Moving to Australia is a giant step of our life, it might be a bitter-sweet experience, but let's face it: we can't change the world we are living in , but we could change ourselves to fit in this world, Why don't we wipe out the sad looks and put on a happy face, you will see your hard work pay off someday, and believe me: no matter how many times you've been knocked down, get back up again and hold on to your dream, it's destined to come true one day.
---baobei
[ 本帖最后由 宝贝不哭_219 于 19-12-2008 11:32 编辑 ]作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 12-12-2008 10:43 标题: Chapter 1 China is my motherland, but Australia would be my home An American Poet once wrote, America is my motherland, but Paris is my home. To me, Australia used to be a tropical country far from my life, now it has one new name---Home.
On the morning of Sep.30th, 2008, i woke up as usual, brushed my teeth, made myself breakfast, turned on the computer, checked out emails, suddenly, a mail rushed into my sight: VISA GRANT. it was an email from Australia Immigration Bureau!!! i was holding my breath and my heart was bumping fast, then i began to read: on September 16th, 2008, a decision was taken to grant Ms.Lin a class BN visa, i couldn't believe my eyes.....i've been waiting for too long....and when it finally came....i couldn't even believe my eyes, oh my Godness......
my application to the visa dates back to May 2007, after spending nearly half a year at this world-famous accounting firm, i made a decision to see the outside world. Back then, i could just live up to the skilled independent immigration criteria of Australia, i immediately took the action. it took me 2 months to complete the skill assessment, and that took me to the next level: Visa application. during this process, a large amount of work is required to prove that my job duty could match their demands. i sent a lot of supporting documents to Immigration Bureau to prove i'm an eligible candidate. it's not easy. at this stage, I could not back out but have to head straight forward. i spent some time to prepare for Ielts test and the result was not bad. then i did the physical examination in Guangzhou, the doctor asked me why i traveled this far to do this, for Christ's sake, did i have a choice? i was on a non-stop business trip back then, one city after another, i could hardly take time off to make this appointment.
after my application was acknowledged, i was assigned a tracking number and put on the "waiting list", i had to wait for my case officer to contact me. the busy season was nearly over and i returned to my home office. the 4-month business trip was such a bitter-sweet memory. but it's all worth it, all the laughter and tears are part of my life. all my hard work has paid off.
i knew the visa was trying to play "hard to get" , but i'm not a quitter. as this game is finally over, i don't see Australia as my final destination, it's just a stop, i will keep on traveling until my road comes to an end.
[ 本帖最后由 宝贝不哭_219 于 12-12-2008 10:46 编辑 ]作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 12-12-2008 10:49 标题: Chapter 2 The day i went away It was 5:00 in the morning and i was already wide awake, the fight is due at 8:20am, the whole Family would go to the airport to see me off, i was a bit worried when getting up from bed,Is it going to be the day i wave goodbye to my beloved family, turn around, face a whole new World and explore it all by myself? well, i got a little shiver just by thinking about it. then i cleared my mind and tried to convince myself everything would be ok, yes, hopefully, it would be a smooth journey, and i will land on a tropical country tomorrow morning, isn't that exciting?
i mean, it's hard for me to believe that the day finally comes, getting the visa to Australia is like a turning point of my life, i felt overwhelmed by the good news at first, but after a while , i cooled down and began to think about life ahead, obviously, i entered a game called "survival in a whole new country on your own", i'm not given any chance to quit the game once i was in, if i didn't play by the rules and made a big mistake, i would suffer the consequences myself, my family wouldn't be on the spot to give me immediate support, my fate is grabbed in my own hands and my future is hung in the balance.
as the plane took off, i suddenly felt at ease, anyway, i have left my past behind me and head for the unknown future, that's one thing i love about travelling: i don't know what's going to happen in 12 hours, i don't know what's in store for me, i don't know what my new life would be like, and this not-knowing certainly fascinates me instead of scaring me. Call me crazy, but i do think i have a propensity for recklessness and adventure.
