The Report Card

Joshua has completed his first half of academic year at Greythorn Primary School. There are no exams, not tests but there is a report card detailing what the students have achieved in the first 2 terms of the year.

Before we moved to Melbourne, we had Joshua enrolled in Tadika Sri Soka near our Cheras home in Malaysia for a year. And even then, as a 5-year-old, he had homework to do. And because of that, things became easier when he started attending school here.

The homework here is nothing compared with the homework in Malaysia. There are a lot of play activities to make learning fun. But it was not just fun, fun, fun. All these fun activities are observed and recorded by the teachers.

And I'm glad Joshua has done fairly well. A good start, I'll say. He's got a headstart in KL, after all. But what really gladdens me is the fact that he's become more self-confident and sociable, a big step forward since he was so timid and shy before.

In the report card, his teacher even describes him as "displaying a great eagerness to learn, attempting any given task with a positive and mature approach", "willing to contribute ideas, answer questions and participate in classroom discussions", "speaking confidently and clearly in front of the class", "excelling in Maths and shows great competence and accuracy in his work" and more.

Yes, it's a good start. I hope Joshua can keep up with his good work. I also hope Joanne will display the same eagerness next year when she goes to Prep. She's the more laid-back type. I may have to push her a little bit.

I'm just relieved I'm not back in KL where most parents are driving their kids crazy with tuition and a whole load of other activities. Enough said.

The Holidays Are Here

Today is the last day of Term 2 at Joshua's school. Needless to say, the kids are all excited about the winter holidays. Some have already started their holiday, missing school on the last few days of the final week.

For us, it will probably be an extended weekend where we just laze around. Nope, there are no plans to go for a short holiday. It's only 2 weeks after all. Before you know it, it's Term 3!

Well, I'll probably take the kids to the movies. There are some cool ones for the family to enjoy.

Transformers is showing now. Joshua loves these mean machines. Joanne wants to watch it just because her big brother is watching it.

I've also seen some brochures and flyers about winter activities held in various venues in the city. Maybe we'll toss snowballs at the Docklands Winter Wonderland. I haven't breathed a word about this to the kids yet, lest they get all too excited only to be told at the last minute we can't make it there. So I'll just keep mum until Alex and I decide that we REALLY are going.

Other than that, I guess we'll just visit some friends and my cousin, who lives about 10 minutes away.

We'll go somewhere for a real holiday during the Christmas break at the end of the year.

There's Something About The Weather

People who'd lived in Melbourne prior to my arrival here used to tell me about the strange weather here. A friend even described it as being able to have 4 seasons in one day. It's true. Last Christmas, in the midst of summer, the temperature dropped drastically. I nearly had to wear my winter jacket out.

Then came summer. The dry and hot spell was quite unbearable. I mean, I'm used to heat, coming from Malaysia and all that. But it was really hot. And I mean oven kind of hot. Water restrictions were imposed. Imagine not being able to wash your car the usual way - hosing it down outside your house! And not being able to water your plants anyway you like!

There was quite a fair bit of rain in autumn but nothing compared to what we have back in Malaysia. Winter is here now and we are getting rain every other day. Yesterday, it rained from morning till night. The wind was howling like mad and it was freezing.

Apparently, the rainfall registered in the state of Victoria was so high that some places that were dry before were flooded! One man died (as I'm writing this) when a tree fell on his house, striking him while he was asleep.

Still, the weathermen tell us that the dry spell isn't over yet! And that a further stage of water restriction may still be imposed at the end of the year.

So what is going on here? Is it all because of global warming caused by man? Beats me. I just hope the weather is a bit more predictable.

State Of Mind

A couple of days ago, I received an email from my good friend Bala. He made a new discovery and wanted to share it with some of his friends. The discovery - a New York-based talented blind musician named Raul Midon, whose recording debut is entitled State Of Mind. Bala was genuinely excited about God having put Midon on Earth.

Knowing how similar my taste and his in music is, I went like "err, no thanks". But Bala was determined that I should at least give Midon a try. To make it easier for me to catch Midon's performance, he sent me a video of Midon. Well to humour him, I clicked on "play" and listened and watched the man in action.

Just as I thought - not my kind of music. There was a heady mix of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Latin and Folk. He was good I suppose and had a most unusual way of strumming his guitar. And he somehow reminded me of Ray Charles (on guitar instead of piano). And if you're into his brand of music, you will probably weep at the end of his act. But alas, I wasn't moved to tears (but I would've politely clapped if I were in the audience).

