Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Guest Post 1 - Devices for College Students

Ahoy Mates!
How are you all doing this fine day?
I have some exciting news for y'all!
I have decided to take on board a few more members on this ship with us - which means GUEST BLOGGING!
Yes, you heard that right.
I am planning to start a new Series on the blog - Guest Blogging.
Every month Ahoy College will feature a new blogger who will share with us some of their tips, tricks and experiences.
I am a firm believer in learning from others so my aim in starting this series is for us to learn from everyone and everything.
To start off this series I present to you the first post -
Top Devices for College Students by Hanan Thakur!
Without further ado, here's what Hanan has to say:

Lately, things have changed. When earlier in high school and college, all that was really needed was a school bag, calculator, notebook, pen, and sometimes a ruler and of course a mobile phone for nothing but to play some games and answer mom's calls.
Nowadays, it’s a whole new level when it comes to school days. We Students don’t need such odd things that  have been used for years, we need something better than that. Earlier  If the students would have an option to get high-end devices to help simplify  studying, then they  would do the same as well!
Well, in a market full of devices, mobile phones, tablet, PCs and more, how to know which device could really help a College student?!
After digging deep inside this issue, here are a list of device recommendations that could help save your time as a student.

  1. Tablet
Tablets are very useful and essential as they are very handy , with its big screen and lots of possibilities. They seem like the perfect choice to help browse the web for reading books, listening to lectures and going through student material and researches that will absolutely help us in different ways efficiently. And the cheapest tablet that we can get with good quality are: Apple Mini iPad , the Kindle. Also Amazon Fire HD 8 and Amazon Fire 7 are on the top list.

2. LAPTOP
When its related to college or high school , we need something to type all those term papers on. A basic laptop doesn’t have to be really heavy or expensive. You can go for cheap one with a good features  like: Acer Aspire M5-481PT, or Samsung Chromebook, .  These devices are helpful for creating and editing documents, presentations and working on projects.

3.Printer
Many professors and teachers still prefer a hard copy. That’s why it is essential to have a printer to make it easy to print assignments or designs and I personally prefer notes when it comes to learning for exams. And there are many choices for good printers so I use the HP Deskjet 3630. Small, affordable and smartly designed.

4. Portable Phone Charger
(POWER BANK)
No matter how good the battery life is, we always run out of charge in our Phones/Tablets/Laptops in our long and hectic school or college days, so consider buying a portable phone charger or phone case with built-in charger. It will help!  Thank me later :p

5. Headphones
Wearing headphones is the official sign for DO NOT DISTURB .  You can opt for the noise cancelling headphones. It’s really effective to help to study in noisy or crowded places.

6. WIFI
Can you imagine living without the internet? No right?!! We don’t always have access to the  internet  in cafes or libraries, so portable mini routers solve this problem, we can use 
our own Wi-Fi, the small portable network connection easily and of course it’s easy to carry.

7. Extra Hard Drive
It’s not essential, but just in case the hard drive of your laptop fails, all the research, papers and notes will be gone. So, it would be better to have an extra hard drive and backup the laptop from time to time.

8. USB
Well, this is essential! No one today can deal without a USB flash drive, it helps in transferring files without a need for a network connection. When it comes to us students, it’s helps in transferring files no matter what’s the size is because there are many choices for the storage.

9- Pocket Projector
Well this is more university oriented so students like me might need it in their presentations, it can easily hook up to mobile phone or laptops and present what they want on a larger screen.
So the above listed devices may not be essential for every student. It depends on your study and your major. But I can be very sure these devices make our work for college/ uni life much more faster and easier than the usual.
I hope this helps all the college students like me .

Image
This Post was written by Hanan Ali Thakur.
Hanan was born and brought up in Kuwait and is currently studying 
Bachelors of Commerce in Kuwait.
She loves travelling and considers herself a complete foodie.
She runs a lifestyle blog on Instagram which is all about food recommendations,
 places to visit, outfit ideas and other social issues people deal with.
You can connect with her on her social media :
Or email her to have a conversation about any and everything - Hananthakur@hotmail.com

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Public Transport - Pros and Cons


Ahoy Mates!
How are you all?
In relation to the previous post, this time I'm going to talk about public transportation.
Here in Kuwait, public transportation isn't really a stranger to anyone.
But there's such a huge stigma surrounding it that’s it's ridiculous.
So I'm here to hopefully change your opinion about it.
As someone who's been travelling in buses since she was three years old, I think I've had enough experience to speak about this.

