29.10.2011

This will be the last weekend in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory – the state I live in) where you can go to the shops and have your purchases packed up in plastic bags. That's right, in attempts to reduce litter in the environment, the ACT government is banning plastic bags as of 1 November. I already use recyclable bags, so nothing really changes for me.

In other news, we have still not found an apartment. It is so hard here; nothing like finding a place in the States. I am really starting to go a bit mad..... I really need my own space! Unfortunately, we were turned down for the apartment in Lyneham. I am not sure why, and the real estate agents do not give the reason for it. Trying to stay positive though.

I am really busy with uni at the moment. I have a big project due on 31 October, and then another due on 7 November. We leave for Perth on 9 December, and I am definitely looking forward to being back. It will be great to see friends and family and spend heaps of time at the beautiful beaches there! Can't wait!

26.10.2011

This post is dedicated to my dearest and best friend, Kate. We have been friends for absolutely ages now, and I love and appreciate her friendship more and more as the time passes. I feel like she is the only person in the whole world who truly "gets" me and she never judges me, even if I make stupid mistakes. I know she always has my back, and I hope she knows that I will always be there for her.

A lot of things have changed throughout our friendship: switching careers, going to university, moving overseas, getting married, growing older, having children...... all life-changing experiences. And although we have changed, our friendship hasn't faded. We may not get to talk as much as we used to – like the days when the only thing separating us from a conversation was a hallway – but she is always the one who I want to share everything with.

Words cannot express how truly grateful I am to have such a friend. Even just typing out these few short sentences overwhelms me with all sorts of emotion. I know we will never again be just a hallway apart, but someday, I hope that there are not thousands of miles between us!

24.10.2011

Over the weekend, we went to the Nara Candle Festival with some friends. This festival is held every year to celebrate the sister-city relationship that Canberra holds with Nara, Japan. The festival consists of various Japanese food stalls, artwork, cultural displays, music and other things of that sort. At the end of the night, thousands of candles are lit in a closing ceremony – it was very beautiful. Also, to top things off, a group of Japanese school girls sang We Are The World, complete with an amazing solo by a random Japanese guy. It was truly a wonderful evening.

23.10.2011

Recently, Shaun and I went to Floriade - an annual flower festival held here in Canberra. We went last year as well, and this year was just as beautiful. Perhaps even better because last year, the weather was gloomy; this year the weather was fantastic. In addition to thousands of colourful flowers, there was also a bonsai tree collection. The bonsai trees were beyond incredible; I had never seen so many different varieties.

Actually, now that I think of it, we went to Floriade this year on my 28th birthday! It was a gorgeous day - breakfast in Kingston (another suburb in Canbs) with friends, then a stroll through the flower festival, followed by a nice dinner at our favourite dumpling house. Oh, and Shaun made me some delicious triple chocolate brownies after dinner! And, since he is the best guy around, he bought me tickets to see RocKwiz! RocKwiz is this great, music-trivia television based in Melbourne, and I love watching it. So we get to go see a live filming in December, and I could not be more excited. Overall, a pretty great birthday.

22.10.2011

Since Shaun and I have returned to Australia from our holiday, we have been homeless. We packed up our things and left our apartment in June, in order to do some traveling, and now we are home and looking for a new place to live. Thankfully, our good friend Dave is letting us stay at his until we find something. Today's picture is me, in the back garden at Dave's, picking some oranges from their tree. I personally do not like oranges – it is a texture thing, not a taste thing – but Shaun loves them! It was another beautiful day here in Canberra, and the smell of the oranges, mixed with the warm sunshine and soft breeze made for a gorgeous afternoon.

Looking for a new flat has been annoying, for lack of a better word. The rental market here in Canberra is so competitive and rental prices are so expensive! For Shaun and I to live on our own (not in a share house), we will not get away with paying less than $1400 monthly in rent. And that doesn't even get us something super nice – just an average apartment! Granted, we get paid more here, but still, it is pretty outrageous. We have put in an application on a nice apartment in Lyneham (a suburb in Canberra), so we will see what happens. I quite liked the place: it was spacious, clean and in a nice complex. The downside is that it is slightly out of the budget, and not as close to uni the CBD as I would like. Oh well; we will see what happens.

I hope the right place comes along soon though, as I have now been wearing the same clothing options for over 4 months. Living out of a suitcase definitely has a downside!

21.10.2011

So this is my first ever blog post, and I am not sure how I feel about it. I have always thought blogging was a bit lame, to be quite honest. And look at me now - I have my own blog. I suppose the main purpose of this is to give my family and friends a peak into my Australian life.

After having been away from Australia for four months, it feels good to be back. This photo was taken after a brief trip to the supermarket, and the "welcome home" sunset was lovely. However, I have to tell you that right before this picture was taken, I was elbowed in the ribs by a strange, old lady. As I was walking towards the entrance of Coles (an Australian supermarket chain), I noticed a crazy looking woman headed quickly towards my direction. As she approaches closer, I realise that she is not going to move over in order to not run into me. She basically gets right up in my face, mutters some quick words, and then, with an angry look on her face, she elbows me as hard as she can (at least it felt that way) in my left side. She hastily walks off as if nothing had happened. I am shocked, obviously, and start to cry because it actually really hurt. No one saw this occurrence, and I was just left there, standing outside of the shops, crying like a wimp.

Although the sunset that night was beautiful, my "welcome home" assault was far from it. I have to say it was one of the craziest experiences I have encountered. But what a fun story for my first entry!