I later found out that even Bala's own wife was equally unimpressed. Well, good to know I wasn't the only one not keen on Midon.

Still, it was nice of Bala to think of me when he stumbled on something he considered to be a gem. Too bad the musically-challenged halfwit in me just wasnt't in the state of mind to appreciate that.

Winter Bugs

Nothing depresses me more or faster than seeing one of my kids, or worse, both kids, falling sick.

And this being their very first winter, they are especially susceptible to coughs and colds. It started a couple of weeks ago. The 2 kids just can't stop taking turns catching the colds. Stuffy nose, sore throat, coughs and chills have been our constant companions.

I had anticipated this and stocked up some medication. The medication is effective but just as I thought the kids were on the road to recovery, one of them would start coughing again! Needless to say, they sometimes can't sleep well. And when they can't sleep well, I don't get to sleep too! Gosh, I get so cranky sometimes in the middle of the night.

Apparently, not only new migrants like us get coughing fits during winter. Australian kids who've had many winters too often fall prey to coughs and colds. Yesterday, 9 of Joshua's classmates were absent, mostly due to their being sick. Today, 7 didn't show up. It just goes to show how dreadful the winter bugs really are.

I've tried to keep the kids warm in any way I can think of - getting them to wear thermal undergarments, socks and thicker winter jackets - but they still catch the chill sometimes. Thank goodness we don't have to catch the bus to school anymore. Walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus in the cold, and often rain, will only make things worse. Yes, I'm so very grateful to have finally passed my driving test - and I got that just in time.

The winter school holidays start next week. Hopefully, by staying indoor more often the kids will be able to ward off the winter bugs. We'll see how it goes.

By The Book

Knowledge, they say, is power. I can't agree more.

As a kid, my companions included books such as the Famous Five and Nancy Drew series. My taste in books evolved and eventually my range included romance, fantasy, science fiction and even non-fictions like biographies and historical accounts.

And I've learnt so much because of the books that I read over the years. Not that I know everything but I do know a bit more than some people, namely people who don't read.

Unfortunately, these days, I haven't had that much time to indulge in my favourite pastime. Being a full time homemaker means I have to put reading at the bottom of my to-do list. The only luxury I have is reading news online and perhaps flipping through gossip and tabloid magazines at the newsstand.

But I know how important it is to like reading and have always wanted my kids to share my love for reading. So imagine my delight when I realised that books and other reading materials are so easily accessible to the public right here in Melbourne.

Not that there aren't any libraries back in Malaysia but the facilites there are nowhere close to what we have in Melbourne (and I suspect it's the same across Australia and any developed country). There are libraries in every city council - not just one by a few. Your membership in one library within a council automatically grants you access to all the libraries within that council. And you can borrow as many books as you want (no limit imposed) within a period of 3 weeks. The items you can borrow include books, videos and magazines. There are even toy libraries for younger children! And did I mention you can extend the borrowing period online too? The government and city councils here make it so easy for the general public to read!

Call me ignorant or whatnot but where I came from, there are no such luxuries. Books are not cheap. Chilren's books, especially those with nice hard covers, are pricey. Naturally, I was thrilled when I realised I didn't have to fork out a single cent to let my kids enjoy such books.

These days, my husband and I take our kids frequently to the library and they'd pile up the basket (provided by the library) with books of their choice for me to read to them. And of course, they enjoy their library trips because there are little corners for young kids to hang around too.

Joshua already can read some simple books, thanks to the coaching from his Prep teachers and the daily reading he has to do, and my efforts in helping him, of course. So he particularly enjoys flipping through pages of books he's never read. Joanne is still too young to read anything except alphabets (and perhaps "love", "cat" and "dog") but she too enjoys listening to my reading sessions.

Well, what can I say? Anywhere where reading is encouraged is a great place. One more reason not to have any regrets about migrating over here.

Flushed Away!

If you're familiar with animations, you'll probably have guessed what I'm going to yak about this time.

Yes, it's that kiddie movie featuring rodent heroes in a sewere somewhere in London. My kids love it and I think they must have watched it at least 20 times since we borrowed the DVD from a close friend last week. I just hope we can return it undamaged!

