I left some great things at home.

Random stranger who butted in my pic-Aussies are very friendly. lol.

I left good friends and great people, mum, dad, bro, my cousins and gran. I left lecturers and the comm lab where we all squeeze in for our lectures. I left the one who taught me valuable lessons about Foucault, Shelley, film-making, politics, and punctuality. I left a great deal of things. left I left people who makes me feel like a child again. I left my favourite foods and my favourite tv programs.

I left intimate things at home only to come to this new surrounding which is both alien and captivating at the same time. I saw difference, unacceptence, No. Say diversity. I saw things I never would've encountered without stepping out of my little shell. I love watching this new chapter of my life unfold.

There were times I found it hard to relate to people. And I still do. With every shrug I saw and plastic expressions I got, with every mistake I made, being misunderstood, I feel a sting. Still, I love the fact that it won't kill.



I live in a beautiful house, with wonderful people to meet, had emergencies and hype, generous hot chocolate to accompany me during the coldest (and assignment-ridden) spells and cook outs everyday, I meet people from around the world and sat at Fed Square at 9 at night in the cold without extra clothes except a jumper... (Jun is crazy).

I love to see people staring at me blankly when I add a 'la' or 'hantam' in my sentence. I love the moments I had surfing at 20 degrees at Phillip Island, I love the feeling of getting lost while taking a walk, I love it when I force myself to look at strangers in the eye to ask directions, I love the great sense of achievement that swells inside me when I reach my destination the second time, I love hitchhiking off a farm truck when I miss the last bus (this is one of the things that only Gippsland will have). Good or bad, I love it all.

I left what I thought would've been and I gained what I thought I'd never find.

I'll show it to you because it took me a great chunk of me to be here as I am today.

Days of our lives in Gippyland.

Once upon a time in a land far far away (from Melbourne at least), I came to a little town called Churchill-- accompanied by Karina (master chef extraordinaire) and Joyce (chii-sin-sot-sot-lololol). There, we met a compulsive Nuttella addict (Zeming) and a giggly-omgicantstoplaughinglolololol-person (Mei Yii)--There are other interesting people that will be appearing along the way in this blogpost--and we formed a bond that they would cherish forever.

So, together... we conspire to take over the world do stuff to keep ourselves occupied at times we don't need to attend class. Contrary to popular belief, life can still be great fun without a mall in walking distance.

We take turns to cook.

Therefore we eat... YUM.

and Sleep.

My room. :)

My covers. :P

We Party!!

All dressed up.

Flouro Party!

And other parties like that at school. :)


We celebrate birthdays!

Happy b-day, Joyce!

More birthdays...

Andrew Chu's (center far back) 24th at west 27.

Me and Mrs. Chu: Random at Seven.

I tell you we celebrate hell a lot of birthdays.

Najib's 2Xth...? Old poke.

And of course, on the way home from class, We spot cars. Apparently my name is very popular with Australian number plates.

Same carpark. I'm famous.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we play badminton.

Random pic Kari took when we were resting.

On other days, we waste time shopping for food at Morwell or IGA nearby.

And one time, MUGSU organized a surfing trip to Phillip Island (which made me feel like I broke all my bones the next morning).

Getting ready :)

Hitting the waters! :)

Pam and moi

We joined anything with free food/beer/luckydraw/formal.

We attended the Flag Dinner, which is an annual event held every first semester in Gippsland. We ate good food, good entertainment, mingled much and practice our photography...

Flag Dinner :)

And more pictures...

L-R: Mei Yii, Kai, Pamela, moi, Karina, Zeming.

L-R: (top) Ching Yee, Karina, moi, George (bottom) Mei Yii, Joyce and Cody.

Gippsland also taught us how to be narcissistic.

Don't look like it's stopping soon.

And after the event was over, we didn't want the balloons to go to waste. So we inhale helium.

and morph into a chipmunk.
We don't get labeled weird for nothing. :D

and I try to steal the limelight.

HElium is the NEW CRACK!

On some evenings we take walks and enjoy the breeze...

Tree climber Zeming.

Us at a nearby playground we discovered.

Me being a kid again!

and then when we had enough of cold wind, we head back to the our home where it's warm.

Eels Hole Creek.

And when we're home. We model for Mei Yii's photo assignment. :D

And hopefully she gets a HD for this subject coz we're pros!

And we live happily ever after :)

[The End]

Envy me. ;)

This is not an update

http://www.monash.edu.my/advancement/news/Newsline/2009/Jan31IntercampusExchange.html

Shameless publications of thyself.

Amused by Australia

Tullamarine Airport. - 7.30. Look at the sun.