I didn't sleep quite well during the Journey and the headache was killing me, then suddenly i felt the first sun light leaking through the window pouring on my skin. i looked out of the window and couldn't believe my eyes ! it was the landmark of Sydney! i was in Sydney! the plane started to descend, i couldn't help but smiling, giddy with happiness and hope, i was barely a 20-something girl , and my real life is going to take off in all sorts of new and exciting directions~~ 作者: ritaclin 时间: 12-12-2008 11:12 标题: 回复 #3 宝贝不哭_219 的帖子 Waiting for chapter 3
I could not sleep well on the plane either, and the next day I landed with a bad cold作者: Vanelita 时间: 12-12-2008 13:40
nice posts!! props for ya~
btw, r u gonna stop updating the Chinese version?作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 12-12-2008 16:42
nice posts!! props for ya~
btw, r u gonna stop updating the Chinese version?
hehe, don't worry, i won't stop writing the Chinese version, i will write whatever comes to mind, no matter it's Chinese or English, doesn't really matter~作者: ricodeanhk 时间: 13-12-2008 23:36
NICE DIARY... PRO ENGLISH作者: wuma7854 时间: 16-12-2008 21:21
wonderful diary,go on ,up up 作者: 采薇子 时间: 16-12-2008 22:49
“China is my motherland, but Australia would be my home” ----- I like your words !
waiting for more 作者: flyday 时间: 17-12-2008 00:19
Australia, my second home! 作者: flyday 时间: 17-12-2008 00:20 标题: 回复 #1 宝贝不哭_219 的帖子 tune and fit in life 作者: PatrickGuo 时间: 17-12-2008 15:02
wonderful diary, admire you作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 19-12-2008 11:30 标题: Chapter 3 My "Vigin Tour" in the City Three days after i arrived at Sydney, i opened a bank account, got a temporary medicare slip, applied for a tax file number, and got a free vaccination for cervical cancer at my local GP, my room mate was quite amazed at how fast i got everything done. what can i say, i'm the anxiety-type-of-girl, i always try to do things at hand as quickly as possible. Then, it comes to a time to take a breathe, slow down the steps and enjoy the views in this fabulous metropolitan.
a friend of mine invited me to lunch one day, and would like to give me a grand tour around the city. i felt so excited about it. Some people may say the Opera House is crummy and Darling Harbor is cheesy, but i don't care, i love everything about it, i couldn't get enough of Sydney from the moment i stepped out of the aircraft, the sky is crystal clear, the air is clean, people rushed in and out of the airport entrance, dressed in all different colors and styles, hair in yellow, red or brown. i was sitting at the meeting point, staring at them, hearing their crackles and giggles. the sun was shining brightly, and i fell in love with every bit of this city.
my friends and i met at 11pm sharp at the Queen Victoria Building near Town Hall station, then went to a Si Chuan restaurant for lunch together, after the meal, we walked along the seaside and paid a visit to the most significant tourist attraction in town----the Opera house.
Strangely, what impressed me most is not the Opera house itself, but the coffee shops and street venders along the seaside. forgive me, dear readers, i developed two new interests in Sydney---Window shopping and people watching ! all those venues look quite appealing to me---chick people sitting at tiny tables, sipping coffee, shelling shrimps and drinking endless amounts of wine, spoke with great passion about God knows what.
i don't have much money to spend for now, but i'm not bothered by that at all, the sunshine, the beach,the air, the views-----they are all free! who said there's no free lunch in this world? When you come to Australia, there certainly is!~
Poeple relaxing themselves on the grass
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a baby girl is eating chips--look how cute she is!!