The funny thing is, I actually had to force my son, Joshua, to watch it in the beginning. You see, we'd run out of kiddie movies to rent from our local video store. So I rummaged through my friend's personal collection of DVDs (she's got 4 kids of her own, so her collection is pretty impressive) and found quite a handful of movies that I thought my kids would enjoy as well.

I've recently become a huge fan of Hugh Jackman, so I thought Flushed Away, which featured Jackman's voice as Roddy, would be something both my kids and I could enjoy.

Joanne was pretty receptive to the idea of watching mice in action. Joshua, however, balked at the thought of seeing mice running around in a sewer. He associated the sewer with all things filthy - urine, excrement, rubbish and all sorts of waste. He was right of course. But it was quite a popular animated movie. So I played the movie while he protested violently.

Despite muttering "eeww", "yuck" and "eeek" a dozen times in the beginning when Roddy first got flushed down his toilet, Joshua slowly warmed to the show. He was enthralled by the action sequences and how the mice outwitted the toads and frogs. Joanne loved the show for another reason - the "girl mouse" Rita, voiced by Kate Winslet - was a lot more streetwise and braver than the "boy mouse". Go girl, go!

By the time the show ended, both kids wanted to watch it again, much to my surprise. And they have been watching it EVERYDAY since the day we borrowed it. I have an feeling I may have to buy the DVD myself - possibly 2 copies - one for my kids and one for my friend since it's likely her DVD is going kaput soon.

As for me, I'm crazy about Hugh Jackman but listening to him as a mouse doesn't hold that much appeal. Show me the man in the flesh anytime, but not as a mouse or a penguin!

Oh, the moral of the story? Don't say no before you've sampled something. It could well turn out to be something exciting. Just ask Joshua. He'll vouch for it. And now, I can use the same principle to get him to do other things he's not too keen on. Hopefully it works.

Wild, Wild Web

The other day, my computer decided to take a long break. I felt like I had lost a limb or something like that.

It wasn't the computer that I needed so much. Rather, it was the Internet connection through the computer that was my life line. No, my mobile phone is a very old model that doesn't support GPRS or 3G. So I was out in the cold for a few days.

I've never been very tech or computer savvy. In fact, I considered myself quite backward - someone even nicknamed me "dinosaur" once. But working in a multi-media company as a content writer a few years back forced me to dabble with new technologies, in particular the Internet.

Doing research was part of my job. And before I knew it, the World Wide Web became my best friend. Whenever I needed more info, I just hopped onto the Google main page. And I always found what I was looking for. My job was so much easier.

Of course, I Googled for personal use too sometimes. And now that I'm no longer working full time, I still Google to find whatever fun facts I want. And since we don't subscribe to any daily newspaper, I usually get my daily dose from online news sources. The news travels faster and get updated more frequently too.

And let's not forget the use of e-mail and chat functions. I'm thousands of miles away from my family in Malaysia but I "talk" to them easily everyday because of the Internet. Makes me feel less home sick.

So imagine the inconvenience, or rather, the horror, that I had to live through those few days when my computer decided to go on strike. I felt so disconnected from the rest of the world.

Quite honestly, I can't imagine life without the Internet now. I'll probably go bonkers if I have to live without it for more than a week!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

For most people, a car is a vehicle to take you from point A to point B. But there are quite a few who worship the the grounds their cars run over.

My significant other is one of those in the latter group. Alex is mad about cars. Just a few months before he got the call to move over to Melbourne for a job, he bought a brand new Honda Accord back in Kuala Lumpur. On the day he decided to make the purchase, he called me at my office and asked me to go for a test drive with him during lunch. I knew about his fixation with the Honda Accord and since the Honda showroom was near my office, I agreed to go with him. After all, it was just a test drive. No commitment whatsoever.

Boy, was I wrong!

The test drive was great and I could see Alex drooling over the car. But before I had the chance to say "let's talk about this new car thing", he and the car salesmen started talking numbers and within minutes, we, or rather I, became the new owner of a Honda Accord. Well, nice of Alex to buy the car in my name but you see, in those days, I didn't drive. I had a driver's license but was just too nervous to drive around the city! So the car was legally mine in name only. The one behind the wheel would be Alex.

Gosh, he glowed with pride and happiness on the day we went to collect the car. I wasn't over the moon like him. The reason? We could barely afford it and my job contract was about to end. How were we going to maintain the car if I couldn't find a high-paying job after that?

But fear not, the man would do anything to keep the car. He ended up paying for the monthly repayment all by himself!

