I’m moving to England🤯

2019 begins and this is the first year I had no goals on my list. I just planned to go with the flow! Fast foward to February when the opportunity emerged and I stepped into the abyss of post grad life. The road to doing my masters has been long, filled with guidelines and strict rules set out by the university and the British High Commission. Additionally, not being a national from said country means that a lot of preparation needed to be done!

So let’s begin from the start! I shall mention the 101 points to study in the UK as a Trinidadian national.

Getting accepted into the university of my choice.

It is essential that if you are applying for the September intake that you start your application as early as possible. I would recommend between January-February. After you select your course and apply, an email confirmation will be sent to inform you about being accepted into your course or not. It usually takes about 3 weeks- 1 month depending on the university you apply to. You are then required to make a deposit to accept this unconditional offer. For international students an unconditional offer is needed and it makes the application process much easier. If you get a conditional offer, the application process is a little more complicated and you will need to provide additional documents to the university.

Tier 4 Visa

Tier 4 visas are needed for Trinidadian students to study and work. Under this Tier 4 visa system, students are allowed to study, work as a student union sabbatical officer, apply to extend your stay and work in most jobs depending on what level your course is and the kind of sponsor you have. You cannot get public funds, work as a sportsperson or sports coach and study at a local authority funded school.

Under the tier 4 visa system students need to score 40 points to be eligible for this visa. 30 points consist of a full time place on a course with an approved educational provider which is at level 3 and above on the National Vocation Qualifications framework (NVQ). The other 10 points would be gained from maintenance.

CAS ( Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies)

The CAS number is a very critical part of the visa application process. Without this reference number you cannot apply for your Tier 4 student visa. In order to receive the CAS 50% of your tuition fees need to be paid and you need to submit your financial documents to the university to be verified.

Bank Documents

The financial documents need to be in specific order with the necessary wording below. If it is not in that particular order, the university will not issue your CAS number. Your bank letter needs to be worded exactly like the sample below with all the necessary details and funds.

The finances for your studies need to be held in your personal account or your parents account. If using your parents account, you will need to provide your birth certificate, a letter from your parents confirming that the funds in their account is to be used for your studies and your parents financial statements.

Required funds in your account

Total funds need to be held in the bank account for a consecutive 28 day period. The balance must not dip during this period or your visa could be refused. Once the funds are in your account and you receive your financial documents from the bank your next step will be to pass the Tier 4 exam set by the university. If you are a new student, you will be asked to watch a video to help you understand the Tier 4 rules, then take a short quiz before your CAS is issued. This is designed to minimise the chances of your application being refused. A total of 80% is needed to pass. Once successful in the exam, the university will then verify your bank documents, issue your CAS and finally…

you can begin your Tier 4 visa application online.

Tier 4 application online

Step 1. Create an online account with UKVI.

Step 2. Pay health surcharge and visa fees. It costs about $7400 TTD.

Step 4. Book appointment at your local visa center.

Step 5. Attend appointment to provide biometrics ( required documents, fingerprints and photos) and credibility interview.

Your Tier 4 visa application takes about 15 working days to process. Luckily my application only took 9 working days. Your visa will be a gold sticker issued in your passport which is valid for 30 days. You cannot travel to the UK before the date which is issued on the visa. Once your visa is secured, you are now ready to travel to the UK. Purchase your ticket, travel to the UK and within 10 days of arrival in the UK collect your biometric residence permit (BRP) either from your closest post office or school ( this option should be selected during the online visa application) and you’re on your way to begin your new journey!

5 years from now…

28 years on this earth! 28 years of trying to figure out life. To be honest, I haven’t found all the answers just yet, however this year I’m much wiser and smarter because of everything I went through.

This post is a letter to myself. A five year letter to myself, as I begin this new year of life.

Five years from now, I hope you are living the life that you have always hoped for or at least very close to it! Be fearless and always keep God at your center. Pray continuously, keep the faith and wish others well! I hope by now you have completed your masters degree and that you have a job which you are passionate about. I hope you’ve found love… true love! May it be in a person or something that you enjoy doing. Love yourself. Take care of your mind and your body and learn to manage your stress level.

When difficult situations arise, don’t crumble! Pull yourself together! Cry if you MUST and move on! Make time for your closest friends and family and always try to treat them well.

If you’re still in a job which you’re not fond of keep pushing! Difficult situations and people make you who you are so learn to deal with it and them in a way that causes you the least possible stress.

Ensure that you do the things you love. Go to the beach, go hiking, go shopping or to dinner at least once every 2 months. Travel at least once a year and start ticking things off that bucketlist!

5 years from now I hope you are smarter, wiser and have perfected the art of humility. Last but not least don’t grow old by yourself! I hope u get a husband, someone who takes care of you and loves you when your a bitch! Make sure to treat him well and love him the way you will like to be loved.

Welcome to 28 sis☺️🎉🎊

1 Month🙌🏾

Yesterday made it 1 month since living in Chennai, India!

Rewind to me scrolling through Facebook randomly seeing this opportunity, applying and then getting through! Sounds easy doesn’t it? Not really. It was really difficult getting here. Definitely one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome.

