my room--1st and 2nd home~

now comes the pictures of my room....

the first is a picture of my doorway with the kitchen and toilet on the right.

then comes my study table and the clothes hanger that i use to dry my clothes

then the view from outside my room. if you look at the beige triangular-shaped bldg in the background, tts on the other side of the brisbane river already. the white structure on its right is the south bank ferry terminal. i live on the 13th floor and it's not high enough to get a view of the river itself cos the city bldgs are tall la.. =(

(below)

(above)

this brown bldgs on the left is another apartment and it has a cheap and good chinese restaurant on the grd floor..it's owned by a HK family and every dish u order allows u to drink their daily herbal soups for free! they also sell bubble tea =)

this one is the right-side view from my room. on the left are all Queensland government offices and the right is a condo..ya la..only rich ppl can live in the city..their houses are reali nice and their gym opens late into the night..

this one is the picture hanging on the wall beside my bed..i'm not an artistic person and don reali understand what this picture is trying to portray..any one out there care to give any comments/interpretations??? i guess it must mean sthg anyway...hmmm, when i am bored, maybe i will start counting the no. of triangles in the drawing..kaka =P

last but not least comes the pic of my bed and the two big luggages beside..my room isn't big la..and no place left for my luggages so there it is lor..oh, you noe, just trying to carry the luggages to squeeze into that hole there which was JUST NICE for them is not an easy task..I ACTUALLY SCRATCHED the walls and the paint came off! hopefully whoever inspects my room when i leave doesn deduct the costs of repainting from my security bond....hmmm...

this last one is the picture of my room in sg. the bed nearest the window is mine and the one just beside it is my 2nd sister's. my youngest sis bed is to the right of hers and is not shown in the pic..haha..i took a picture of my bedroom using my hp b4 i left so tt i wont forget how my bed looks like?? hee~..BUT....i don think it will remain the same when i go back in dec..my parents definitely won't be leaving my poor bed there to rot for 10mths w/o me...wonder what they wld do wif it?...hmm..

ah..you all see a nemo fish in the bkgrd? hee..that was given to me by my dear kids world frens when we met for my farewell dinner..why nemo fish? hee..cos our group name was nemo ma..hmm..but i sure felt embarrassed carrying it back home..there was actually one instance where a toddler on a pram was holding his bear and staring up at my nemo fish..i just looked at him with a helpless blank look...hahahaa = D

first week in my 2nd home

arrived and back to my familiar surroundings--unilodge brisbane..i said a big hi to the counter staff who still remembered me and breezed through the registering and checking in since the procedures were still fresh in my mind--haha, my memory is good ma...=P

the residential manager of unilodge brisbane is andy, a singaporean who speaks fluent cantonese. he smiled at me and said, "welcome back"..

my parents were so worried as to who will be helping me lug my luggage when they were not around anymore..situations that i possibly hv to lug my luggage alone:

1) taking it off the luggage belt after landing to load onto trolley
2) carrying it up the steps to go into unilodge brisbane
3) dragging 2 luggages into the lift in unilodge while scanning my card and pressing the button at the same time--possible only if i have more hands?!
4) getting them out of the lift at the same time so neither me nor the luggage is left behind to visit other levels..

but..i met reali nice ppl all the way so all of the above scenarios were easily solved and i thankfully did not suffer any back injuries..hee~

i had arranged for airport reception which is free and this aussie driver is reali nice..and STRONG too! he can actually carry 60kg all at 1 go and up the stairs through to the main door of unilodge! wow..my dad cant even do that..boy, and this aussie guy didn even pant..he was still smiling..

me? i could just manage thank yous and thank you very muchs all the way...

up the lift?the unilodge in-house repair man carried both into the lift for me and into my room too..me? i was just responsible for pressing lift buttons and unlocking the door..and this porter service has no need for tips! =)

the next few days after that was spent settling my credit transfer process..going to school and buying my groceries and sim card..

settling credit transfer is a real tedious and frustrating process..yt has a very nice lady to honour and praise..i also have one too..she is the international student admissions officer from the BEL Faculty in UQ and her name is Ms Laura Chaudhry. (BEL=Biz, Econs and Law)

Before I left UQ after my exchange, I went to see her regarding the chances of transfer..during my last sem at NTU, we converse through emails and now she is also the one handling the credit transfer for my econs subs. I have 7 subs for econs left to do b4 i grad with my BEcons and 9 left for my BArts degree.

