Today is Friday, and it is the night. Tomorrow is the weekend and nothing was planned. This week was the first week of school and whoosh, it just went past so quickly.

School
For those who think that Australian education is slack and laid back, I have to tell you now that this isn't the case. It is only the first week and there are marked assessments and tutorials, and they are OMG... Let's just let the picture do the talking about what kind of assignments they have in ANU. Still pretty tired and traumatized at it (though I finished it anyway and was proud of it). And I thought I would never see Taylor series, geometric series again...

D3 Floor Party!
There's one thing that NUS can learn from ANU, just a suggestion since I really enjoyed it. For the halls of ANU, senior residents of each level are given an amount of money to organize a floor party where everyone living on that floor would come together for activities. This promotes interaction and well-being within the community. It is a really good time for neighbours to get together and understand each other, especially so when you have a really international and diverse culture. I really enjoy such social activities where people just come together and talk and socialize (although I am introverted). Our party was a hot plate BBQ (Australian style) and get together at a fire-pit. This is, of course, very different from how we do things in Singapore. Basically, their BBQs are done over a hot plate (not the usual charcoal fire, though I still think charcoal fire food taste better), and then all the food are brought over to the fire pit. Marshmallows end off the activity.

School
Today is the second day of proper school, and it comprised of a total of 5 hours of lecture. Tiring you may say, but for some reason, I was excited and full of energy. The entire day felt really good. Living on campus is simply EXCELLENT!!! Although I take modules (called courses in ANU) from four different faculties (Engineering, Business, Physics, Environmental Science), all of them are so near each other, and best of all, they're near my room! If I were to draw a comparison in distance, the furthest distance between these five locations is shorter than the distance between the farthest spots of Faculty of Engineering in NUS, and... minus the stairs, even. Well you can either say that the undergraduate area in ANU is small and well planned, but I prefer this way. Getting addicted to staying on campus on the second day lol. Hope the enjoyment of the ease and freedom lasts.

Cooking
It was another nice and exciting cooking session, and one which I actually gained experience from. The good saying goes that you learn more when you fail, and I guess that's particularly correct. So, I tried to make three dishes: stir fried chye sim in oyster sauce again (it improved), pan-fried salmon (with the help of Andy), and pan-fried chicken wings.

The pan-fried salmon was more cooked than I wanted, but the fillet was pretty huge, so it was hard to get the insides cooked, so, the end result was a dry outside and nicely cooked inside - best we can make with pan fry. We should have oven-baked it. The chicken wings was a nightmare. After frying it, the taste of the precious marinate was gone, and it got burnt really fast! Reminder to self, in order to keep the taste of the marinate, next time, use the oven.

Rest
The scumbag brain still recognizes the bed. I fall asleep instantly in my home bed, but it takes about an hour for me to fall asleep here because scumbag brain knows that this is not my room in Singapore and thinks that it is not a safe place to fall asleep.

What a chilly morning it was, coldest it has been so far I have been here, I actually wore my fleece so that I can fall asleep last night.

And so... back to school! Today was the first day of formal lessons in ANU! I was pretty excited at the start because I don't know where the room is, and don't know what to expect. Turn out that things are quite like how it is done in NUS, and the first lectures are usually introduction, so things were cool.

I had to make my own lunch and dinner even when I am attending school. This is new... Today was fine because there was only one lesson. There's a total of 5 hours of lecture tomorrow and I really wonder how I am going to survive preparing my own meals. I guess I might just resort to buying food, oh well.

Seems that things are really happening. It's been 10 days since I live alone, still enjoying the freedom. Hope it would turn out well.

A week and a day has past since I arrived in Australia, I have did everything that was required to maintain myself (aka stay functional). As of now, I am loving it. Tomorrow would be the first day classes are starting formally, so I want to see how things are here! Lovely exchange, really.

The weather for the past few days has turned cold and rainy, and I liked every single bit of it. I never realized that I am one person that actually likes rain, even when it is getting cold. Really hope that temperatures would go lower and may autumn arrive sooner hee hee.

My first try at cooking a proper dish turns out to be a success! Stir-fried chye sim with oyster sauce, something that we usually see at home.

For some reason (probably due to the heavy grocery shopping), I feel like I haven't slept for days! I guess my body clock have not adjusted to the three hour difference. On a side note, all my exchange friends are in ANU now, time to start planning our trips!

So, it has been a week since I stayed into Australia... Liking it so far! The weather is getting more and more cooling and really anticipating autumn.

General Life
I am starting to realize that staying alone away from my parents has its advantages and disadvantages. I am enjoying the freedom that I get! But at the same time, I have to do everything for myself. I am very fortunate that my hall of residence (Burton and Garran Hall) provides free food for the freshies for the first week. From next week onward, I have to prepare all my meals myself, sounds pretty exciting eh? Recipes to try cooking: chicken rice, tom yum soup, salted egg -insert any meat/seafood- (wonder if I can actually find salted eggs here). But overall, I am enjoying it so far, taking care of myself and all.

