Day out at Yarra Valley

Today, my dad's family friend brought us around Yarra Valley. It was a long and hot ride there because I was sitting on the side where the sun was shining directly on my face the entire time. We visited a number of factories and wineries there. I think I put on a little weight because all we ate were bread, cheese and chocolate. I am not an alcohol person, but I decided to do some of the beer/wine tasting since you don't get to do tasting very often. Although most of the beers/wine did not really sit well with my palette, I actually liked the Apple & Pear Cider. It was slightly bitter but it was not as strong as the other alcoholic beverages. We tried at least 10 different types of cheeses, which names I am unable to recall. Some were very strong, so I think I will still stick to Cheddar and Mozzarella.

Yarra Valley is very scenic, with lots of hills and scenery, which was a great place for me to grab some awesome shots. We also passed by a couple of cows, goats, and sheep. I think one of the highlights was the chocolate factory, because there was free flow of chocolate that did not cost a single cent. You can take as much as you'd like! I remember walking into the store and I was so excited to see rows and rows of shelf filled with chocolates of various flavors and sizes. The place was also packed with people. In fact, all the places we've visited in Yarra Valley was filled with people.

On the side note, our timetables was released. Unfortunately, I could not find anyone, whom I have already met, who has the same timetable as me. On the other hand, no one else was able to find someone with the same timetable as them. However, I am only in the same lecture with maybe one or two people for like one day. I was thinking of maybe switching around my lectures if the lecturers are not so strict on finding out who is attending which lecture.

The Journey so far

So it has been almost a week since I last posted. I have been through the three days of orientation at Monash, and have made many new friends. There were some Singaporeans, Chinese, Indonesian, Korean and Indian. It was really interesting to find out more about them and their different cultures. I will briefly go through what we did during the three days.

On the first day, we basically had like a welcome talk where the staff introduced to us about what we would expect when we start our education at Monash College. This was then followed by lunch where we were free to mix around with other students over a meal. This was where I was able to pick up a few friends. We were also given three cards, each with random names of businesses and their discount prices. We were expected to collect a set of three cards with the same businesses, but with different shapes. So each name has a shape surrounding it, namely, square, circle and hexagon. We will get an additional total of six cards during the next two days. This will let us mingle around to find the cards we need and to give us an incentive to attend every day's orientation. Fun fact, previous orientations actually lasted five days. However, due to the fall in attendance, they decided to shorten it. 

On the second day, the entire cohort was divided into groups of 23 to have some ice-breaking activities. Everyone was given a sticker to write their names on, and we had a game of bingo. Everyone was given a piece of paper with grids of topics that were listed on them. Some of the topics were "Find someone with the same number of brothers/sisters as you" (which I had difficulty finding because everyone had nearly one or two), or "Find someone who arrived in the past 72 hours". This game allowed us to get to know each other. Personally, I feel that this is a really good ice-breaker, as many times people are unable to come up with questions to find out more about the other when they first meet. Following that, we were further broken up into three groups to complete a quiz. Once all the activities were completed, we had a short morning tea, and then proceeded to go for a goal setting talk at the cinema.

On the third day, we went to the chapel to attend a talk to find out more about our diplomas. Including information like the percentages for each assignment or exam for the various modules. Or the percentage cut off to enter the various business degrees at the different campuses. Following that, we were brought to the banquet room, where booths were set up for us to find out more about the various clubs and associations within the institute. In some way it felt kind of like a carnival, because they were giving out free food, had someone to do face painting and a lady who was bending balloons into various objects like hats, wands, and swords. I got a monster hat and a sword to take a photo with. 

Also, I actually lost three of my cards, and did not collect the other three cards for the third day. Fortunately, I still had the two most important cards with me, and I happened to see one guy inquire about the cards at one of the booths. I glanced over his shoulder, and as he was sorting through his cards, I saw that last card that I needed to complete my set! So I tapped his shoulder, introduced myself, and asked if he could kindly trade me that one card that I needed. He was kind enough to trade it for a card that he didn't really need, and that was how I got a discount card for 25% off at the sports center. 