Hi all! For the past 2 weeks, I've been moving up and about in two places, Melbourne and Gippsland. So I'll do Melb first and then Gipps. Cool? Just read even if it's not cool.

First up, Australian Weather Report. When Karina and I arrived in Tullamarine Airport on the 15th, there was no rain, no fire, alot of wind, and alot of sun. Pretty different from back home. With all the news about the fires, I expected Melbourne to be really hot but no. It was 8.00am, 12 degrees. Wtf. And I brought singlets and shorts. Brilliant right? *sarcasm*

For Melbourne, it's normally steaming at noon. SIGH. So if you walk out in a thick wooly top, by eleven-ish, if it's not windy anymore, you'll regret... like moi. *emo one corner*

We were sent to Clayton after that. :P The campus is awesome pawsome! Quick trivia.

1. First timers surely get lost.
2. Don't miss the bus when services ends at 12. (Missed the last bus from Huntingdale train station and me, K and Jun ended up walking in the cold cold cold winds lol..)
3. There's a really nice park near the Clayton Residentials which offers a pretty decent amount of animal species.

Clayton Residentials - Taken Outside my Window. LOL. At about 5/6.00-ish.

Clayton Residentials - Taken outside Kari's window after dinner at eight. She's got a better view. *envy*

Unlike Malaysia, I discovered Australia got longer daytime. It's normally bright at about 7 and only becomes pitch black at 9 at night. So i normally find myself semi-conscious at 8am. Can't really sleep anymore after that. I pretty much adjusted to the time here. It sucks when nobody is on my MSN list unless I stay up. :(

During orientation, I totally fell in love with that place. :) I'll probably try to apply to head there next semester. I travelled a bit around Melbourne city by train. It was a blast.

Tram!

Melbourne Central... Artsy ;)

The State Library (It is HUGE. Free Wifi. Amen)

Us in front of the State Lib - Karina, Joyce and me.

I have goldfish memory. Forgot where I took this from.

The City - Flinders St.

I also got to see Fed Square at Flinder's street.

Fed Square - One of the many Art Centers of Melbourne. (Busker on Right)

Random Busker - The Boxing Chef. :)

Church.

Fed Square embraces all the city's inner tensions:between old and new, between artistic freedom and the constraints of funding and politics. Sitting opposite a cathedral,a pub and a railway station,it is a gathering place for our diverse cultures. Its grounds,according to one historian, are both sacred and secular. - Virtual Tourist

Agreed.

The Park at Fed overlooking the Yarra River

There's alot of Asian shops around Melbourne too. Places to get my daily dose of Maggi, Nong Shim and Lee Kum Kee may be small, shoved at one corner while some are like Hypermarkets.

(korean shop at the left, but i don't think you can see it - noobphotog)

Because of the significant Asian population in Melbourne, they have Asian grocery stores that imports stuff from Korea, Jap, Malaysia, Thai, Viet, everything under one roof! (A really big one in QV opposite Melb Central called Laguna.) When I decide to take a break from Fish And Chips and Sandwiches, I still get to taste home away from home.

The shopping in Melbourne, is great. It's not difficult to find good deals around the city. There's the summer clearance going on. Australia also has a wide variety of thrift shops where you get an item half the price. (Check out, DFO in Southcross and Docklands, at the Victoria Harbour).

Uptill today, I already bought 2 flipflops, 3 pairs of shoes, one bag, one clutch, two penguins (heheh) and a winter jacket. All total up under AUD 200. :D Ok. Conversion it might be a little OMG but you know that if there was no sale, it probably would cost more.

My Penguins which I bought from the Melbourne Zoo out of impulse. I am an Impulsive soft toy shopper.

Sry mum. Couldn't resist the Penguins.

Red Scooter.

The Monash Study Abroad organized an Orientation bash at Red Scooter which was a blast. Good place, decent food. Many people. :O

That's us in a Cheongsam!

The inside.

We ate,we mabuk, we danced... had fun. No pics of the after party (Most of my pics of this event came out really bad) but the event ended pretty late, and there was a 10am bus to catch to Gippsland. My one week in Melbourne was pretty fun and the journey to Gippsland was just as good. I'll be back for sure. (Which i did, twicelol, after unpacking in Gipps, but this chapter will come soon... lol.)

I'm lazy to edit my Zoo pictures. *hint hint* :P

Next up,

Gippsland!
Docklands! (Shopping trip with Gippsland's International Students Association)
Melbourne Zoo!
The craziest yet, Surfing in Phillip Island in 20°C waves!

For a more extensive photo report, see Kari's blog.