Some realizations after meeting up with my secondary school friend Andy. Things really have changed a lot after we went separate ways living in a different environment. I guess I wasted too much of my life just studying and playing. Still lots of things in the world out there to explore/learn/realizations of the world. Must remember, I am in charge of bringing the experience of Australia back to my ESE friends!

Travels
In the very first week of our stay here, me and my exchange friends have been to some nearby areas already, and that includes: Australian National Botanic Gardens, National war Memorial, Parliament house, and National Museum. Kudos to PARSA for organizing the scenic tour around Canberra that made this possible. Still waiting for our very last friend from NUS to arrive in ANU.

Communication
Australians are really sociable. Nearly all of them are extroverts (E). Me being an introvert and living in this community can get pretty taxing. I am trying my best to blend in with the community, but the accent sometimes get in the way, so, I am trying to change to their accent to communicate with them better. You guys in Singapore better not call me jia kang tang when I come back with Australian accent hahaha!

Leaving the care of my parents and totally living on my own for the first time. It was not as easy as I thought...

After enduring the long (but exciting) plane ride, I finally arrived in Australia, Canberra, Australian National University, Burton and Garran Hall. Did not sleep throughout the entire flight, but I felt obligated to participate in their activities, so I ended up there, half awake and zoning out often. The first thing I realize was that Australians (and possibly all westerners) could just easily talk to any random stranger along the street! They are so sociable, but within each other, so I kinda felt left out there.

The second thing was the weather! In the noon and afternoon, it is almost impossible to stand in the sun for 5 minutes. You either get sun burnt (really high UV irradiance due to ozone depletion) or you get fried from the temperature (39 C), usually it is a combination of both >.< I was really happy in the morning as I walked out of the hall though, for once, it felt so cool, my hands actually got slightly numb from the cool. Hope it cools down fast! The air is too dry for a Singaporean, so much so that I have some rashes, but I am not sure whether it is allergy to the skin repair cream or the dryness... Need to take care of myself, really.

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to buy more daily essentials. Yesterday night, I met my friend from secondary school (year 7-10 equivalent) and his parents for a meal in a chinese restaurant. The food there really tastes like chinese food, and I felt so thankful that I could meet him again (and his parents for the first time). They were so kind and hospitable, it made me very happy, I really appreciate the meal and the chat, but I think I did not thank them enough for how they made a difference to my first few days here.

I have only finally settled down as of yesterday and finally starting to get comfortable with living alone, ~ 6000 km away from home. This is a picture of the view from my room in summer. Very hot in the afternoon.

And so, today is D-day. Am I excited? Yes. Am I happy? Not exactly. Leaving Singapore and my family behind for 6 months generates mixed feelings. While I want to enjoy my exchange, a part of me worries about the things that would happen at home. Now I hope that the blessings that my mum have got from the temples that I visited on 2 days of the last week in Singapore actually do benefit my family. Skype often, I suppose.

Much preparations that I have done comes boiling down to this day, to travel to unknown lands and experience the unknown. Many plannings are not done, but I am not worried because things usually fall in place when the time is right. Road trips would be planned when I am right in Australia, with a map in my room, circles demarking the places that me and my exchange friends would want to go, and things we want to do.

I would be living in a room of my own, which is a first in my life even though it has been what... a drag of 24 years. Finally time to get some freedom and peace. Goals are to exercise self discipline. Know what is good for yourself. Manage your resources wisely. Time to do things yourself and help others where possible.

For this exchange, I have already told myself that there would be no holding back. Go out to every single activity I know of, try everything that I have a chance to, bring out the inner extrovertedness in me, while at the same time, spare a thought of the people around me.

Make the best out of the exchange. Australia here I come.

The blue-haired angel still guards and cares for this blog after such a long time while I was busy with my pursuits in university. It has been a long time since I made any post at all, but due to the popularity of people wanting to document their overseas exchanges, I have reopened my blog for this very purpose! So, here are some thoughts to get the blog starting for the exchange to Australia, in Australian National University! Oh by the way, I have lost the motivation to attach a geeky joke to every single post I make haha. Just pure thoughts and pictures of gemicer now.

Saying Goodbye is to Say Hello Again
Sending so many friends off makes me feel a little sad, not only because I would not be seeing them for the next 6 months, but also there would be little contact, if at all, with friends... For my friends going on exchange, hope that you would experience lots and learn lots, but at the same time, don't lose yourself, change for the better! I would think about, worry and miss all of you. We shall see each other again in our final year.

CNY 2014 Year of Horse
The year of the horse brings bad luck in everything to the horse, which was tested and proven hahaha. I could do favours for others and things still goes smoothly. Had the same big reunion dinner. I got to try out Cordon Bleau! Went visiting to the usual places as well, but this year, I got some advises for surviving in an exchange. Today is CNY Day 2, but also...

Today is D-day -6. Preparation for exchange has already started since a year ago, with much effort into researching into places to go and modules to take. These few days revolve around more specific activities like packing luggage, applying visas, and planning on where to go in Australia. Most things are settled. Australia, we shall meet again in 7 more days.