the tay family in South Australia

yay! having my parents here rockz my sockz manz! when they finally come, i realise how good it is to have pple to depend on and be concern for u... imagine 5 mths no one hurry me to sleep or shower... miss my mum's naggings! as in REALLY... haha. and my dad to finance me.. lol. jus kidding~

but anyway, really happy my parents and sister is here! long time since i talk crap w my sis.. despite the 10yr age gap, i think we click really well, either im super childish or she is super mature, i choose to believe the latter (: haha but she really GROWN in 5 mths, i estimate about 2 yrs tt she will be taller than me.... depressing!

my uncle's family is here too, and there is so many places on the itinerary, wonder how many will they actually go to... i took 5mths to clear all those attractions, and they gonna use 5 days!
but the highlight is going to kangaroo island this weekend! WOOHOO~ f.i.n.a.l.l.y.!!!! but unfortunately my parents need to go back earlier, so they gonna miss it...

ok, so much for thinking about holidaying when i have exams in 12 hrs.. HAHA.
thats probably in the minds of every exchange student.

X-cited (:

2 weeks to bye bye Adelaide and hello HOME(:

cant believe 5 mths is over just like that. its been an amazing journey being alone and surviving in foreign land! but i believed that God placed me out of my comfort zone for a reason and i thank God that i grew in the process. there are times when i really really MISS HOME, and feel quite alone and forced to be independent but thank God that He has been there, and "in every season, He is still God"...

top 10 things that i will miss about adelaide:

1) having my own room (own house in fact)
2) doing my own housework (erm.... ok, not all the time haha)
3) COOKING!
4) the weekend adventures (wineries, museum, the awesome art gallery)
5) almost free transportation
6) grocery shopping
7) the real friendly people
8) surfing
9) the free time!
10) lastly, THE FOOD

basically, to summarize: EVERYTHING............................... hehe

It is only God that deserves all the credit of how great this experience has been and i just stand in awe of how much He has protected me and blessed me. and how He had put people in my life to constantly encourage me and pray for me. Who am i to deserve all these! (:

excited that my family is coming over! woohoo.

Jeremiah 12:5

"if you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

A verse i feel speaks of perseverance and how we are indeed overcomers. That God has given us an ability far greater than we think it is. We can compete with the horses and manage in the thickets, but often enough, we give up at the smallest of failures. If only we see in God's perspective more!


When you think you CANNOT or you are a FAILURE or you are DOWN and OUT, read Romans 8:37 for God's reply (:

Romans 8:37 "No, in ALL things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Mark 11:24

"Therefore i tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"

the lazy wednesday afternoon

or more like "the lazy Joce on a wednesday afternoon"... i woke up today, not wanting to do anything.. maybe cos my heart is on holiday mood, my mind is clogged and my body is just stoning...

so i decided to watch slumdog millionaire! oh man.. such a good show(: and the thing i took out of the movie is to never stop believing... never stop believing in ur dreams and your plans... for some of us, its also about never stop believing God.

its jus such a good reminder to not give up on my dreams, which has been something that is on my mind recently...and i personally feel that one word summarizes the movie, that is HOPE. there is hope even if you have been abandoned, there is hope when you are left with no roof above your head, there is hope even when you live in the slums, there is hope even when you think there isn't.

and to me, this hope comes from and is in God(:

p.s. i have to add that the main actor and actress are SUPER GOOD LOOKING.... haha

my first choice for a holiday!

photos from thetravelerszone.com

one day i will set foot on this island! ONE DAY!

yahweh

"I AM WHO I AM" - Exo 3:14

this says it all.... (:

Isaiah 46:11

From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do. (NIV)

I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it. (NLT)


(: (: (: thank you Lord

I really really really want to be a wedding planner!

ok... i truly am bad at this blogging thing! i mean, i already been writing essays and reports for sch... and blogging = writing yet another essay! haha...

anyway, suddenly i have an urge to blog because i suddenly realise (or rather, more sure than ever before) that I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanna be a wedding planner!!!!! but yet, im super intimidated by what it entails! i dont think im capable enough to get myself involved in the most important day of a couple's lives!

then again, "our competence is from God" and i really hope that my plans are aligned with God's!! (:

ok, i will try to write an essay to summarise my exchange soon!! though i believe no one is reading this cos even i dont read it! HAHA.

its been long~

its been long! since i updated.. i knew i cannot last in this "blogger industry" haha!

but anyway, there wasnt much of a highlight these couple of weeks.. due to the really COLD and WET weather... apparently pple here love the rain, cos it fills the reservoir, but me - just makes me gloomy! haha.

oh ya, a major highlight was that i went dolphin watching(: will upload the video if i can! and its really cool, looks like i have affinity w animals.. first the whales than the dolphins, hope i see some ROOs soon.. haha.and saw the sun set at henley beach. i literally saw a fireball being sucked into the sea... and i snapped alot alot of photos like the ones below..

despite the quiet days, spent usually at home, i thought i had a good time nevertheless. been reading alot... one book i read is "Lucky man" the autobiography of Michael J. Fox... its been an inspiring book, about how he coped(is coping) w Parkinson's. one word that concluded my learning from this book is "OPTIMISM"... something that i have yet to fully grasp(:

now that i finished the book, its time to read the next, wonder what i shld read now.. haha. oh, and i've been watching lots of movies too... haha, those long overdued, yet to watch movies, like good will hunting, i.am.legend, rain man etc..

excited for the next few weeks of nice weather and adventures... till then!

a great "free willy" saturday!

my weekends have been super exciting so far! every week there would always be an adventure..(: yesterday, auntie esther and uncle meng, friends of my family, brought me to victor harbour and granite island. its about 1hr away from adelaide city(:

this is the causeway from victor harbour to granite island. was super good weather and was nice walking in the not-too-cold breeze! we walked 1 round around granite island, was there for about 1.5hrs, cos we just keep staring into sea, hoping to catch willy!

at the top of granite island..!

since we couldnt get to see whales at the granite island, we went to indulge in hotdog buns. This uncle was so nice to let me catch a photo of him at work..hehehe

then, we went to the info counter to ask, and they said there were whale sightings about 10mins away from victor harbour. so we rushed down, and...

we saw MANY whales, although the photo only shows one!! haha. super exciting~~

the whale is waving "HI" to me!

look at the skyline.. if only i can sit here for hours, read a book with a cup of coffee!

anyway, i must say that i have been v v blessed that my exchange has been spectacular so far, and i kindof clocked in the "most attractions visited in the shortest stay" by an international student.. haha. really thank God for auntie esther and uncle meng who always ask me to their outings on weekends...

and my exchange is not entirely about FUN of cos..haha. i have to do my work too, but most importantly, i feel God speaking alot to me, moulding me more.. its really nice being alone sometimes, and just stand in awe of His greatness and be in His presence!(:

today at church, pastor Danny was sharing about how he woke up this morning, and started praying and reciting his requests to God.. then God spoke to him, "you havent even said hi to me".. so pastor Danny started just praising God and worshipping Him, putting all his requests aside.

this really struck me. that yea, i dont just want to utter my "God please do this this this for me" list when i pray, but i want to worship Him because of who He is! because He created me...

so lets all wake up every morning and praise God and thank Him for everything we have and for His everlasting love...(:

thank You!

"its amazing!!" thats a phrase i have been saying to myself these few days. despite stepping out of my comfort zone, having so much insecurities and having to let go of so much back home. if i list my thanksgivings one by one, it will take me hours just to mention those in adelaide...

God is just so faithful. in every way possible. thank you Jesus! thank You!

not every day is rosy, i must admit, but God never lets a day go by without a miracle from Him. be it small or big, pause, and you will realise there is indeed a miracle each day. in fact, a day you live is a miracle in itself(:

(to be continued)

yay!

i jus booked my air tickets: to brisbane and back from sydney!!! during my term break. haha. costs me 200 sing dollars, so i thought i should just go ahead and book NOW... (immediately after my mum emailed me "JUST GO" haha)

first impulse buy in adelaide so far. and im really excited to visit my atas sister(aaron) and huiting and levin and meeting ben!!(: and more importantly, have a good holiday around aussie - the ONE AND ONLY purpose of an exchange program.. HAHA

ok, now i can start planning what i wanna do for my 8 fun-filled days(:

and budget for it too... woohoo~~

photos (specially for ms goh)

Since ms goh is fasting from fb, i shall post some photos here for her viewing pleasure(: but i realise we are breaking fast in a few days time anyway! haha. btw, coca-cola (and its f&n friends) are super foreign to me! haha.. cant really remember what it taste like alr. AMAZING... wine classes(:

my crib(:

my excellent culinary skills, or maybe photography skills..haha

view outside me home! adelaide railway station...

glenelg beach...

Forget the mugging, cos im happily washing and cooking and slacking(:

by popular demand (self-proclaimed, haha), i shall blog about my weeks of staying alone and being a fatimah/maria/helper/cinderella-before-the-pumpkin-became-a-carraige...

honestly, i dont know why, but i really having a lot of fun doing it. erm, MOST OF THE TIME(: good training and i really truly appreciate my "auntie clara" at home, more than ever before...

to better illustrate my diligence in these random chores, i will start with a day at home ADAP - "as detailed as possible".

so i wake up, WHINE at the alarm clock that rang for the 10th time, then after washing up, i hesitate to make myself a drink cos consider that i have to waste 2 mins washing the cup and spoon, haha : ok but i still do! at the same time, i microwave leftovers for lunch, then walk to school. In school, while DILIGENTLY listening in class, your mind wanders off, thinking about dinner... what should i cook? do i have the ingredients? how long does it take?

