Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Listening to: A Millionaire's First Love OSTMood: Unsettled
In the blink of an eye, it's been almost 3 weeks since I set off from where I've called home for the past 27 yrs to come to a fairly familiar place here in Sydney Australia.
This entire period, including the weeks before I flew, seems so surreal - so many feelings: hopes, anxieties, fears, excitment all whirled in me like a turmoil. I am so grateful to have had the opportunities to meet up with many people who care about me & whom I care for. Friends like Pock Hoe, Jimmy, Daniel, Junius, Kristina, Gladys, Karen, Winnie, Cindy, Xinyan & last but not least, my loveable 2e2 students - Eliza, Charrier, Xinyi, Carine, Ziyao, Grace, Shang Yi, Darren & Larry. You guys & gals have no idea how much of a blessing you have been to me. Thanks ... your love & warmth gave me the support which has helped me buffer through much of the tough times that came along afterward. Particularly memorable was the dinner & neoprint session with the 2e2 rockers .. :) Thanks gals/guyss ... you ROCK. :) I was also really moved when my bestie Daniel actually spent a morning helping me pack my gigantic box meant for shipping. I would've never had known packing could be so much fun... Thanks Dan.:)
The day I left was more emotionally charged than I imagined. I was so surprised to see the precious guys/gals from 2e2 already there before I was! I was really really really moved .. by their warmth & sincerity & felt bad they took taxi down ($$$$). You guys/gals are the best! They even wore our fabulous class T-shirt!! :):) Heee... I was really happy to see Ai Shan & Xueli too! :) I never thought I would actually cry .. but leaving actually stirred stronger feelings in me than I thought ... it is so different from going on a vacation or a mission trip ... coz it was as though I was leaving all I love behind ... to step into the unknown.
The next 2 weeks passed by rather quickly. Although dear & I did try to squeeze in time to tour, but the main bulk of our time was spent looking for accomodation, arranging for admin stuff, hunting for places to buy groceries & most of all ... keeping track of the expenses.
We spent 3 days staying in a backpacker's hostel named Alfred Park Backpackers... it really wasn't too ideal. Afterwards, we booked for a week at Licombe Hotel as it was cheap ($242 for a week) & located in the suburb where my school is so that we can hunt for accomodation easier. The Hotel was quite a disaster because it was located right next to the railway station so we could hear every single announcement from the station & the railway sounds 24 hours... we actually met a manager in the hotel who was friendly ... but said casually that he had been to Singapore but he found Singapore smelt like fish.... fish!! Can you imagine??!!
Hence I would like to give this advice to all who wish to come to Australia. Choose only YHA hostels if you are looking for budget accomodation. They are slightly more costly than the other hostels but the hotel-quality standard of the facilities, service & cleaneliness makes it really worth it. Dear & I regretted not choosing YHA hostels.
By God's grace, I managed to find an ideal accomodation in an apartment located in a security building near the Lidcombe station. I loved it .. the room is huge, built in wardrobe, ensuite, modern & clean! This blessing came only after a nightmare. Another landlady who wanted me to stay with her was so sore about me not choosing to stay with her that she hounded me incessantly on the phone saying how dissapotining I am, how I caused her to lose 2 other customers & tried every means to manipulate me by guilt even when I had already expressed my apologises & appreciation much more than I should have on hindsight. She was a traumatising experience. Nevertheless, I had a good time pruchasing furniture & doing up the room with dear ... we did loads of hunting to look for cheap & good furniture as our expenses were rising expotentially. My current landlady is a nice Hong Kong lady ... so I really thank God for her.
The first time I called home was a difficult one for me coz I cried after I hung up. I always thought I would be happier than anything to leave Singapore behind so never did I expect myself to miss my family, friends & Singapore so much. I came to realise that Sydneysiders aint as warm or friendly as the typical Australians often portrayed. Maybe it's because it's such a huge city people have become hard & self-centred. Also, Sydney has become a complete myriad of a huge array of nationalities - Koreans, Chinese, Lebanese, Turkeys, Hong Kongers, Italians, Japanese etc etc ...
School started yesterday for me. We are having the International students orientation for 2 weeks ... in my course alone, we have 6 international students taking Master in O.T - one is Indian, another from China, one Hongkie, one USA, one Chez Republic & me .. quite amazing. I was happy to have found people I can get along well with! :) Thank God for that!
I used to wonder why my mom was always so paticular about us cleaning our feet after returning home or washing our hands ... but now that I've a place of my own, I've become literally a clean freak too. I actually use bleach to clean the toilet myself twice a week, vaccumed & deep clean the carpet, wipe all the cabinets, buy room & cabinet frangrances to let the rooms & wardobes smeel lovely, hang all my clothes neatly, make my own bed every morning, bought cabinets & containers to store everything neatly - ah .. not to forget, clean all the windows & mirrors too! :) Getting to wash & hang out my own clothes has been fun actually ... its really great to be responsible for myself finally without a maid or mom to clean up after me... :) I love it. :)
I must say these 3 weeks would have been much more trying if not for the sweet memories family, friends & students left me with before I left, & having my dear with me. He has been so patient, sweet & sacrifical - a pillar of strength. Thank you dear ... can't thank you enough ...
I certainly look forward to even better days ahead ... success & favour ... although there have been hiccups here & there but I must say on hindsight, things have been mostly smooth .. so much thanks to all who have prayed for me! :):) Press on Christian Soldier!! :)
P.S.: Wilona: It's okie girl ... :):) Miss you too! :) Fahmy: Hey hey!! How's your results?? Will be online for msn most likely next week ... maybe we ca chat then?? :) Hwee Ing: Hey sweetie, no prob ... you take good care of yourself k? Dun overwork & overstress yourself! You can do it! :):)
6:35 PM
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