Laura has been with me through the whole psychological, emotional and administrative processes of transferring to UQ as a whole..not just credits..She opens up and shares with me about her degree and student years in UQ and has the amazing ability to speak to your heart. I am so glad I got to know her, in fact I treat her as a friend. I remember meeting her to finalise my credit transfer on the 8th Feb. We shook hands and her first question: "How does it feel like coming back to UQ?" haha.., seems like coming "back"--"homecoming"? hmm, so this is reali my 2nd home after all?

hmm, i read all your entries and feel reali happie for you all tt your exchange life is so exciting and interesting =). it's good to hv frens with you ya? and to make new frens too..

for me, most of the things here are what i have seen b4..so the novelty is not reali there anymore..in fact, me reali kiasu la..so did alot of research b4 coming over the first time and i wasnt exactly a "new" student last time too..today when i was at the student centre in UQ, i met a sgpn girl who came up to the counter beside me and said to the lady behind the counter: "hi, i just came to brisbane and am a new student..what shd i do?" when asked for her passport, she said "oh ok (searching and searching) sorry i think i din bring..sori ah i am very blur (then laughs)". so the person asked for her driver's license or any photo id, she rummaged through her bag looking for her wallet and gave her IC in the end but her actions was so animated, it made me laugh..after a while, she said (hand in her bag) "oh, i think i found my passport already..." haha..

maybe i shd not read up too much before coming over or going to a new place at times? so i get to be blur and experience the feeling of being a "new" student who know nothing at all--who hasnt settled accomod when he/she arrives, who have no idea how to register for subs on the my SI-net account, who don't noe their way around sch, who don noe how to open a bank acct, who don noe their way ard the city...there are just so many uncertainties and don-noes for first time arrivers..

for me, my dad was the one who navigated the city streets for me and brought me ard when i first came to brisbane. even going to sch he told me where to take the ferry and how to walk from unilodge to there and so i, armed with the sch map, went on the ferry and walked ard the campus b4 orientation so i wldnt get lost. opening bank accts was also settled tgt with my parents who settled everything for me. so was accomod fees payment which my dad promptly paid..

hmm...i hope and wish..one day..i can reali be a "new" student in "new" un-navigated surroundings..i want to experience it first-hand myself..not guided..i want to make a fool and get lost and ask around and feel scared and panic..it's all part of the fun..right? when everything is all planned and secure...isn't this just like home? my second home?

leaving my first home

last tuesday night, i left my first home...i thought i would cry...hmm, but i didnt. the only thing that made me cry was when i went to visit my grandma before leaving for the airport. I hope this 1 year when I am not in Singapore, nothing will happen to her. She has diarrhoea 7 times a day now and can't eat any food with too much oil after her large intestine was removed. It's odd, I don't usually go to visit her often, but here in my 2nd home, I think I will miss her the most.

checking my luggage in and no one wld believe that 3 ppl had to lift 1 luggage bag of mine! i brought 2 big luggage bags totalling 60kg! and my dad was parking his car so left all of us girls trying to lift it off the trolley..

just when we thought it was done, the lady behind the counter told us that my luggage bag has overshot the limit for an indvdl luggage. each luggage shd weigh at most 32kg and mine weighed a whopping 37kg!..so, we had to lift it back onto the trolley...haiz..just when we thought the worse was over....

so...open my luggage and throw out things into the other big luggage i got..while some are permanently thrown out..n not to be seen till i return home again in dec...among the things thrown out are: my winter clothes, my hangers, cds...

my dad will be dropping by brisbane to give me those stuff this sat when he comes dwn with his frens for golf..hmm...w/o the hangers, many of my clothes cant be hanged and this explains the mess in my wardrobe..hee~

i didn expect many ppl to send me off but wow..even my mother's brother and sister came along..

when it was time to say goodbye, i didn't cry..in fact i walked through the customs and went scouting for the free internet stations straightaway..haha!

eventually found it and was happily checking and replying emails...la di da..
15min limit up and so i logged off and just glanced at the tv screen...omg, LAST CALL liao....