Then, we made the big move to Australia. Ah, the cars here are much cheaper. What are considered terribly expensive in Malaysia are actually quite affordable here. And I suspect one of the reasons dear hubby is so keen on migrating here is the fact that luxury cars is within his grasp here, unlike back home in Malaysia.

With too many choices here, Alex couldn't decide which flashy car to get when he first arrived. He changed his mind quite a few times and in the end settled for a really flashy and sporty, and not to mention HUGE Mazda CX-7.

I was horrified. I would be the one driving the car. And being a not-so-great driver, that really stressed me out. I could just imagine the kind of fate that would await me if I accidentally scratch, dent or bang his new expensive toy. And did I mention that despirte being "affordable", this car is truly high maintenance?

How I wished he'd got me a much smaller, not to mention much cheaper and lower maintenance Honda Civic! I wouldn't even have minded a used car. At least I wouldn't have to worry about scratching it.

To make matters worse, I had to sit for a series of driving tests to get my Victorian license. Gosh, having Alex as my instructor wasn't a drive in the park. He'd chastise me for the slightest thing, making me more nervous and anxious whenever we're on the road. Not surprisingly, I failed my practical driving test FOUR times before finally passing.

I've got used to the car now. It's still big to me and parking it is quite a challenge. But I have to admit that it's a fantastic and easy to drive car. And that Alex has great taste in cars, high maintenance or not.

I just hope me and kids won't starve soon ...

Lost In Space

I was a slighlty above average kid at school. Not too bad but not that great with my grades. I knew I wanted a good education so I didn't really dread going to school, except perhaps when it came to attending Advanced Maths and Physics classes in my secondary school years.

Still, I wish school had been more fun. And it's a known fact that the schools in Australia and the schools in Malaysia are as similar as day and night.

There are just so many fun learning activities at the schools here in Melbourne. Here's one great example. Today was the "Space Dress Up & Party Day" for Prep students at Joshua's primary school. So the parents were told 2 weeks in advance about this special day. We were encouraged to dress our kids up in anything related to space such as the moon, stars, sun, spaceship, astronaut, even space aliens!

Sounded fun. Unfortunately, I am completely hopeless with needlework and art and craft. So decorating Joshua's costume elaborately was out of the question. Buying a costume wasn't an option either. Too expensive. So I took the lazy and easy way out - I bought a sheet of thick yellow paper and cut out a big circle and sewed it on his shirt! You've guessed it - it's a moon. Simple. Joshua was okay with it.

Imagine my complete surprise when I dropped him of at school today. The other kids looked as though they had landed on the school ground from outer space. You could see spacemen, various species of Martian, gigantic stars, small stars, even a couple of Darth Vaders - you get the picture. The teachers too were "dressed to kill" for the day. The sight was something I never thought I'd see in a school!

It was like a circus. Everyone was having a blast! The kids started making comparisons. The parents couldn't stop snapping pictures. I hadn't expected this. So no camera to capture the moment! Dang!

While there isn't all that much emphasis on academic performance or examinations, the people here sure take it seriously when it comes to having fun. The good thing is, it's not just fun. It's learning through fun. The kids are sure to be able to learn more about the solar system and its planets with such an unusual approach (to me, anyway since Malaysian schools have never done anything like this!).

As I write this, I hope Joshua didn't feel left out for not having a fantastic costume (He's still at school right now). He probably envies the other kids. His sister Joanne, who was at the school with me earlier and witnessed the entire carnival, already told me what she wanted next year when she goes to Prep!

Yep, school is fun here. There's no doubt about it. Next time, if there's a special day with a special theme, I'll just have to make sure I put more effort to make it fun, yet educational for my kids.

What A Country!

I'd never thought I'd end up living in Australia, not in my wildest dream. Yeah sure, I'd dreamt about travelling around the world and holidaying from one country to another but I certainly never considered settling in another country. I was a true blue Malaysian, born and bred.

As luck would have it, I married someone with an affinity for Australia - Melbourne in particular. My husband Alex spent his tertiary education years here and never really wanted to leave what had become his second home. But visa problems forced him to head home. Still, the thought of settling in Australia was never far from his mind.

When I first met him, I knew he is an Australian universtiy graduate and he has friends in Melbourne. Fantastic, I thought -another great place to visit. The idea of holidaying Down Under was appealling. But when he started talking about migrating to Australia, I wasn't all that keen. Holidaying in Australia is fine and fun. But living in Australia might be another thing altogether.