I faced a lot of opposition before actually getting on the plane however here I am… still striving to make it through this course.

One thing for certain is that even though my employer did not grant me permission to be here I was determined to work for what I wanted!

Chennai, claimed to be one of the safest states in India, is everything I expected it NOT to be. Prior to coming here the advice I got was misleading and it made me scared and afraid to leave sweet T & T. Basically I was crying in Piarco “like ah big baby.”😪😭

My experience thus far, has been AMAZEBALLS! From the food, to the people, shopping, culture, transport, education system and the environment this experience is definitely one that has changed me FOREVER!

Food- tasty, spicy and cheap! A lot of their dishes taste similar to Trini food! The only issue is you don’t know what it looks like😪. So far I’ve tried chapathi, poratha, idly, egg dosa( which I love) and with apps like Swiggy and Zomato being hungry in Chennai simply does NOT exist!!!!

People- super friendly, always willing to help, never negative and they ALWAYS make you feel welcomed at all times by greeting you with a smile, clasping their hands and bowing their heads to show you respect and even addressing you as”SISTER.”

Shopping- TOO MANY THINGS!!! Going shopping leaves you more confused than ever because there are soooo many different stores with soooo many different items😭. On the plus side, I got my phone screen replaced for just 650 TT which was a bargain deal! There are traditional shops like Saravanna and Cotton House where you can find just about anything reasonably priced. Also, shopping malls like Phoenix are more on the expensive side with the American retail shops.

Culture- I haven’t seen much about culture but what I can say is they are very community and family oriented! They do everything together! Imagine all campus members coming together once a month to clean up specific areas of the campus!!! YES! Just picture lecturers and other high ranking staff cleaning and picking up rubbish and cutting grass as well😳. (Not in Trini🤣). If this was done in Trinidad we would be much better off as a society! The people here also work really long hours like an 8-4 simply does not exist here😩🙅🏾‍♀️🙅🏾‍♀️🙅🏾‍♀️🙅🏾‍♀️

Transport- Crossing the roads issa whole scene! My gosh d amount of times ah almost get bounce! 😭Not to mention how crazy they drive but what is sooo amazing is the fact that in this entire month I haven’t seen not 1 vehicular accident.🤔How allyuh does do that jed?😦 Also,when you see the bus coming and you wanna get on you better sprint and get in because the driver never waits or stops for NO ONE😭So if yuh not fit doh beat up to come here na🤣. Honestly at this point if I see them carrying a house on a motorbike I won’t even question it because anything is possible here!

Education- The people of India are highly intelligent. Basically I feel really dunce because every person has a PhD and everyone is Dr. this or Dr. that! You never really know who is who because they are soooooo humble about it😐.One thing for sure is that while I was just aiming for my masters, these people really inspired me to reach for that Dr. Shadé Francis title 😩😭. Every single thing I’ve been doing in my course is new but advanced and we’ve been learning soooo much on a daily basis!My brains need to relax a bit but I will rest when this is all over! Study tours of different libraries is also part of our course outline and it allows us to explore every week!

Environment- First week in Chennai I had one of the nastiest nose infections ever! Honestly I think they can do sooo much better for waste management and disposal! While the campus I’m based at is clean, once you go outside the atmosphere is really dirty. Some parts are really smelly and I think those first weeks my body just had to adjust to the environment. All is well now and I’m just happy I got over that nose infection!

1 month down! 1 more to go 💪🏾 I knew coming to Chennai was a once in a lifetime experience, an experience I’m so glad my mother encouraged me to take when I felt like giving up because things got hard. Maybe Jesus wanted to give me a lesson about being humble or just living the simple life and that not much is needed to have a good life… for whatever reason I am where I am, I feel so blessed and grateful for this opportunity and honestly wish everyone can come to this country to renew their minds and perspective on life. I’m definitely enjoying myself and living my best life but I’m also editing and deleting certain parts of me that makes life much more difficult than it should be!

Special thanks to the government of India and the High Commmission of Trinidad and Tobago for this opportunity to learn from the best! Chennai, thank you for the lessons thus far and I look forward to all that you have to offer in the days to come.💜🙏🏾😊

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

This is my personal blog about life, fun, travel and just basically improving my writing skills overall!

You know those sayings  follow your dreams… think big… dream big, well I’m on that journey to living my best life and following my wildest dreams!

“Living your best life,”can be interpreted in so many different ways. However, I believe it’s about being PRESENT! Working with what you have and just enjoying the moment!

I mean everyone says it, live your best life blah, blah but how many of us really mean it?🤔

At the start of 2018 I decided to PRAY. 

Not any old prayer but simple things such as not picking up my phone first thing in the morning, reading my Bible more(still struggling😪), waiting on God’s perfect timing and honestly it’s one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time! Those blessings jus started coming! Big blessings I ended up in India on a scholarship to study something I am really passionate about. Small blessings…when I thought things were falling apart they were falling into place!

I am forever thankful! Thankful for the family members who support me without question and friends who encourage me wen I doubt myself 100 times!💜 I love and appreciate you guys so much!

 

 

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton