1st month of my life in Melbourne

1 month in Melbourne

Finally got my internet connection activated at home..but my moody laptop made my days hard by not co-operating well with the internet connection and I suffer the consequences of not being able to online as I wish but by luck..

Went for a ESL public speaking workshop yesterday..though everything was kinda expected but I have benefited a lot..mainly due to some real useful tips..and I was forced to take part in a debate and a mini public speaking competition..which was good as I wouldn’t do these myself

The speaker, Ben Richard, mentioned something that I found so true..

Most of the audience focus on the body gesture, the emotion of the presenter and even all the distractions (ask yourself whether your mind are easily swayed during lectures) during a presentation rather than the content itself..but my mistakes all the while was to spent all the time of preparation in the content..ended up not having sufficient time for presentation practices..and wasted all the effort unable to present all the points due to limited time..followed by self-blame..but repeated that over and over again..

Ben also stressed the importance of the 1st five seconds of a speech..that’s the time to grab the attention of the audience..but most of us performed the worst in the beginning and improve while we talk more and more..

All the international students who have attended the workshop were awesome!!! Again i felt inferior speaking in front of all the good speakers!!! The debate club members were friendly..Ben, the speaker was approachable, inspiring and encouraging!!! Well done remarks were always followed by each speech..made me feel better even I wasn’t satisfied with my performance..

In contrast with the old “me” who were always asking questions in class..i am very much quiet during lectures now..mainly due to the fact that I didn’t do preparation for lectures thus I was so used to get lost halfway..and even I had an answer in mind in response to lecturers’ questions..it would always be 2 minutes later than other students who almost voiced out immediately after every questions..law students were madly superb!!! Especially the local!!! Even during the small group discussion I felt the pressure of giving my own opinion at the risk of being despised of..nervous just to give an opinion? This had barely happened before..why is a noob like me placed in the sea of elites? And it’s my fault too as I am still stubbornly not spending much time on studies..i am multitasking to the extreme here..

With no one here to care about whether you are dead or alive..i have to be a “housewife”(help!!!) occupied with all the household chores..inherited some of the genes from the hygiene freak mommy..i couldn’t really accept the difference of my dustless house in Malaysia and the house here..i spent so much time cleaning and wiping..but still couldn’t beat my mom who mop the whole house once in two days..kitchen is always oily and dirty..but what to do?? We are not full time housewives..i frequently spent hours (2-3hours) to prepare to cook, to cook and to clean up..it was so time consuming..so tiring especially because I am a big eater (especially in the morning)..cooked food that can last 3 days for other people often finished by a day..which means I have to cook almost every day..omg..tried to save time by eating dry food..but ended up triggering my old habit of eating too much and eating at midnight..nono!!!so I hid all the dry food in some inaccessible places..ended up cooking and cleaning all days..and due to the fact that I dun eat rice (but noodles) I finished up dishes extraordinary faster than people who eat a small portion of dishes with rice..frankly I kinda enjoyed cooking now..the satisfaction of tasting the delicious food cooked by me..hehe..but not the time spent please..

1^st time making sushiCooked too much rice..this was a quarter of the actual amount

Didn’t have the correct ingredients but only capsicum, tuna, meat, carrot..

Great satisfaction though they didn’t taste very good..glad that it has over as i have spent 2 days and 1 night on them(due to some other problems)

Moreover as usual I wanna be active in club and social activites..plus sports..took up volleyball now but im totally a noob and have bruises all over my hand due to repetitive practices of service..and planning to play badminton weekly..and finally found people for table tennis and tennis..lots of plan in minds but couldn’t be executed..sleeping time was often sacrifed..blogging time was sacrified too(drafted this blog 2 weeks ago but only completed now)

In the baseball field..tried out touch ball
training for once..
just for fun..but chilling under the rain
for more than an hour just for training

And the most important role that I always abandon is to be a hardworking law students..a lot of reading time required just to understand numerous cases for every legal principles..let alone digesting, remembering and being able to apply them..why am I a law students? Just dun like the idea of spending too much time to study in uni and foregoing the chances of making uni life colourful with all kinds of activities..Went to DFO two days ago..intended to get a real cheap winter jacket but ended up falling in love with a jacket that was double and triple the costs of some other jackets..haiz..spent so much time hesitating in the end I picked my 1st love..what to do..the power of love..which is fatal when I shop..by the way..DFO would be the substitute of Times Square in Malaysia to be the only place that I would shop frequently..the things sold are known to be generally cheaper though not all..but I definitely miss the cheap shopping bargain in my usual hang out spots in Malaysia..planning to bring a few empty baggages back to Malaysia , which will be fully filled after a shopping spree..hehe..