i remember yt calling me on her phone when her flight was last call too..i also remember telling her tt i wouldnt be so brave to try such a thing on my own flight and...here i am..

anyway, no time to think liao, so i just ran and ran and boy, reali din realise my gate was so damn far away!

reached liao..but hey..there are still so many ppl in the boarding lounge! haiz..scare me only la..but well, it was a lesson learnt nonetheless..hee~

新年咯！行花市咯！

以前看港剧，偶尔会听到花市，以为是个卖花的地方。后来知道了原来每年的农历新年前夕，男女老少都会往花市涌去，但还是以为花市就是卖花的大市场。入乡随俗，既然难得在香港度新年，当然少不了逛花市。而且还要发挥kiasu心态，要去就选最大的花市。

tt's why I found myself at victoria park, the biggest flower market @ hk.

原来花市不只有卖花~~花只占了一条街




原来可以找到很多可爱的“咚咚”。适逢今年猪年，猪仔们大行其道，走到哪里都看到他们。





原来还有表演看


当然少不了，还有吃的！应yixin和yutao的要求，故特别多拍了几张食物的照片，一解她们只有吃面包苹果的当儿对香港食物的渴求。一如以往，一口二用：口里一边说减肥，食物也一边往口里塞。图为糯米糍（有四种口味！），钵仔糕，鸡仔饼，鱼蛋。






适逢今天是情人节，档主们当然少不了情人节财新年财一起发，于是各类情人节相关商品被卖被买得不亦乐乎。真奇怪，情人节那么浪漫的日子，为什么还会有情人跑来那么拥挤的花市。。xianz..:)

祝愿我的朋友们农历新年快乐~

敏宝
一个人的新年

Small small world 小小个的世界

Copenhagen H station, is a new discovery I like very much here.

我的新发现：哥本哈根主车站

A miniature of train station!!!

微型的火车站！！！

One 2kr makes a train moves for one round.

When a pass-by inserted a coin and a train moved, I was sososossoso excited!!!

When more and more trains started to move, it was so beautiful!!!

It's just...NICE...

两个丹麦克朗让一列火车转一圈。

当一个路人投入硬币启动火车时，我真的很很很兴奋！！！

然后更多的火车开始移动，真的很漂亮！！！

就是。。。很好看！！！

I'll save money, next time i will be inserting coins, I promise.

我会存钱，下次，我一定投硬币。

p/s The 1st picture is a candid shot of my cute roommate...

I don't want to say this, but...omg, isn't she lovely?

...having such a roommate cum best friend is kind of bad,

cos you'll think yourself as ugly and fat every moment she is around,

that's really depressing, haiz, Yt, you're breaking my heart... =)

我可爱的室友的未完成照，不是我要讲。。。她很讨人喜欢对不对？

有这种朋友兼室友就是有这种不好，

当她在你身边的每一分钟，你都会觉得自己又丑又肥，

实在让我伤心，喂，yt，你很伤我的心你懂吗哈？

长洲行

长洲，一个从中环要搭1小时渡轮才到达的渔港，郭晋安的故乡，我来了。

这是一个水情沙幼，海鲜食肆林立的地方。不过，我们一行四个人还是决定吃点心。吃了7笼，价钱实在惊人！便宜得惊人！79元港币，每人各付20元，新币4元！我的天，怎么会有那么便宜又好吃的点心！


然后就是消耗卡路里的时候了。去了岛上可游览的两个地方：北帝庙和张保仔洞。这张保仔洞实在得好好介绍一番。洞穴据说是19世纪著名海盗张保仔的藏宝之地
。我们必须先搭一艘船去到另一个小岛，在爬一些石阶，就到了张保仔洞入口。

那是个黑暗且超狭窄的洞穴(下图所示为入口)，必须用手电筒才可以进入。这是我生平第一次进入那么狭窄黑暗的洞口，很有探险队的感觉！ 缓慢小心前进了一小段路，终于来到了较为宽敞的地方，相信就是海盗藏宝的地方。然后继续往前走到出口。虽然整个路程并不长，可以说很短，但是却是个非常难忘的体验。