Anyway, Alex went ahead with the PR visa application and we got our visas rather easily. That was a few years back before the first Bali bombing. We took our time making the big move, though. Uprooting our young family and leaving our parents and siblings behind wasn't an easy decision.

Well, we are here now. I must say the sceptic in me has disappeared. Australia is a great country. Everyone has equal opportunities in the truest sense. If you deserve something, you get it, regardless of your skin colour, religion, language, etc. Something that you don't see in many countries claiming to be democracies.

Of course, there are things that we need to get used to - shops close by 5pm on most days (except supermarkets like Coles and Safeway that may operate till midnight); water restrictions are in place (you can't even wash your car with a hose!); the weather is a bit crazy at times (you just have to bring a jacket with you when you go out, even in summer); renting a house the first time is quite a tedious affair (the landlord will check your background thoroughly and imposes all kinds of conditions before signing the contract with you), etc.

But these little "hiccups" - if they are hiccups at all - are small sacrifices. People here are generally friendly and helpful. Strangers will greet you and smile at you on the street. Same with bus drivers, cashiers, post office workers, hospital nurses, etc. You don't get this kind of treatment back in Malaysia unless you're driving a BMW and talking to the front desk people at a 5-star hotel!

And one more thing - one in four Australians is a migrant. So I don't feel much like an alien here. In fact, there are so many Asians here that sometimes, I don't feel like I'm in Australia. Even the lord mayor of Melbourne is a Hong Kong-born migrant. And the Italians and Greeks are the backbone of the city. Of course, there are the Vietnamese too. And more recently, many wealthy migrants from Mainland China have made their way here too.

Melbourne is truly cosmopolitan. You can hear various accents anywhere. It's just amazing. Yes, I like it here. And I hope to stay here for a long while.

What's That In My Soup??

My 6-year-old son Joshua was a clean freak. He couldn't stand dirt or what he perceived as "dirt" in any way. He would demand to have his shirt changed if there was a tiny spot of stain on it; his hands washed if there was a speck of dust; his drawing thrown away if the line he'd just drawn wasn't straight enough.

Once, he even kicked up a big fuss at the restaurant when his soup arrived with tiny bits of over-fried garlic. He started screaming and yelling, much to the horror of the waiter. The poor guy actually thought he'd spilled some hot soup on the kid!

Well, that was then, before we left the house inhibited by weird in-laws with even weirder habits. You see, mum-in-law has a mild case of OCD (obssesive compulsive disorder) and has this urge to wash her hands frequently. Somehow, she "conditioned" my son to be very much like her, much to my chagrin.

Here are some strange but real examples - Little Joshua wasn't allowed to walk barefoot in the house just as he started to learn to walk because the floor was "dirty" (Gosh, how is the poor kid ever going to learn to walk if he's not allowed to walk the usual way?); Little Joshua must not eat using his fingers (Good heavens! How do you hold your food then?) Little Joshua was not to eat anything that has dropped from his plate onto the dining table (I mean, what's wrong with that? It's not like it's dropped on to the floor!); etc.

I know in her own misguided way, the old lady meant well. But she was doing more harm than
good. Imagine my relief now that we don't live under the same roof.

In the past few months, I've managed to undo all the funny stuff she planted in my son. Joshua is now just like any other 6-year-old - having a blast in the sand pit, eating with his fingers, getting his shirt all brown and sticky, even spitting in his hand before making a deal.

And no, he doesn't scream murder when he sees something weird in his food anymore! Thank goodness.

Being A Stay-At-Home-Mum

While leaving the work force has never been the aim of my life, I have very little choice now that I'm in Melbourne, not Kuala Lumpur where you can easily hire a domestic maid or get your parents to help out with babysitting chores.

Well, no siree. Only the rich can afford domestic maids in this country. As a result, most mothers (and a few fathers) stay home to look after the kids and manage the house. Most mums here are terrific multi-taskers - they play various roles in the household - housekeeper, child minder, cook, garderner, dentist, doctor, hairdresser, driver, etc. It's a wonder some of these superwomen haven't had any nervous breakdown!

And some of these women are truly, really superwomen. I know some mums at Joshua's school who have 4 kids. One of them is mum to Joshua's classmate, Angus. Angus is the oldest kid and he has 3 younger siblings that his mum sometimes brings along when she sends him to school or picks him up.