There are three main providers of the public transportation in Kuwait – KPTC, KGL and City Bus.
Out of which City BUs has the most number of buses and routes.
These routes are literally spread out to every single place in Kuwait spanning over a large area.
Also, there are many buses available back to back to a popular place such as Maliya.
I use the public transportation to literally go any and everywhere. It's convenient, fast and cheap.
Before getting into why I'm talking about public transport; let's cover few pros and cons.

PROS:

    1. It's cheap: The biggest benefit of public transportation is undoubtedly the cost. You can take a trip from one end of Kuwait to the other end, and it'd still cost you not more than 300 FILS, which is really cheap compared to the cabs and taxis whose fares seem to be increasing day by day. When you want to keep costs to a minimum, public transportation is the way to go.
    If you're a student, you can even travel for free!

   2. Convenient: There are bus routes to every single place you can think of in Kuwait. All you need to know are the routes and the bus numbers.
   
    3.  Eco-friendly: Using public transportation is good for the environment as you’re emitting less pollution into the air. Using public transportation can: improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and minimize impacts.
   
    4. You can be productive: When you’re driving, you have to focus on the road ahead of you. But if you take public transportation, you have time to finish up an assignment, read a book or revise for upcoming tests. Your mind and hands are free to do other things. I usually take a nap on the bus as I have to wake up pretty early in the morning.

    5. No worries about traffic or a parking spot: There's no need to worry about being stuck in traffic, or finding a parking spot in a crowded parking lot. Whether you are headed to work or school, the added time of finding a parking spot can be the difference between being late and making it on time.

    6. Independence: I started travelling in busses In Kuwait since I was a kid. My dad always insisted on us finding our own way and taking care of our own selves. This taught me how to be independent - IF I had to go somewhere and I didn’t have anyone to pick or drop me - that didn’t mean I couldn’t go. I didn’t have t depend on anyone else. I found my own way.

    7. Safety:  A simple benefit you may not consider with public transport is that many times it’s a lot safer than driving yourself. While there is a chance of crashing on a bus, it’s much lower than if you were in your own vehicle. It's definitely way safer to take a bus in Kuwait than a taxi. There have been many cases of rape and kidnapping in taxis but let’s be real - which idiot Is going to try something among 30 - 40 people?!
   
CONS:

    1. Delay: The busses in Kuwait don't follow any strict schedule even though they're pretty regular. Whenever you’re relying on public transportation, there’s a chance you could miss a bus or there could be a cancellation, which might cause you to show up late to a class. This is why it’s important to have alternate options in mind in case you ever need them. Buses can delay, so plan on getting an hour early to your destination in preparation for delays.

    2. Time-Consuming: You may save money, but it’s at the expense of your time. Since buses can delay, you may need to wait around for yours, and they usually won’t get you to school as quickly as you would get there if you drove. It might take longer to wait for your bus, sit through multiple stops and still have to walk or drive home. Also, some routes might be longer and go around a lot of busy areas and the whole trip might take longer.
   
    3. Memorizing routes: Keeping track of the buses/trains, and the stop times can be hectic, especially when there are so many busses. Most transit maps are available for online, but the number of lines and routes intersecting can be overwhelming.

    4. Crowded: Public transportation can be crowded. I’m all for becoming acquainted with the real world, but I don’t need to have the real world’s butt inches from my face, thank you. Some busses that travel to popular areas and during specific times can get pretty crowded when you might not even get a seat and have to take the whole trip either standing or squished between people.

    5. You might have to walk:
    Busses will not pick you up at your house and drop you off exactly at your destination the way a car would. You might have to walk to and from the bus stop which sometimes might be pretty far. Even if it’s raining, you still probably have to walk home.

 Even though public transportation has its drawbacks, they aren’t too big of a deal, and the benefits far outweigh these disadvantages.
   
    The reason I've decided to talk about Public Transportation in Kuwait today is due to the HUGE stigma that surrounds it. Especially among the South-Asian families.
    I have met so many people that act so shocked when I tell them I travel using the busses and judge me because if that. I agree that busses back in our home countries might not be safe at all but it’s a completely different case in Kuwait - it's really the safest mode of transport in here.
    I absolutely hate travelling in taxis. I don’t use them at all except if I have someone along with me to give me company.
    How can travelling along with a strange man be safer than travelling with loads of other people?!
    I have never had to stand in a bus before -no matter how crowded. Being a woman has its perks - men offer you their seats and keep their distance even. They leave the seat beside you empty even if they have to stand.
    I still travel for free in buses due to being a student and it gets me from point A to point B safely and securely and most of the time - on time even.
   
I have compiled a list of all the busses and bus routes in Kuwait for you along with the route maps for you. You can download them from the Resource Library

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    Let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are on the Busses in Kuwait.