People, Help The People...

Studying at university is not only about assimilating data from extremely thick and clever books. It is your chance to develop your communication and interpersonal skills. It is a great opportunity to pick up some work-experience, meet fantastic people and learn new things, such as cooking.

It is 30th August. When I came to the UK on 30th May, I was so scared. I thought: "God, I don't even know what British coins look like." Yeah, I remember that I had a big problem with money:)

Surprisingly, I have been selling coffee, tea, biscuits, books etc at WRVS Café (Woolmanhill Hospital) for a month. I am a volunteer and everything my customers buy helps older people get more out of life:) Every Thursday I have to open the café, deal with customers and their money, write reports, operate coffee machine and dishwasher ( I am not sure if I do it correctly).

I love talking to customers. A week ago I had a wonderful conversation with a nice Scottish lady. I told her about my journey, first days in the UK, my work, education and she was so impressed.



I cannot even describe how I feel when I count money before closing the café and when I throw money into a special box:):):)



I think that such small things make as happy. Not a brand new I-Phone, not expensive Armani watches...
Yeah, volunteering is a gift. It is your chance. Do not waste it! Contribute to our society, help, volunteer...

People help the people

Nothing will drag you down

Long Journey

"Long  journey, David?" 

That's what my boss said when he got to know that my place at Robert Gordon University had been officially confirmed.

Yeah, I think that life is a journey and I am currently at the bus stop called "RGU" waiting for a bus which can take me to my final destination... I realize that it is going to be a difficult journey, but nobody said it was easy:)

I came back from my work (Tesco) and found this email:

"Dear Mr Jaskiewicz,
Congratulations. This email confirms your place at Robert Gordon University for the Management with Marketing, N2N5 course. Your course starts in September 2012."

 

 

Although I was dead tired, I decided to visit my university and its Business School. Afterwards, I came back home, had one-hour sleep and went to work (Japanese restaurant). I was soooo exhausted when I came back home at 11 pm. Actually, I was so tired that I couldn't even sleep. And I was also extremely excited:)





It is impossible to describe this wonderful feeling and a sense of achievement when you are accepted by university and your dream comes true. You will never know if you never try!



When I was coming back from RGU, I found this poster. I thought: If I had not applied and had given up in the middle of the road , I would not be here now. Maybe it sounds like a cliché, but if you have dreams, follow them even if the whole world is against you. Even if there are many obstacles, even if your dreams seem to be unreal...

Me and Great Britain

All my friends know that I am crazy about Geography, which has been my big love since I started education in primary school. When I was a kid, I used to think about my travelling to "big cities" and exploring unexplored places:) Therefore, I did not want to spend my whole life in Poland. It is not because I am not patriotic. Although I really like my homeland (which is as beautiful as Scotland), I think that I am not a part of it. Sometimes I can't believe that I managed to spend 19 years in this country:) It is all about my personality, ambitions, attitude to life and people... Great Britain is different from Poland, I am different. I am a complete dreamer, so it was hard for me to live among extremely serious people:(

I just wanted to be free, I wanted to sing from the top of my lungs, I wanted to dream, I wanted to squeeze my life like a lemon, I wanted to think independently, I wanted to be myself. And I couldn't, because I would have been considered to be a madman:(

Here I sing at work with my colleagues, I tell people about my dreams and nobody says "It is impossible". Once I told my mum that I would like to be a bird. She laughed... Now I feel that I have wings...

What I like about Britain? Diversity. My colleague cannot imagine that in my school we had literally no international students:( Here I can meet individuals from all parts of the globe. Here I work with people from India, Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, Poland:), Philippines, Scotland, England, China, and this is amazing. Now I know that the world is not black and blue.... It is full of colours, diverse and this is wonderful... Now I know that here there is a place for me...

IELTS

I am so happy, as I have just received results of the IELTS exam, which I took in Edinburgh Basil Paterson College 2 weeks ago.
I am officially a good user of English according to the Academic International Language Testing System. It means that I can study in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and United States of America and many other countries where lectures are conducted in English:) :D:D
In addition, the score (7.0), which I managed to achieve, is accepted by the world's best universities such as Cambridge and Oxford:)
I have already thanked everybody who helped me to go through all stages of the UCAS application, answered thousands of my questions:) and supported me for the last year!:)

My advice for those who intend to take this exam? Preparation is the key to success:) U mustn't learn a day before your exam! Take as many practise test as possible, as you must be acquainted with the form of the exam and types of questions etc. Don't panic!