Later that evening, I had dinner with some of my new found friends, and arranged to go to the city the next day, with them plus some other Indonesian students. 

So I'm glad to say that it has been pretty good so far. Tomorrow is Saturday, which is the day when we receive our individual timetables. I am kind of excited and anxious at the same time, because I really want to be in the same class as some of my friends. So hopefully, at least one or two of them will become my classmates.

P.S. There are so many Chinese and Indonesians in the cohort. I have only found like five other Singaporeans. I am certain that there will be more but we are definitely the minority in this cohort. XD

Move In Day

Today is move in day. I brought the remaining items to the townhouse which I was going to live in for the next 9 months. It's a little déjà vu. I dragged my luggage from the service apartment to the new place. It was in the evening. The sun was setting but it was still relatively bright. It was really cloudy, and the walk to the townhouse was a really quiet one.

After putting aside the remaining items and testing out the printer, it was time to say goodbye. I saw my parents out the house. I walked up to my new bedroom window. In the darkness I could see my mother putting on her coat and waving goodbye to me. My father joined her a minute later, and proceeded down the driveway.

As I watched them disappear into the darkness, I felt a little choked up inside. It's like one of those scenes in a drama where two people separates and are not going to see each other for a long time. The only difference is that I'm going to see my parents again tomorrow. Dramatic right? They will by flying back to Singapore on the 18th October, which is 10 days from now. So that will give me time to adjust to not living with my parents.

There was a period of time where I lived overseas without my parents. That was when I went to Virginia USA to perform with my SPDS squad. I was not anxious or worried about separating from my parents, because I was with people I knew and am familiar with.

Tomorrow morning, I will be heading down to the campus for my orientation. Hopefully I will meet some nice and friendly people there and not be so awkward. Haha

Fear of change

Today is the 13th day of my stay here in Melbourne. The furniture have been fixed up and I have finished purchasing most of the items that I would need during my stay. Today we went to Harvey Norman to grab a printer. Finally I have a printer which prints double sided, because there were many cases where I printed documents the wrong side up on the one sided printer.

I was intending to move in earlier, but there were just so many things that I need to move over. On the other hand, still feeling a little anxious. It is mostly because of my fear of change. I experienced this before leaving Singapore, and now that I have settled into the service apartment with my parents. Albeit, being more familiar with my surroundings, I still have a number of concerns about living on my own with five other students and life in college.

A week before Orientation

I usually have a physical diary where I write some of my posts in, but I do not have it with me now. Therefore, I decided to write it on this blog that I have not touched in over year. I will be attending the orientation at Monash College in a week's time.

Before my flight on 23 September, it felt surreal. It was a similar feeling I had before I enlisted for my National Service (which I finished a month ago). I always have this thought: "Is this really happening? It feels like a dream". Today is the ninth day of my stay here in Melbourne. My parents traveled along with me to help me to adapt into the culture here in Australia, as well as to help me prepare all the administrative stuff before my semester begins.

Over the course of the last week, I have visited the place that I will be staying with over the next 9 months. I am currently staying at a service apartment with my parents. Initially, I wanted to apply for an on-campus accommodation, but the school had a long waiting list. I only received an offer the week before my flight. By then, I have already searched for an alternative place to stay that was about 10 minutes away from the campus. It is a townhouse with six bedrooms, five of which are already occupied by other students.

We explored one of the shopping malls in Chadstone, to get familiarised with the various stores that are located inside as well as with the public transport. Public transport here is very different as compared to Singapore. There is a fixed timing for every bus, and the waiting time in between bus can be between 20-30 minutes. I used to think that this waiting time was atrociously long back home, but coming here really made me appreciate the 5 minute waiting time for buses in Singapore. Even trains here take roughly 20 minutes. The longest I have ever waited for the MRT train was four minutes, unless the train was full of course.

I have bought a number of furniture from Ikea that needs to be assembled at the townhouse. I have a couple other things, including my clothes that have not been moved to the house yet. I am going to have to do that over the next few days, and probably move in in the next two to three days. I have met the students already staying there and they seem to be nice people. I am a person who gets anxious easily, and tend to over think. So I would probably need some time to get used to the environment there.