In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
"My name is Chris Ong, not Chris Hong."
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Where do I begin? I'm now in my apartment so I guess I'll start here.
My apartment, although labeled "Studio Apartment" is really a "One-Bedroom Apartment". It's real cool. Got a living area, kitchen area, toilet and bedroom - all separate rooms. Got TV, telephone, fridge, oven, stove, sink. It's all fully furnished, so I've got tables and chairs and beds and so on. No air con though, but the weather is not bad and I don't stay in much during the day when it's hot, so it's okay. The best thing, though, about this apartment is that is right smack in the middle of the Melbourne CBD - right on top of Melbourne Central! It's so very convenient! Anyway, I've, more or less, finished my shopping for my apartment. Only thing left to get is a vacuum cleaner.
The city of Melbourne is really nice. Most of the buildings are quite old school in terms of their looks, if anyone cared about looking at the closely (typical me). The ethnicity here amazed me last Easter, and it amazes me too. It's obvious that there are a lot of Asians here - particularly Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Indonesians, Chinese, Malaysians, Singaporeans etc. But if you looked further, there are lots of Greeks, Italians and Lebanese too. It's much more an immigrant city than Sydney ever was. I spent most of the nights so far eating Italian food.
Talk about food. I can't say that the variety of food here is as wide as in Singapore. But I'll tell you that the quality is definitely something. The Italian food here is just
bellisimo. Vietnamese food here is good too. Japanese food... I'm just beginning to discover the better restaurants. Just down from my apartment, there's probably about 20-odd restaurants along the street. Spoilt for choice? Tell em about it.
The TV programs here take some getting used to. Lately, I'm beginning to think that it's better than in Singapore. Here, I get to watch some good foreign movies. Picked up lots of tips on filmmaking here. And I haven't started school yet.
School orientation starts next week. Now I would love to miss orientation, I won't, because I want to meet people. Here although I know one or two individuals here and there, I want to get to know more people as much as possible. Orientation week, I guess will be a good time to do that. I just hope they don't make us do spastic things on the city streets. I live in the city, you know.
I've been here for while and been quiet for a while. Why? Because I've been so busy. Not as busy as when I was helping out at Sonic Festival but busy enough for me to forgo setting up my internet and mobile phone account. Well, they're both up now. There's been a lot of planning going on - when to get an apartment of my own; what extra course I should take on top of the one I'm already in; and a lot of other stuff. Well, as long as I'm making the decisions, not my parents.
Life here, overall, is good. I like Melbourne more and more each day. And I thank God that He has sent me here. I never wanted to come to Melbourne.
Just two nights ago, I was talking to my mum. I said, "Who would've thought I'd come to RMIT to study? Who would've thought I'd come to Melbourne?" My mum said, "Who would've thought you'd continue studying?"
In the secret, a still small voice answered, "Me."
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