What can help you and what helped me?

• http://www.youtube.com/user/AcademicEnglishHelp?feature=g-all-c  U are advised to watch videos about Speaking, Listening, and Writing Task 1 and 2!


• http://chomikuj.pl/owcaII/Angielski+WSZYSTKO/IELTS


• http://chomikuj.pl/MandolinkaBramborowa/angielski/ielts


• take practice tests

Learn by heart expressions that you can use in writing tasks, such as: upward/downward trend, rise, increase, it dipped, it decreased, in contrast, similarly

Learn the structure of writing task 2: you have to know what each paragraph must contain. For instance, you have to present examples in Body paragraph!

Reading is the most challenging part so practice at home with your watch and answer sheet as there is too little time:(

Listening is easy but you should take some practice tests as it is completely different from MATURA, FCE, CAE and CPE. Here you do not have to worry about time:)

My results:)

I wish U luck!

NIN, bank account, flat...work

When you come to the UK, you will have to take care of some formal things such us National Insurance Number. First and foremost, you are to call Job Centre Plus: 0845 600 06 43 and make an appointment. Unfortunately, you cannot call from Poland:( But you can ask someone else to call on behalf of you. During an interview you just have to present your proof of address (it may be a bank statement, letter from UCAS with your British address-if you change your contact details in Track, you will get such letter in a few days:) or even proof of address letter written by another tenant. Of course, you will need any proof of identity-it may be you ID or passport. I got my number 7 days after a day of my interview but I may take longer. Do not worry, because you really can be employed, work and even get your first salary without this number!

You do not have to worry about your bank account, either. All U need is a proof of identity and address (letter from UCAS is a very good solution). I would recommend Barclays http://www.barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242557947640 , as you can have your account open in literally one day and do not have to pay a penny for most of the things! Just visit your nearest branch and open your account in approximately 30 minutes:)

Flat/room. I am just looking for a new one, since I have to move out on 1st September. Therefore, I can recommend a few websites:

http://www.spareroom.co.uk/

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/

http://www.gumtree.com/aberdeen

If U want to rent a room, you should be very careful, since there are many fraudsters who want to take advantage of naive student. I am not a lawyer, but I can show you an example of my flat share agreement. You are advised to sign something (even such unprofessional document) before giving your money to someone else!

FLAT SHARE AGREEMENT
FLAT SHARE AGREEMENT for X bedroom flat in (address)
This agreement confirms that
flatmate, YOUR NAME
is currently renting the flat leased to:
tenant, NAME
at the above address, for the period
from ............... to................. .
The amount of rent will be charged
£X per month for the flat (£X per month for the room).

• There is a X-pound deposit paid by the flatmate, which will be returned to him when he moves out leaving the flat in a good condition without any financial liabilities. It means that the deposit will be paid back with return of the keys, general inspection and at least a full calendar month notice.


• The flatmate's amount of rent (£X per month) and bills will be paid via Internet Banking from the flatmate's account (flatmate's account number:XXXXX, flatmate's sort number:XXXXXX) to tenant's account (tenant's account number: XXXX, tenant's sort number: XXXXX).


• The flatmate agrees too keep the flat in a good condition and will not engage in antisocial behavior.


• Bills (Internet, gas, electricity) will be paid on an equal basis by both the tenant and the flatmate.

Signed:

NAME, tenant                                                                                          place and date ...............................

YOUR NAME, flatmat                                                                             place and date ..................................

Health. You should find your nearest GP here http://www.nhs24.com/, register and take advantage of free medicines (prescription) in Scotland. Before you come, you are advised to apply for European Health Insurance Card in your country (just in case).