一如往常，游览了几个地方后，又是小吃时间。怎么整条街都在卖吃的？？！！又怎么那些小吃都好像在呼唤着我们？？！！结果。。。可想而知。明天，明天我不会吃那么多的 

长洲岛一隅

这个冬末不太冷

怎么和copenhagen那么大差别？香港的这个冬末，温度实在是罕有。竟然达到26度，比上两个月经常下雨时的新加坡温度还要高。

上两个星期还一直埋怨天气很冷，没想到天气那么善解人意，整个星期都很听话的给我来个20度以上。结果刚买的两件寒衣都几乎派不上用场，就算硬硬把它们穿出去见见世面，也要随时把它们脱掉，因为头上的大太阳让我觉得用他们来当挡阳伞比当御寒的衣服更实际。

开始怀念起之前的较冷温度（人总是那么矛盾，有的时候就不喜欢，没有的时候就想念），至少当时候可以因为寒冷这借口而偷懒不洗澡，现在可要每天洗啦，因为出门会流汗！：）

以为春天的气温不会太高，所以就没有从新加坡带备短袖衣。感谢新年回新的朋友愿意替我带些短袖衣回来。也感谢fl和little monk愿意替我转交我的衣物给这位朋友。

据说这个冬天的天气让人始料不及。北京现在应该是0度左右，可是今年却罕见的达到16度。看来不只yixin的温度计坏了，连世界的气候也坏了，人为的损坏。

I want to die...it's so cold!!! 要死。。。狗冷！！！

I almost finished 1 package of cereal just now, with hot milk...
that cereal is 375 g...and 470kcal per 100g...

我刚刚差不多要吞下一包麦片谷粮：375克，

每100克470大卡的毒药；加热牛奶；

That is because of the temperature——

因为温度——

it's so coldddd now!!!!

I thought I've get used to it,
since I have been here for one month, but it is just ... COLD!!!!

现在很冷！！！
我以为我已经适应了，怎么说我来这里也已经一个月了，可是现在真的是很狗冷！！！

My lovely roommie yeoktho and housemate just came back,
they were complaining the freezingly cold weather outside.

我亲爱的室友玉桃和HOUSEMATE刚刚从外面回来，投诉着外面气温很冷。

I can't agree more...standing beside the opened door in short pants is killing me...

close the door plssss...

我完全同意。。。穿着短裤站在冷风吹来的门口我要死掉了。。。来来来，门关一下。。。


We were very stupid here,
keep measuring the indoor and outdoor temperature...

我们在这里做着蠢事，
一直在量室内和室外的温度。。。

...right outside our door (jump back to my bed,shouting)...
after 5 mins, it showed 4 degree, that was in the doorway...

门外的走廊（然后跳回床，尖叫）；五分钟后，它显示4度。。。

...in the room...26 degree,

this temperature reader was definitely out of order...

房间里面：26度，这个温度计坏了。。。

...right outside our small balcony (shouting and jumping back to my bed)...

After 2 mins, it showed 8 degree,
I need to throw this reader away...

我们的小阳台上（尖叫着跳回我的床）；两分钟后，它显示8度，

这个温度计可以丢掉了。。。

Check online: -3 degree,
and with windchill: -10 degree



I DON'T WANT TO GO OUT LATER!!!



上网查一下：-3度，
外面是起风时：-10 度

我等下不要出去！！！

snow!

like any other mornings here, waking up, having breakfast & bath w/o lookin' through the windows. realisation struck me when siang leng told me about it! i gave her that "oh, really?" look. "look!", she said while having her finger pointing to the window in our kitchen. this is what i saw:

with my sampat (38) face, i went to the room where yixin and i stay, and this is what i captured :)

it's so beautiful, isn't it?

Some little thoughts 又是一点感想

"He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him; for the great swans swam round the new-comer, and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome."

“正因为他所经历过的悲伤和苦恼，他现在更清楚地认识到身边的喜悦和美好——许多美丽的天鹅游向这位新朋友，亲热地喙着他的脖子表示欢迎。”

I think everyday's life is a journey to make oneself a better person than yesterday, although everyone defines what makes a good person differently. Some people choose a different destination, some choose to stop traveling...no matter what decisions they have made, they all have impact on my life and my journey, especially now, when I am so far away from my dearest family and friends.

