Brendan’s UNIMAS Journey
Brendan had been pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in English for Global Communication (with Honours) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) since September 2019. It was meant to be a straightforward four year journey.
But things didn’t quite go as planned.
When Everything Changed
He returned home for his first semester break in March 2020—and that was when the pandemic hit.
What was supposed to be a short break turned into something much longer.
For the next four and a half semesters, Brendan remained at home, attending lectures online. Meanwhile, his belongings stayed behind in his dorm room at Cempaka College, untouched and inaccessible.
Friends Who Made It Possible
Eventually, with help from some truly amazing friends—Prem, Amy, and Esther—his belongings were packed up and placed safely into storage.
We couldn’t thank them enough.
The Call to Return
Halfway through his sixth semester, Brendan received an email from UNIMAS asking him to report back to campus on 12 March 2022.
But with rising COVID 19 cases at the time, we hesitated. We held off making any travel plans until the very last moment.
When no further changes were announced, we decided to proceed.
Off to Kuching
We booked our flights, secured accommodation in Kuching, and arranged for a rental car.
On the appointed day, we boarded our flight. After a smooth one and a half hour journey, we landed without incident.
At the airport, we headed to Pintu 3, where Awang Amirul, our rental contact, was already waiting with our Toyota Avanza.
Back to Campus
From there, we drove straight to UNIMAS and made our way to Cempaka College, where Brendan’s belongings had been stored.
Seeing everything again after such a long time felt surreal.
We loaded everything into the car and headed back into Kuching.
Sorting It All Out
Back at our Airbnb, the real work began.
Cat and Brendan spent hours going through everything:
- Sorting
- Packing
- Deciding what to keep
In the end, more than half of his belongings were discarded—a sign, perhaps, of how much had changed over the past two years.
A New Chapter
It felt like closing one chapter and preparing for the next.
What started as a simple return to campus turned into a reflection of everything the pandemic had disrupted—and how everyone slowly found their way forward again.
We end this chapter here.
Stay tuned—next up: a smoky dinner awaits. 🍽️🔥
(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)
📍 Location:
ERL KLIA Transit - https://goo.gl/maps/MZ3yGvdMpNhyhWuG6
Kuching International Airport - https://goo.gl/maps/BHTYCsLM5S1JXuBp7
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