I miss the food in Kuching

After being here for two weeks, I have already miss kolo mee, laksa, kueh chap, char kueh and the list goes on. How I wish someone can send me a bowl of kolo mee or kueh chap.

Though there are many kinds of food sold here(Asian and Western), I still miss the local food in Kuching. I notice that people here love to drink cola and coffee. Every morning, you can see a lot of people and some students carrying a cup of coffee in their hands while walking to offices or school. The portion served in most food court and restaurants is big. Mcdonald and Hungry Jack(Aus version of Burger King) are famous here but not in Kuching. KFC and Pizza Hut are less popular among the locals but in Kuching, they are.

The weather here can be very extreme at times. Sometimes too cold or too hot. My skin and lips are itching and cracking due to the dryness of the environment. Hopefully can get use to it as soon as possible. With God's help, I CAN!!!!

First Day of "Independence"

I toured around Adelaide with Lillian. I'm so thankful to her as she spend some time to bring me around the city. I went to deposit cash in HSBC and found out that we don't have to fill in forms if we back in cash. Went to get my visa sticked to my passport and applied for Tax File Number. Too bad I couldn't get my work permitt done as I have not started my lessons yet. I also got myself a library card which I can borrow books, DVDs, CDs, magazines and access to internet for free. And guess what, the membership fee is free of charge even though I'm an international student. Can imagine the benefits given to the South Australians. Lillian brought me to WORD which sell all sorts of Christian materials. It's like Crossway or Trinity Bookroom back in Kuching but with more books. I am really grateful for Lillian. Otherwise, I would be bored and not get most of my things done.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending Lillian to bring me around the city and get things done. Thank you for blessing my parents with a safe and smooth journey back to Kuching. Thank you for protecting everybody. Glory and honour be unto You!!!!
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Officially independent....

My parents left for Kuching this afternoon. Seeing them going to the terminal made me feel so downhearted. I'm going to miss them a lot. I'm going to miss their cookings and their nagging(I can't beleive I just said that). There are still a lot of things I am going to miss about them but I just couldn't type it out as I still feel very downhearted. Before coming here, I always wanted to be away from my parents because I thought I will more freedom; I was wrong. Having my parents around made my life so easy. I have them to cook for me, do my laundry, help me solve my problems, comfort me when I am sad and bring me to everywhere I want to go. Now I have to do all these by myself and I have to make sure that I have time for my studies, God and other activities. Still I want to thank God that my parents are with me when I trying to get use to the new environment even for just two weeks. I will appreciate and treasure the times when I write emails to my parents or call them. I must spend more time with my parents when I go home end of this year. Mom and Dad, please take care of yourself. Remember to draw near to God.



Dear Heavenly Father,
I give thanks to You for teaching me to appreciate my mom and dad. Lord, please bless them with good health and positive emotion. Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from the evil ones. Bless my parents with success in their career. Protect them from any danger or harm. Guide them and bless them in their spiritual walk with You. Lord, I committ my parents into Your mighty hands, trusting that You are with them and will bless them.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today's the first day of Chinese New Year. Too bad I am not in Kuching to celebrate CNY with relatives and friends. However I still want to thank God for my parents who are with me in Adelaide to celebrate CNY. Nothing much in Adelaide today. It's still a working day but a different day in Chinatown. Most of the shops invite the lion dance team to their shops to perform. Guess what I saw? I saw an angmoh in the team. He played the drum and the cymbals. Haha.... Angmoh also interested in lion dance. There are firecrackers which are really loud(5 times louder than the ones in Kuching). Most restaurants in Chinatown are full and half of their customers are Australians. This concludes that Australians love Chinese food.
This is my first time celebrating CNY in an angmoh place. Though there's no CNY mood, I still thank God for His blessings as I can spend CNY with my parents. Mnay of the students don't get to celebrate with their parents.

I wish everybody a blessed new year. May all grow fruitfully in the love of Christ!

Out of the comfort zone

I used to think that I'm a very independent person. The minute that I arrived in Adelaide, I realised that, I wasn't independent at all.



It scares me to think of how am I going to survive in Adelaide without my parents by my side. I have to do my own laundries, cooking, cleaning, marketing and the list goes own. At home, I don't have to worry about food, my laundries or even shopping for food. My parents do that for me. All I have to worry about is my studies. But now I have to do a lot of things by myself apart from studying. I also have to go to the university by myself(my mom used to drive me to school). I wonder how am I going to handle almost everything by myself.



Suddenly, I felt so blessed and relaxed at home. I have a big bedroom all to myself. I have unlimited access to inter net. I have Astro, DVDs and VCDs to watch. My parents cooked and do the laundries for me. My parents drive me to school. I have a dog which I can play with.



Now all these are gone. The room that I am sharing with my brother is smaller than my own bedroom. I only get 1.5Gb of inter net per month. Internet is expensive in Aus and I wonder why. I can only watch TV programmes from Aus which are boring. I have to arrange my time in such a way that I have ample study time and to do my daily chores. I have to make sure that I don't overspend and catch the bus on time. I also have to do a lot of walking. (My feet has blisters due to long walks and also because the shoes I am wearing are quite new=P)

Worrying doesn't help. I better commit everything to God and let Him guide me. God is the strength of my heart!!!! Amen.

P.S: For those who are still at home, make sure you appreciate what you have!!!! You won't be that comfortable once you leave home. =(

Malaysia entered 2008 with a bang!!

What a shock for the whole nation!! Nobody would expect the 60-year-old Chua Soi Lek to be involved in a sex scandal. It took only a DVD to destroy the good image he had built over donkey years in the political world; scary, isn't it? He also said that he's not the only politician who's involved in adultery. I agree. Many of our leaders are involved in not only adultery, but also in corruption, mis-use of authority and the list goes on. It breaks my heart whenever I read the papers reporting news like that. Sometimes, I find it hard to love Malaysia. I find it hard to respect the leaders as I know most of them are involved in unclean activities. However God's teaching in 1 Peter 2:13-17 is very different.







"Submit yoursleves for the Lord's sake to every authority institutedamong men, whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governers, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." 1 Peter 2:13-17







I guess it is not for me to judge the leaders as I am not perfect. It's useless and sinful to just complain and gossip about the leaders. What's more practical is to fast and pray for our leaders and our country. Apart from that, I have to make sure that my life and my everything is pleasing to God.

Greetings!

Happy New Year!!!! May we all have a blessed New Year and may we grow deeper in love with God in the year 2008!