Finally, I am in Ireland, the land of the Leprechauns! But entering this country was not as easy especially during this unprecedented time as I had to go through so many procedures such as obtaining a Prime Minister Office (PMO) letter, having a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) result for COVID-19 and getting a permission from Ministry of Education (MOE) for leaving as a student overseas. I then had my final check with Ms Susie during the pre-departure meeting at the Aman Hills Apartment and I will surely miss my time with my friends there especially the hotpot dinner with them. Apart from that, I was all set with my luggage and box filled with Asian food items and ready to go!
Raziq, Syasya, Hanan and Alya surprised me with a farewell fruit pie that was sent to my address through a runner a day before my departure. We video called each other after and they marvelled at my confused reaction towards the surprise. I was just speechless to how generous my friends are and I wish I could actually share a piece of it with them. By the way, I am a sweet tooth and I loved the sugar-coated fruits on the pie! Sometimes, I wonder how they are doing back in Brunei and I hope to visit them at their country of study one day especially the United States.
On the day I am flying, the airport was filled with people that have the same Singapore Airlines flight as me. Because of the current COVID-19 situation, neither my parents nor my brothers were unable to send me off inside the airport. I stood there in the queue impatiently but at once, I became emotional, seeing my parents for the last time before flying off and considering the fact that I will be living independently whilst facing reality at university. I tried to wave goodbye to my family every time there's a window opportunity. Literally... The only time I bid farewell was when I was able to capture a glimpse of their faces through the glass windows separating passengers from their loved ones.
I felt relieved when one of the Ministry of Defence (MinDef) Logistics personnel helped me with my excess baggage allowance. He was kind enough to give me thorough explanation upon departure and arrival which I found very useful. This made me realise the golden privilege that we have as MinDef scholars. Time was running quick and it was already 12:05 pm, when we were supposed to depart and I still have not got my boarding pass because of my baggage problem. I panicked slightly but thankfully the flight got delayed.
It felt great to be back inside the aeroplane after so many years of not travelling! I just missed the smell and inside-environment of the plane. Once I have arrived in Changi Airport, Singapore, I was then ushered immediately to the Transit Holding Area (THA) at Terminal 1. There, I became so bored. I was on my laptop and phone the whole time, familiarising myself to the places near my accommodation in Dublin online up to the point I starved badly. Since I was unable to leave the area, there were 2 options only: Buy cheap but less filling food from the vending machine or buy super expensive but filling food online. So, I had to go with the second option and I wanted to try something new anyway. The vegetarian bento box that I ordered from Hudson's Coffee was not the best but I guess it was alright. Too bad I was unable to shop outside of the THA… I thought that this might be my first and last time experiencing these kinds of situations. I killed the rest of the time waiting for my next flight to Schipol Airport, Amsterdam at midnight by taking short naps.
It was my first time boarding the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and I was really impressed with their service. The flight was 12 hours long and I slept cozily until I drooled three times during the flight and I had to change my facemask. It was probably due to the lack of proper sleep when I was in transit in Singapore. The food and snacks they served were absolutely delectable especially the egg wrap with four cheeses. If they were to serve me that in a restaurant, I would not be able to tell the difference even though they were just airline food.
Long hours of sleep later, I have finally reached Amsterdam! I was so excited as it was my first time there. It was definitely a busy atmosphere; people were moving around but what frightened me the most was that some of them were not wearing any masks and some wore them wrongly. Luckily, the public was allowed to shop and drink there. So, I got myself an energy drink from one of the food kiosks to keep me awake.
Hours later, I boarded the plane and I felt much more energetic. I was hoping that I can defeat my jet lag and fortunately, I was able to once I have reached Ireland. I did not have to undergo any quarantine order based on the recent health update and so I spent most of my time travelling around before orientation started. I took a coach to my accommodation, Point Campus provided for free by the International Higher Education Students-Greet and Transfer Service where I was surprised by my brother's presence. Yay, reunited again! Like in Amsterdam, people were not wearing their masks properly and it is norm to them. However, I always stay cautious to protect myself from getting infected by wearing facemasks and I will always try to sanitize my hands as well as disinfect whenever needed. It is always raining here and it becomes really breezy at night like most nights at the Teratak during Outward Bound Brunei Darussalam (OBBD), Temburong.
My brother, Simon, had a week off from work and guided me throughout my first week journey here. First of all, we went out to get groceries and other essentials such as toilet carpet and duvet. Ms Susie and my MinDef friends totally know that I am a fruit connoisseur and in Ireland, fruits are everywhere! I bought so much fresh berries since they were cheaper here compared to in Brunei and they were sweet and juicy. He then took me to see the beautiful sights of Dublin on other days. The walls of most buildings in the urban areas are covered with beautiful street arts and I was just in awe looking at the famous Samuel Beckett Bridge upfront of the magnificent city which gave me the impression of Dublin being a utopian place. There was even a real live "pirate" ship near the dock. Not to mention, I even came across a rustic-looking boat that served both as a bar and restaurant. We even watched the latest Marvel movie, 'ShangChi', since we were jobless for a week. Every single day, I take a tram ride to the city centre where my university, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH) is located. Exploring the aesthetic city myself was exciting as I got to watch buskers on Grafton Street and appreciate the breathtaking view of the wonders of Dublin.
At the moment, I have 5 male flat mates whose names are Aiden, Ian, Jan, Aaron and Vito. Aiden and Ian are from the Northern part of Ireland whilst Ian is from the United States, Arizona, Jan from Holland and Vito from Indonesia. All of them are seniors at TCD except for me which makes me the baby of the group. Fun fact, Dublin is in Southern Ireland and the currency that we use is Euros and that the Northern part uses Pounds. For the first few days after my arrival, we were all awkward to each other. I even found it difficult to decode the Irish accent because 2 of my flat mates are Irish but after a while, we started to form a cordial relationship and I am used to listening to their accent. Now, I could interact with the Irish lads in public easily. They are often too busy to hangout but sometimes, some of us would use the common room to play games on Aaron's Nintendo Switch and share our views on sports and games on the weekends. It was surprising to know that all of them are tech-savvy and we all have the same interest in Formula 1. We are so competitive at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch that we always mock each other's playing but overall, it was fun. Vito also offered me 'Indomee' even though I have them already but why would I reject such wonderful offer?
Social game session with Jan on the left and Aaron on the right.
I have some first-year Bruneian friends that I have met during the pre-departure meeting with the Brunei-Ireland (BruEire) society way before the second wave of COVID-19 started. Nicholas, who is a Bruneian in his second year in dentistry at TCD brought Liz, Alicia, Chris and I out for dinner at 'Bunsen'. Liz and Chris are in the same cohort as Nicholas and they are from Singapore and Hong Kong respectively. On the other hand, Alicia who will be going into her first year in Mathematics and Physics at University College London (UCL) came all the way from the UK for a short visit. It was great to have new friends that have something in common. They shared their first-hand experience as a dental student and briefly explained about the course modules. Nicholas even gave me a soft copy of his school notes on the spot which are really useful to me. Besides that, we had a blast that night! I am looking forward to anatomy class because I got notified by my dental school that we will be dealing with cadavers for the whole semester. Nicholas and his classmates told me that they had relish their sessions dissecting and studying intrinsic details of the cadaver's body part.
Left to Right: Chris, Alicia, Liz, Nicholas and Me
Restaurants are open here but I need to show my proof of vaccination in order to enter. The food here is simply amazing and there was a variety of options to choose, from Irish cuisine to Thai and even Indian. But of course, I will have to try my best to eat as healthily as possible and just binge on snacks like 'Muruku' once in a while. 'Nandos' is great and all, but I think a better choice would be cooking my own food because food here is never cheap unless there's a great value deal for them. Plus, I prefer preparing my own food because I know what ingredients I am putting in and their nutritional value which makes most part of a balanced diet. Whenever I do not have time to meal prep or in other words "lazy", I just use the 'Deliveroo' app to get my food at my fingertips. It is also a win-win situation that I am able to get student discounts from most restaurants.
Living independently was initially difficult but as I progressively move forward, it became slightly easier. There was this one time when I boiled my broccolis and cauliflowers until they were so mushy and when I pan fried them, it was a complete mess. The lesson I learnt is to always poke the broccolis and cauliflowers with a fork for an al dente texture. They also tasted awful because I forgot to put in any seasonings. How I wish my father could be here to cook my food. The photo below is one of the dishes that I was proud of because I got my cauliflowers and broccolis to the right texture. Here, I have the spinach and turmeric-infused fried rice with grilled mustard saImon and stir-fried broccolis as well as cauliflowers served with steamed Irish sweet potato and fresh green apple. I adore food. Who would have thought? But, have I ever talked about fitness? That is a whole different story…
For the past few days, I was busy opening up my student bank account, getting the hang of using public transport, wandering around my university campus to identify the different places, attending health screening and immigration appointments I have not been doing any physical activity when settling other than walking for hours in town but a week later I was free and I managed to get myself a fitness mat and a door-mounted pull up bar. I remember vividly when Simon first saw me, he asked me why I looked so skinny and he was really concerned about my diet and health that time.
At that point, I knew that I had to put on some weight and bulk up healthily. I have been eating more than usual since then and I started working out after having such a busy week. My bodyweight strength workout consists of 20 reps of 5 sets of pushups, sit ups, squats with correct form, 10 negative pull ups and 1 minute plank for each set. All I can tell you is that the next day, my whole body became completely sore. I do a bit of jogging for 30 minutes between pace 7.5 to 8 on treadmill at the gym in my accommodation which is free of charge. On some occasions I incorporate weight training into my workout such as 20 reps of 5 sets of horizontal seated leg press, lat pull down, cable biceps and triceps curl, chest press and a short rowing cardio workout for 2 minutes each set on different days. I wonder how Raziq, Hanan, Alya and Syasya are keeping up with Workout of The Day (WOD). Could they be extremely fit by now? I somewhat miss one of the WOD session when we did Zumba which was led by Syasya. Gosh, I enjoyed it so much!
Although I have not started my academic year yet, I was able to adapt to my surroundings and learn the culture along with heritage in Dublin. Moreover, I got to spend my time with my Simon which further strengthened our bond after years of not meeting him. I believe I have mostly benefitted from attending the HRDS workshop. Managing my finances was not easy at the start but thanks to the advices given in one of the HRDS programmes, I can properly divide my allowance according to my budget for each month by using the 'Buddy' app. I am hoping that I am able to maintain my fitness capability be it in strength or cardio so that I can keep up with the military standard. Based on my thoughts, I believe that the Freshman Induction Programme really prepared me to step forward into personal growth and development which allowed me to reach my goals.
Richmon Lee Edward
SCRBAF 2021 Recipient
Arranged and Formatted by:
Aiman Abdullah Tee
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