I only have 2 kids and after doing my daily chores I barely have time for myself but I have no regrets. I knew what was in store for me before coming over here. I didn't and still don't mind all this. I've had enough of the rat race in the corporate world. So here I am playing multiple roles for my husband and kids.

It's hard work running the household without much help from my significant other but it sure beats staying in the same house with his parents! At least I'm now queen of the house. I can do whatever I want, discipline my kids in any manner that I see fit without interference from maddling in-laws, cook dishes my way and watch my favourite movies or TV programmes after the kids have gone to sleep.

The only drawback is the lack of regular income. No "real" work, no pay. Well, you win some, you lose some. Perhaps, later, when both the kids are at school, I'll have time to go out and do some casual work. Yep, I think this will work out wonderfully.

Our Very First Winter

Ah winter! Having been born and bred in tropical Malaysia, winter was an alien concept to me, until now. Well, sure, I've seen winter in the movies and read all about it but I had never had the chance to truly experience it.

To be honest, I wasn't so keen on making any acquaintance with winter before I got my driver's license. Walking the kids to the bus stop and waiting for the bus in the cold really wasn't all that fun. But after getting my license to drive, I kind of like it now.

For the first time ever, I got myself a pair of nice boots, some scarves, gloves and other winter accessories. They are quite comfortable and look pretty good on me. I got the kids some really cool stuff too. And they love it!

Granted, the winter here is nothing compared to the winter in North America or Europe. It hardly ever snows or drops below zero degree. Thank goodness for that! A not-too-experienced driver like me will have trouble manoeuvring the car in the snow! Nonetheless, it's still cold, especially for migrants who have come from a tropical country such as moir.

Another thing to get used to - it starts to get dark by 5pm. And by the time it's 6pm, it's pitch dark! No wonder day light saving was introduced!

Well, it's going to get colder. I've read some reports saying this may be the first real winter in Melbourne for years! Just our luck, when we first arrived, it was the hottest and driest summer in the history of Melbourne. Now we are about to experience what could possibly be the coldest winter in years.

I'm not complaining - after all, there are only 3 months for each season. So I'll just enjoy my first winter and look forward to spring in the next couple of months.

Have Wheels Will Travel

Hallelujah! Finally, I got my driver's license, after an agonising six-month wait and 5 attempts! Well, not that I didn't know how to drive, I just had trouble passing my practical driving tests since moving to Melbourne six months ago!

The first 2 hurdles - the written test and the hazard perception test - were a breeze. I actually passed with flying colours. But when it came to the actual practical driving test, something always went wrong. And each time I failed, it was due to a different fatal mistake. I was so disheartened I thought that I'd never be able to drive around Australia, that I'd have to send my kids to school by public bus until they reach their secondary education years, that the nice Mazda CX-7 that my husband bought for me will only decorate the garage!

To be honest, I'm not much of a driver. I've only been driving the past year in KL before migrating to Melbourne. And my parking sucks. But hey, I'd driven around in KL - and that says something. I finally engaged a professional instructor. Even he said my driving is okay. Apparently, the main problem was that I wasn't familiar with the road rules. And here in Victoria, following road rules means following road rules. And therefore, I failed, many times.

So this inability to drive had been hovering above my head like a dark cloud for the past six months. Imagine my relief when the last testing officer cheerfully told me that "You passed!" I wasn't sure if I'd heard him right. So I asked again just to confirm.

That ecstatic feeling was indescribable. Now my wallet holds a precious piece of card that will allow me to roam around the roads of Victoria and beyond. I just have to remember all the road rules I've learnt!

I Am Back!

Gosh, it's been so long since I was here. Well, not that I had that much to say. After all, I only had 2 previous blogs! Actually, I sort of forgotten about it or rather, forgotten the URL to get me here. Thanks to an old friend, I found my way back.

The last time I wrote, I was still in Malaysia. Now, I'm in Melbourne. Been here for the past 6 months. What can I say? It's a great place to live. Everything runs smoothly, public service is excellent and people are generally polite and helpful. Most importantly, the kids love it here. In fact, they adapted to their new environment much faster than I did! My eldest, Joshua, is now actually speaking with a slight Australian accent and he's only been here 6 months! Imagine that.

Of course, having a cousin and good friends here help too. Sure I miss my parents and sisters but I'm trying to look at the bright side. Hopefully, my being here means they'll be able to come visiting from time to time.