previously I am not aware of. The lectures were
given in great enthusiasm which builds my interest in certain aspects of research especially
aging-related. Every day, I begin to build more interest so I have been reading up on science
articles regarding the latest research. There is always some connection to what I have learnt
in lecture which allows me to have a better understanding on what the article is discussing.
The aging lectures have made me realise the differences between life expectancy and health
expectancy. In other words, longer lifespan does not equal to a healthy body. We aim to
increase our health expectancy and not life expectancy by staying active and watching our
diets. I strongly advice, do adapt a balance diet and also keep up an active life. No one would
want to spend their retirement in the hospital lying down. Am I right?
My degree course do not comprise solely on lectures but also seminar and practical. Recently,
I have done my presentation on a case study. We were given 3 different cases to investigate
using all the practical skills we have learnt so far throughout our course. This includes culture
bacteria, Gram stain them to view them on microscope and perform PCR and ELISA. Every
practical session there is always something fascinating. There was once, while we were
waiting for the Gel electrophoresis to finish its run, there happen to be a height measurement
in the lab and so I decided to measure my height. Almost everyone in my bench follows after
me and went to measure their height. We all laughed at the differences in height and I really
do admire how tall all of them are. But my friend Becky, cheers me up saying that “good
things come in small packages”. She made my day.
I am also blessed to have a really wonderful tutor named Dr Julia Reichelt. She is from
Germany and she is a lecturer for Epidermal Stem Cell Biology. She had helped me in many
ways and never failed to lend her listening ears to me. During my meeting with her, our
conversation can last hours. Normally, I would talk to her about how well I am copping with
my studies, my plan for the next semester and what career I am aiming for. We also talk
about our hobbies and even stories about our home country. At some time when I feel lost in
my direction, she would give me valuable advice and guide me to the right direction. In
addition, she is very supportive and provide me with contacts to aid me in getting my summer
placement in A*STAR. She also reassure me that I will definitely get into A*STAR and if I
don’t, she will offer me a place at her lab. In the end, I did get a summer placement in
A*STAR. I feel fortunate to have her as my tutor and would definitely remain in contact with
her even after I graduate.
At times, it is stressful but I never felt that studying and learning is a chore so it has always
been fun cracking my head to understand things which I don’t. Of course I do feel a little
down in times when my result does not reflect what I want it to be. It just shows that I still
have lots of room for improvement. Do not worry about my well being as I have been
consistent with my exercising routine. I will manage my timing and workload accordingly to
what fits me best. You will be surprise how well I have look after myself and I will be strong
enough to challenge myself to go into triathlon after I graduate. This is something for both of
you to look forward to. In addition, I did not loss my interest in music yet. It is not wise to
purchase a piano here so I have bought a melodica instead. It is a wind instrument that shape
like a piano but it only have 37 keys and it requires a good coordination of both mouth and
hands. Although I could only play the melody of the song, it is still sufficient to occupy
myself in my spare time.
YONG, Valerie (130055723)
Stage 2 B940
I would like to share with you both how wonderful the facilities here in Newcastle
University. My faculty, the biomedical science has provided me with plenty of career support
to help me with what opportunities and route I can take after my graduation. For example, if I
want to further my studies; I can go into dentistry / medicine. They provide various talks
present by those who have path their own career well to give us advice and show to us that a
science degree does not restrict you to only going into science related career. This is because
we possess soft and transferrable skills that apply for a wide range of career. If you ever
wonder how I can gain work experience while studying, it is from the help of Newcastle
University career service. They provide work experience, volunteer roles and part time jobs
for a range of section like healthcare, marketing and accounting. They also provide services
to check my CV and even provide mock interviews so we could feel more confident in the
real run. My university life does not only comprise of myself only but with friends from
different countries. Newcastle University is also known to accept students from over 120
countries; this has provided me the chance to meet people from all over the world. I am able
to expose myself with people from different background without having to travel to different
country.
During my year 2, I have made more friends from country such as Malaysia, China, Hong
Kong, Korea, Japan, London, Nigeria, Northern Ireland and my home country Singapore.
Those friends make me realise and open my mind on how different cultures influence one’s
thinking or belief. Their culture, language, beliefs and perspective comes in all kind of shapes
and sizes which fill me up with various exposure and left me wonder. We strive for the best
together and lend our helping hands to each others, although there are times where
misunderstanding creeps in but we always took it to the positive side and clarified if what we
heard is not clear enough. Do you feel a sense of relief that I have such supportive friends?
In my first year, do you still remember that I joined the dance society? I was given the
opportunity to compete in Edinburgh and also perform for the dance show. It felt awesome
being part of the dance society so I was planning to join it in my year 2 but I did not. Instead
of dance, I have tried to get into sports like basketball, swimming, kayaking, kickboxing or
Aikido. I went for the testers for the different type of sports. Although I badly want to get into
the swimming team, I did not manage to make it in. However, I do not plan to give it up on it
and will try again for my last year of university and also would give it a go for water polo. In
addition, I still feel the urge to perform on stage back so I will definitely join the dance
society for my third year.
To end this letter, I would like to sincerely thank both of you for giving me this opportunity
to study abroad. I know that this decision have been made through multiple deep thoughts.
However, both of you have put your faith and trust on me that I am able to take care of
myself. Therefore, do wait and look forward to see how much I have grown, of course in a
good way that both of you will be proud of.
Do stay well and happy, see you soon.
Love,
Valerie
P.S I am sorry that it is long, thank you for reading all the way through.