Missed BOn Odori for 3 years in Malaysia but accidentally bump into one in Melbourne

Fortune telling in Bon Odori which was held in Dockland

Cultural Performance in Bon Odori

Trip to Phillip Island

In Churchill Island..Demo of sheep fur sheering..

the sheep "screamed" non-stop..

Meet some buddies during the trip..if not i would be alone..hehe

Near distance to a seagull in Phillip Island

Not a very good time in the beach under the scorching hot sun

2 weeks and a day

in Melbourne

Last day of Chinese New Year, something I have only realized in the afternoon on the day itself…

i still haven’t got enough sleep..or maybe never will..the weeks before departing to Melbourne..i was busy utilizing the last moments to do many things that I can only do in Malaysia..went out everyday..few hours before departure..i was still leaving all the things that I was supposed to bring all around the floor..the condition as they were 1 week ago..untouched..and rushing to make some farewell cards in order to print out in a somputer shop..after hours of non-stop designing I realized the computer shop didn’t open..demotivated instantly as I was planning to pass the cards before I left but now all the plans were spoiled..after that i stayed awake all night packing nervously

Recently have loads of problem with broadband..gotta reconnect every 5 seconds..i am the only one facing this problem as all my housemates are fine with it..haiz..maybe it’s fated that i shouldn’t online that much..i should treasure the every moment when I could connect successfully to do only important things..

I never get rid of greedyness ever since im here..search for info regarding clubs and societies for an hour..each time browsing I gotta frown at the expensive membership fees and court hiring fees..feeling guilty again coz spending parents’ money so much not to mention the fact that im doing law which means lots of time needed to study..worried that I won’t be able to cope..

Done a lot of crazy things since our arrival in Melbourne

In the airport reception van..just upon our arrival in Melbourne

1^st night in Melbourne..in the extreme darkness..there’s only one street light for the whole long street..the airport reception driver picked us up and dropped us in front of our temporary residence situated at the Arnott Street..we didn’t know that the digit before the house number indicates whether it is the 1^st house or the 2^nd house so blindly we went to the 1^st house..trying so hard to open the door using the key..failed..after many of us tried and after we realized that the key was actually stucked in the key hole..we started to think that something was wrong..and then we were told about the difference of the first and second house of the same house number..but too late as we couldn’t pull the key out to try to open the door of the second house..and helplessly I called Bryan, the tenant of the house..i couldn’t imagine what he was thinking when he saw five figures in blazers in the middle of the night with at least 3/4 luggage bags each( and I was having my oversize luggage bag with me)..after that we realized there were more things that we didn’t know about..Bryan managed to pull the key out..and the problems were actually caused because our ignorance on the door key structure in Melbourne

Bryan wasn’t the only savior..we met another temporary tenant, Calvin, who offered his room so that five of us didn’t need to share a room..and lucky us got access to internet using the internet facilities in the house..but things were so inconvenient without having our own room and luggages unpacked..couldn’t wait to get our own room..and there began the journey of house hunt

House hunt was one of the big challenges..searched everyday at Monash Market Place (a website for purchases and sales, specially for Monash Students) but most are leasing out 1 to 3 rooms while we were looking for at least four rooms in the same house..met a nice agent who had offered to drive us to inspect a few houses..met some over confident people who were constantly boosting about how many potential buyers were queuing up to rent at a higher price and if-you-don’t-want-it-don’t-talk-so-much-take-it-or-leave-it..struggling..undecisive..pondering..changing minds..those were inevitable in the process of looking for a temporary substitute of the Home Sweet Home in Malaysia..and finally we got it!!!!! Not a perfect one considering the sarcasm on others’ expressions when they were told about our new house, a house which electricity, gas and internet was still not ready on the day we moved in..but getting our own room was definitely the greatest things that we didn’t really bother about other issues..though my other housemates got shocked when they were told that there is no shortcut to Monash campus which means we have to walk past a lengthy turning point for at least 15 minutes to the University although the distance was estimated to be less than ten minutes.