Work... it is a very difficult topic, because some people find work in 2 days while the others aren't employed for a few months. My advice-arrive in May/beginning of June when students and employees go on holiday, 16 and 18-years-old revise for exams. I wouldn't come here in August, because there are few job advertisements and lots of people eager to work-students, seasonal workers etc. It must be extremely difficult to find something in September, because thousands of students come back from holiday and everybody wants to be employed:( Generally, it is up to you! I believe that it is worth arriving earlier, as you can get acquainted with the city, make friends, improve your language and get used to the accent etc:)

Important: Before you come, you must prepare a professional BRITISH CV (it is not only about the language) with contact details (British address and mobile number). You can buy a sim card on Allegro and print your CV in Poland in advance. I printed 200 copies or my résumé! I used only 30 but I managed to find work in 5 days' time:)

British CV http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/goodbadCV.htm

• without photo


• different format


• focus on skills and experience

Where can you find work?

• http://www.gumtree.com/aberdeen


• http://www.emito.net/ogloszenia/Aberdeen/Praca-w-Anglii-Szkocji-Walii-Irlandii-Polnocnej


• http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/homepage.aspx?sessionid=0c87c8ff-a119-4c0c-9644-6e21be1da92e&pid=2
• many other websites,


• ask people (you do not even realize who important it is)


• look for job advertisements EVERYWHERE! (that is how I found my work in Japanese restaurant)


• leave your CV in different places or ask about any vacancies


• just keep searching and you will find. Do not sit at home! Believe in yourself! Do not give up! 

You can even start sending CVs by email from home in May, that way you have 1 month in advance looking for a job and see if they will answer  Do not tell them anything about NIN, just say that you had an interview and you are just awaiting for the number. Normally they simply require a CV, nothing else. 

Do not forget about SAAS in Scotland or a student loan if you want to study in England!



I wish you luck!:):)

Reaching my destination

I am so happy that I managed to reach my destination despite various obstacles...

I think that now I may provide U with a number of practical tips about living and working in the United Kingdom.

First of all, U have to book a flight, because an airplane is the fastest means of transport. Obviously, you can also get here by bus, but I wouldn't recommend it;p;p

I chose easyJet (http://www.easyjet.com/EN) from Krakow to Edinburgh,yet I know that many people travel with RYANAIR or Lufthansa (Luft is cheap only when U buy a return ticket Krakow-Aberdeen). U just have to find an appropriate date with a good price and pay with credit or debit card. Then U must print your boarding pass and this is it. Oh, do not forget about a limit of you luggage-it is 20 kilo if U fly with easyJet, and 15 (not sure) if U choose RYANAIR.


I will try to explain thoroughly how to get to Aberdeen from Edinburgh Airport, as it can be slightly complicated. First of all, U have to book (oh, in the UK you usually buy when U book ) a bus ticket here http://uk.megabus.com. You just have to select number of passengers, travel locations and dates. Afterwards, you ought to pay with a credit/debit card and remember-print or write down your reservation number as U will have to show it to driver:)

The North Sea

U will have some changes, but do not worry, as U can check a plan of your journey if you press "view"-as far as I remember, it is located next to prices of tickets. I can explain my journey in Polish (I sent that message to my Polish friend):

To jest tak: wysiadasz na lotnisku, pytasz sie gdzie sa przystanki autobusowe. Bede przy wyjsciu (doslownie), idziesz i szukasz MEGABUS (bedzie takie logo, wiec poznasz). Sprawdzasz, kiedy masz Stagecoach 747 (wtedy co na bilecie, ale lepiej wiedziec;p;p;p i wydrukuj sobie te rezerwacje). Czekasz hahaha. Wsiadasz do autobusu i pokazujesz kierwcy i to bedzie takk po 20 minutach przystanek na takiej zajezdni (i to jest chyba ostatni przystanek tego autobusu)-nazywa sie on "FERRYTOLL PARK AND RIDE", tam czekasz na dwupietrowego megabusa. To jest taka stacja, wiec mozesz spytac pracownikow, kiedy podjedzie (zreszta i tak masz to napisane na bilecie). Wsiadasz i pytasz kierowcy, gdzie bedzie przesiadka (tez masz to napisane na bilecie). W trakcie przesiadki bierzesz bagaz i idziesz do innego autobusu (zwykle od razu stoi obok, wiec nie trzeba czekac i tylko bagaz wziac):)P:):) Potem bedziesz miec jakies przesiadki./ Ja mialem 2: w Perth i Dundee.

So do not worry and enjoy your journey:) as Scotland is beautiful