100th

As I write this entry it is with realisation that it is my 100th.
Nothing to be proud of really but kinda making it a big deal cuz the number sounds grand :)

So.. upon returning from the land so fondly called `Down Under', I was thinking of writing 100 things about my trip..erm.. would anyone be interested to read it?

Let's try..

The FLIGHT

1. I love MAS. 2.Truly laden with MH= malaysian hospitality 3. it fed us with ice-cream on both journeys to and fro.. 4. with superb in-flight entertainment :D 5. read my book only on the way to Aussie but not on the way back.. too distracted by the entertainment on board.. ;)



The WORKSHOP

6. The IB workshop drained me but I learnt a lot 7. made new friends! from Australia, Jakarta, India, etc.. 8. got material to use in class

9. it was a fully digital experience as we had to refer to stuff from a website - so EVERYONE was with a laptop.. kinda reminded me of a class with students who use the laptop while I'm teaching.. haha..

10. think I made my college proud by contributing a few times in the workshop.. ;)





MELBOURNE

11. modern city 12. organised 13. efficient 14. unpredictable weather 15. multi-cultural (like Msia!) 16. went to the Moomba Festival = fireworks! 17. people cycle EVERYWHERE!

18. bicycle lanes 19. bicycle-parking space 20. rental bikes available! 21. people cycle to work in jeans! and shower and change before starting work.. 22. mode of transportation i used = trams (on time!) 23. shops close at 5pm, workshop finished 4.30.. :(( 24. Nandos and KFC are halal there! 25. many other halal restaurants like Indonesian food 26. even an old town kopitiam.. 27. Yarra river - one of the attractions.. lovely view at night

STUDENTS

28. Meeting up with ex-KMB students was great. Even though I only taught Sofia (05/07 batch) IELTS for 4 weeks (at that time teachers taught the students), it felt like we had known each other for long. Lovely hospitality and helpful from the first day we were there.. Had dinner together at a halal restaurant = nasi goreng nenas.. ;)

29. They took us on a trip to Brighton Beach on tuesday. We had a little picnic by the beach and it was a cold evening.. brrrr.. but fun!

30. Took a stroll down Docklands later and sipped hot chocolate trying to keep warm..

31. Admired Sofia's skill at reading a map and Jaja's ability to drive a manual car to take us to the beach and around the city that day..

BRIGHTON BEACH

32. Main attraction - the colourful boat houses.. wonder how it looks like with a boat in it. Google the image!

MELBOURNE ZOO

33. Cheaper than going on a proper tour 34. but going there meant you can't get up close and personal with the animals:

35. esp loved the koalas - they just hug the branches of a tree.. and were sooo cute!

36. kangaroos - kinda lazed about and wanted to see them hopping but they didn't
37. little kangaroo sitting in the pouch was not seen
38. enichda's reminded me of my hedgehog but are way cuter and fatter
39. platipus is a mammal that lays eggs!
40. orang utan sanctuary
41. smallest penguins on earth! CUTE!
42. spent half of the day there and took oh so many pics.. was lovely.. i think the zoo is pretty with flowers and shrubbery all around..

43. if i had a second job, I'd want to work with animals..


FOOD

44. Vegetarian. 45. cooked on one night we were there- salmon + broccoli + dessert (frozen) 46. blessed to stay in an hotel apartment with complete facilities to cook.. ;) 47. even tho halal restaurants were plenty, eating in was still the best.. 48. always be careful of the ingredients tho.. 49. bread, milk and juice were the 3 essential things we always had 50. the fun part was getting vouchers from the organizers to eat during lunch. We had a choice of 2 restaurants to go to and select one meal and drink..


SHOPPING

51. Even tho the rate was high RM3.1 = 1 AUD.. I managed to buy some stuff

52. Victoria market is THE place to get good bargains (not sure good quality)..

53. Sadly as shops closed at 5.. (finished course at 4.30) I only shopped at the ever so famous market on the day I was leaving .. which left me very little time to choose and decide (women like me take a lot of time shopping cuz we think too much and can’t decide..)

54. A lot of Indonesians were sellers at the stalls.

55. Due to limited space.. NO souvenirs were bought for my 57 students... :(

56. While packing to go back, I had to sit on my suitcase to zip it.. i think that's the first time that happened..

OTHERS

57. I visited a cousin who has been staying in Melbourne for a couple of years. 58. took a train to his house and met his 5 mth old daughter for the first time 59. My cousin just got a PR status and seems content to stay there permanently..

60. I think it's cool to live and work overseas.. apparently a lot of my cousins and aunts/ uncles are doing that.. Made me wonder if I'd ever be willing to to do that.. and like, stay there forever..

61. The Moomba Festival I went to made me smile and remember a sample individual oral I once gave my students to listen to of an Australian girl talking about the festival as her chosen topic.. ;)

62. In the future will bring a BIGGER suitcase and less clothes.. so I can squeeze in more souvenirs.. haha..

63. Woody, our eldest cat is always in tune with what
we do.. here's a pic of him before we left.












64. This is one when he was looking at things I had bought esp the koala bear key chain he thinks is for him. (hubby says it is for him..)













65. On my flight back there was a lot of turbulence as the plane went into air pockets.. this for me, is always the scariest part when flying.. it gets you thinking of the `what if's' while you're in the air..

66. But what I always love to do when I get to sit near the window is to be amazed at Allah's creation and to just stare at the beautiful clouds and sky hundreds of thousands of feet above the ground.. it surely is a sight you only get to experience when you're in an aeroplane.. Allah is great..










ok.. it seems that I only managed to reach 66.. Not bad.. hehe.. I kinda owe this entry another 34 points.. yikes! I guess I do have some more to say about the trip.. but do you really wanna know? ;)

Till the next post..