Things have just begun when everything seemed to come to a happy ending. Started calling to Telstra, the phone line provider, calling to get the electricity and gas done and the most annoying and troubling of all..the internet connected..the people on the phone seemed to have “mutual misunderstanding with us” that we found out how hard was it to communicate on phone with the locals..

Ee Ann and I had a crazy shop of groceries in the city(which was unexpected and unplanned of..i just thought of going in to look around but ended up coming out with 3 big plastic bags)..ended up carrying tons of groceries..walked all the way from Coles in the middle of nowhere to South Wharf DFO, a place which seemed far far away..2 girls with no sense of direction..began a journey of searching for DFO that was never ending..we asked as many passer-bys as we could..encountered all sorts of people, eg,old people who didn’t know about DFO and weird lady that stared at us,motionless..finally we were less than 2 km away from DFO..but it was 10 minutes before all the shops closed and we were so exhausted..

Halfway of the search of DFO..took the pic of Yarra River

A prove that i had carry the heavy load of groceries, wandering in the city

Gave up going to DFO but met Sue Shan and Grace beside the Melbourne Exhibition Hall instead

Another memory of getting lost in the city..was supposed to go to a concert which was free of charge but missed it..took pic in front of the museum

Friendship in melbourne

Mun Joo..a very helpful and friendly senior that took me around to city and to DFO..the one who had inspired and guided me in making sushi..cheers

We come from M’sia, Singapore and Hong Kong but we are taking law in Monash and went to courts together

Melbourne scenery

Along the way from harbour town shopping centres in Dockland to South Wharf DFO

Random pictures of scenery in the city, another time of walking to DFO but from Southern Cross Train Station..with proper “tour guide”

Koala and beach in

Phillip Island

End

This is a tram..looks like a train sounds like a train but is not a train as it moves on the road

I like Melbourne because

The high level of environmental awareness here..i have the habit of collecting recyclable materials and find it convenient to recycle items as recycle bins can be seen everywhere

Well I can cook here..although forced to but enjoying it!!!!

I can wear legging, long socks and boots often as every girls are wearing them!!!!!

I like the fact that I can have my own room and listen to songs freely without a headphone or earphone..in oppose to the pathetic condition of sharing room in Casa Subang, the hostel in Malaysia during my college time!!!

I don’t have to boil water often because tap water can be drunk!!!!

No ants here..people like to lie down on the grasses..Hardly seen cockroach, lizards and flies..So I won’t have to worry unattended food attracting flies and ants and save the worries of cockroach and lizards invading!!! Spiders are everywhere though..

I don’t like Melbourne because

Damn the awful whether!! I hate the fact that it is extremely sunny but windy at the same time..which means though I shivered a lot I still got tanned!!! And sadly I can’t be the Umbrella girl as the strong wind killed my umbrellas!! Four season in a day..unpredictable..freezing cold at night..these are the reasons which make the weather in Melbourne to be notorious!!!

Why don’t they just make holes in toilets and bathrooms!!! It makes cleaning so much easier..and toilets are all without taps..with this fact I love the washrooms in Malaysia so much!!!!!!

I hate suburb!!! Thought I would like to try to live a quiet live after 19 years living in the city but nono!!! So boring and so inconvenient..have to worry about transport to come back everytime going out to the city..as widely known im not the homely type person..staying in a street with 1 or 2 street lights for the whole long street makes coming back at night so difficult!!!!! Yes its safe here but famous for having so many drunk people..I encountered an “over-friendly” drunk people in a train before

Things are so expensive here..watching movie and shopping become a luxury for people who do not work here like me..wanted to take up a part time job but again the excuse..no time!!!

In conclusion, at this stage I still prefer living in Malaysia!!! Malaysia, tanah airku..hehe