Down Under

G'day mate! It's my first post from Sydney, Australia.

Lots of things are happening so fat, but suffice to say that after 9 days here, Sydney isn't looking too bad..there are a few Malaysians here and they're pretty friendly, but I really, really miss the camaraderie, joie de vivre and familiarity that I shared with all my mates back home.

Maklumlah, pertama kali merantau ke negara asing...

It's kind of cool meeting people from all over the world; so far I've met plenty of ABCs, Japanese, Singaporeans, a Brazilian, Siberian, Italian, Korean, Indian, Sri Lankan and an exponential amount of Mainland Chinese.

I've just finished my ISSU Orientation (which was really helpful, especially the talk on PR) but the real hectic stuff only comes next week; faculty, IH and Uni orientation. I really hope to meet more people there because much as I enjoy my own company, I can't go on like this for the rest of the semester.

I know I'm at the peak of the 'W' curve at present; it's still a novelty doing my own washing/ironing and being in complete control of my life. Well, not 100%...have to put up with IH food and their early mealtimes! They serve some interesting fare here, I've already sampled beef stroganoff (from Russia) and a watered down version of 'nasi goring' (with tomatoes and prawns!). But I do admit to being a little lonely; many of the students here are postgrads and it's a little weird for an 18 year old as myself to be hanging out with 25 to 30 year olds, the wavelength and age difference might just be a little too much. The Singaporeans here my age are all in a group and know each other, so boo for me.

Loving the weather here so far; blue skies and windy days. But autumn's not far away, so time to get out the umbrellas.

My major gripe is of course; the lack of interest/coverage in the BPL here. It's agonizing without my daily fix of football news/programs/radio coverage of live matches. But at least I've got a friend to talk about the beautiful game with here :)

PS Since the last post, Chelsea have gone on to lose 2-1 at Everton and with Man Utd drawing 1-1 with Villa, our lead has been slashed to the slender margin of just 1 point. Later, we thrashed Cardiff City 4-1 to move into the sixth round of the FA Cup and are due to face Wolves this weekend.