觉得每一天的生活是一个旅程：让自己比昨日成为一个更好的人——虽然每一个人对如何成为一个更好的人都有不同的定义。有的人选定了一个不同的目的地，有的人选择停止旅行。。。不管他们做了怎样的决定，他们或多或少都影响了我的人生、我的旅程。特别是现在，当我远远地离开最亲爱的家人和朋友的时候。

Without handsome prince and pretty princess, the ugly duckling is never my favorite fairy tale. But I really hope that I'll be a swan one day, just like the duckling in the story. I hope that when I come back to my hometown a few months later, I have something new and good in myself that is ready to be shared with my family and friends.

没有英俊的王子和美丽的公主的《丑小鸭》从来不是我最爱的童话，但是我真的希望有一天，我会变成一只天鹅，一如故事里的小鸭。我希望：几个月后当我回到故乡，我有一些新的、好的东西可以和他们分享。

I really hope so.

dim sum!!

我最期待的一天：吃点心的早上 终于来临了！

说来惭愧。来了香港那么久，都还没有尝试过香港人的文化：饮茶吃点心。机会终于来了！
感谢朋友的local buddy-Lu,约我和朋友到上水的美心酒楼和她的家人共进早餐。小女子打从来到香港第一天就对吃点心的欲望欲罢不能，所以即使在短短的一个月内胖了两公斤（你相信吗？我都要撞墙了！香港是个陷阱，让人越踩越深无法自拔！），也奋身和我美味的点心同归于尽！

和朋友兴致勃勃，决定从宿舍走去山下的大学火车站。这是一个勇敢的决定，还好是下山，只要不断的走捷径，下楼梯，还算轻松。加上天气回暖，走起来格外精神。（其实是应为想到可以吃点心所以特别开心，呵呵）。让你们和我一起游览今早我走过的路程吧！

首先是起点--宿舍。









一路的往下走，发现中大真是个花园校园，风景很不错~












也不知下了多少级楼梯，走了多久的路，终于到了大学火车站。20分钟的火车带我们到了上水，美心酒楼。Lu的妈妈，两个姐姐，一个妹妹都在。4姐妹都是很健谈,nice的人，所以整个气氛都很轻松~看着她们四姐妹你一言我一句的调侃彼此，突然想起我的两个姐姐，还有全家人以往在家附近的点心店一起吃早点的从前。

话说美心酒楼的点心，是传统推车式的。我们吃了叉烧包，肠粉，芋角，春卷，猪大肠，还有几样我不知道叫什么（只知道很好吃就是了），当然还少不了香港招牌点心-虾饺，烧卖和凤爪。由于吃大过天，根本没心机去拍照，所以只拍了一张刚开始order时的照片，哈！(吃永远是第一)









很饱，但是超过瘾。感谢LU及他的家人：）

顺道逛了环绕上水火车站的两间shopping centre和market,不小心又花了一些钱（买菜煮呢！哈哈！当然不是我煮，我只负责洗碗），还吃了之前两次因为太饱而错过的许留山甜品-椰芒红豆小丸子。农历新年逼近,菜市场的干货区到处都在卖年货，糖果海味尤其多。还好我不用办年货！只是不知道家里的年货办得如何。。好怀念在家的新年。。










好满足的一天！虽然回到来就要面对6，7，8，9号due的4份assingment/report/presentation.可是在“pass and fail only mah”逐渐成为口头禅后，这些东西就可以先摆一边，然后考试前去大屿山天坛大佛那里摸一摸它的脚：）

the city of copenhagen

ok here i am! internet connection is finally set up! i shall begin with my sour experience for the first few days here in copenhagen! being ppk-ed by the landlord who promised to pick me up at the airport upon arrival is definately one! having lost dkk7000 is another! besides these two, i'd say everything here seems to be fine. i have a lovely and kind roomie, whoelse if she's not yixin? i have another lovely housemate, siang leng, who sticks to me most of the time as we can go to school and home together. we cook together, we eat together, we shop together, we visit places together, we make friends together, we do almost everything together. because my lady yixin is a bit too busy for us. we made different friends as we attend different orientations. *lol* but it's good. i can learn to be independent without her?

here are some photos before i stop typing? enjoy!