if school ends early/there is no school, it would be time to go grocery shopping w friends, the weekly affair of spending-money-cos-it-is-absolutely-neccessary-for-my-survival(: which makes it all the more enjoyable... note: shopping bag is absolutely essential in adelaide, cos they ban plastic bags and you have to pay to get the NTUC looking plastics.

during grocery shopping, it is important to have a shopping list with you, so that you can buzz off to the right stalls and not stare at the overwhelming number of food items that tempt you to buy everything. so when the shopping bag starts getting heavy (and your wallet starts getting lighter), you know its time to stop shopping.

fastforward to arriving home, it is time to switch on the TV and laze around, then shower. tip: to shorten cooking time, you can cook rice before showering(: cooking of course, is the highlight of the day! after the chopping, frying/boiling/microwaving.... wala! its the EATING(: in front of the tv...

then the most irritating part of the day comes, the washing~~ which can be left to a later time if possible. then it will be a relaxing time of going online and reading up on stuff (like as if my day is not relaxed enough haha). when it is alr super duper late, i would realise that i am NOT in sg time, and start to count the number of sleeping hrs left (happens to me every night!). just as im about to go to bed, i remember that i have yet to wash the dishes.. which laid there for 2 hours, and so i drag myself to cleaning it up, and smile at the clean kitchen again(:

and i go to bed. the day ends.

comprehensive description of a typical day at home (oh not forgetting the washing of clothes and ironing that is done during the school-less days)

oops did i leave studying out?! i didnt study. havent started yet i mean.
HAHA

p.s. off to washing my dishes...

inspired

ok, gonna post quite a lot of stuff. haha, better post them all before i forget or cant be bothered to do so.

recently, i went for this OCF event known as Christmas in July. As the name implies, its a christmas event during July!This is cos all international students usually go back to their home country during the christmas holidays, so yea, they celebrate christmas 5 mths early(: anyway, it wasnt the program or the games that i was impressed with, but about a sharing by this girl i met.

she was told to share about the Christmas story, and she did, in a very interesting way.. (shall not elaborate on that). the thing that really struck me was about her passion as she share a word, how she really really wanted to put across the message of how MAJESTIC Jesus is, that even His birth was filled with incidents of miracles. I think God spoke alot to me as she shared, not exactly about the Christmas story, but how i should just stand in awe of who He is...

and coincidentally (ok, nthing is really a coincidence, maybe divine-ly), i was reading Jon Acuff's blog the night before, and he shared about the only reason why we are bobbed down by things around us is because most times, subconsciously our minds register that these "circumstances/struggles/obstacles/burdens" are more powerful than God..

Quoted from his website:
"At some point, you've had a fear you thought was more powerful than God.You lost your job and worried that unemployment was more powerful than God.You lost a boyfriend and worried that being alone was more powerful than God.You got in credit debt and worried that Visa was more powerful than God.Your dream did not turn out the right way and you thought the circumstances were more powerful than God.It's so easy to do this, but today, as new worries crop up, I'm trying to do things I little differently. With each new fear, I'm trying to stop long enough and ask myself a simple question:'Is this more powerful than God?'...

So far, every answer has come back with a resounding no. I still worry. I'll still walk through the hollow of the shadow of death from time to time, but with that question and a God that loves to answer it, I think I'm going to be alright."

i was really quite encouraged by that. and in linking to the sharing i heard, God spoke.. reminding me that He is greater than EVERY circumstance, worry and fear and all i need to do is to remember that Jesus came to save me and i can happily worship Him each day, with all that i am and have, cos He has won the victory and won it all for me and you...

one day i wanna share a word too... (:

almost a month!

can't believe its already been a month since im here! ok, on 8th august to be exact! anyway, its been a great great time so far... attributing to my ALMIGHTY God who never fails to take care of me always...

some events to explain the "I'm great!" statement i tell everyone when they ask me how am i:

1) i have a nice studio apartment! found it in half a day!
2) i made friends... HAHA
3) i get to do random stuff like grocery shopping!
4) good food!
5) more good food!
6) CHOCOLATES are everywhere... (by chocolates, i dont mean cabury or mars bars)
7) i get to mess up the kitchen.. downside: i have to clean the mess up..
8) having nice nice pple bringing me around.. (thank God for all of these angels surrounding me)
9) awesome church services
10) having R&R time about 18 hours a day? HAHA

p.s. a shoutout to pple who label adelaide as "BORING".. pls come here and give her a second chance? i think its a misconception. or maybe im easily contented! hahaha. i can be your tourguide and prove that statement wrong...(: anyway, i reckon that every city/place can be REALLY HAPPENING and REALLY BORING at the same time, varying with every individual.
conclusion: adelaide is really nice!(: and tourism board of South Australia should choose me as ambassador...

btw, fact of the day: adelaide is just a city, part of South Australia (one of the states).. so yea, i should say SOUTH AUSTRALIA is really nice...