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a "true man" show near harbour bridge
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people are having a good time
[attach]41861[/attach]作者: 采薇子 时间: 19-12-2008 14:10 标题: 回复 #13 宝贝不哭_219 的帖子 so wonderful pictures and words
thanks for sharing作者: summerboy63 时间: 22-12-2008 16:12
nice pics作者: QQL 时间: 22-12-2008 17:53
Thank you!
up! up! up!作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 25-12-2008 10:41 标题: A memorable coffee training course Being a coffee addict for almost 3 years, I have been drinking all types of coffee in all different coffee shops, but never tried to make coffee on my own., I do have a French Press at home, but that doesn’t count, I guess. The genuine coffee only comes from a steam-driven equipment called “the espresso machine”, invented by Italians in 1901. This magical machine produces the best coffee in the world, owned by endless cafes all around the world. Two weeks after I got to Sydney, I decided to take a one-day course at Sydney coffee school, For 189 dollars a day, it’s a bit pricey, but how can I resist the opportunity of being taken on a fabulous coffee tour ?
Our tutor is an Italian lady named Emily, she was raised up in Italy , her mother was the owner of a coffee shop in the neighborhood, watching her mom working behind the bars and doing all the work with the espresso machine, Emily grew up to learn how those magic little beans form the world’s most popular beverage, she traveled to lots of cities and then came to Australia ten years ago, now she owns a café in Melbourn and provides the first class training course in her Sydney coffee school.
What I like most about this course is Emily’s great passion for coffee, when she talked about it, her face was glowing all over with pleasure, she’s really proud of her profession, she talked about the fun of making good coffee, how to look after our customers, and the clean work at the end of the day. The most important of all , she let us follow our instinct to make coffee, no matter what it looks like and how it tastes, it’s the kind of the work that could never be copied in this world.
Our coffee studio:
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My pieces of work below,though it's far from perfection, i will work hard on it.
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[attach]42915[/attach]作者: cxppennie 时间: 25-12-2008 14:14
Attractive coffee作者: PatrickGuo 时间: 26-12-2008 16:18
see it again, admire writer again...作者: clare_29 时间: 2-1-2009 17:02 标题: waiting ... waiting ....作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 3-1-2009 06:42 标题: Let's get the party started In my favorite TV series “Sex and the City”, Samantha has a famous line: I don’t believe in Democratic or Republican Parties, I just believe in parties.” And I feel exactly the same way,. I couldn’t live in a city which has no parties. Some people call me a party animal, well, I resent that, Party animals could spend two sleepless nights in a row and hardly leave a party before 6 am., I usually go home at about 2am, I only do all nighters when it really gets me going on, if you know what I mean.
There’s a big party at Darling Harbor On Dec.31th, 2008, and everybody in town gets invited to celebrate this special occasion ---The New Year Eve. A couple of my friends had this plan to go there and invited me to join them. It’s a great opportunity to see how people in Sydney celebrate the new year, and the best thing is ---this Party is completely free of charge. There will be spectacular fireworks playing at 9pm and 12pm , want to ask me what time I would go home? Well, the only answer I could offer is that sleep is the last thing on my agenda.
We hit the road pretty early at about 10am, by the time we got there, the best place has already been taken. Darling Harbor is overflowing with beautiful people from all over the world (most of them are backpackers i guess), some chicks were wearing sexy bikinis and strappy scandals, with a good suntan and bare long legs, hah~~ the sea water is shining with glitter under the big sun~~ food, beverage and ice creams are available at various business stands ~~ Darling Harbor could be summarized in three HOTs-----HOT WEATHER, HOT CHICKS, and HOT DOGS! ---hah~~
It was 10pm. After the first round of firework , I decided to give myself a break and take a walk along the bank, this was the best part of the day , man, you’ve got to see it all, the crunch time for chips was over and the real party just got started, there were quirky entertainment everywhere, and you know what, I heard a hear-beaten rhythm from afar and just as I was getting close, I was intrigued by what I saw---In a big lounge, a band was playing on stage, and people were dancing to the music, ah, I love the energy and the deafening music and the writhing bodies on the dancing floor……how I miss those Friday nights hanging out with friends……..it seems only yesterday.
From the moment I realized how I miss the night life, I kind of knew what my real interests are and decided my next step. I booked myself a Bar Service Skills (BSS) course the next day. Some people see office blocks as their ideal work place, and I see coffee shop, restaurant and bars as mine.
thousands of people flow in to celebrate New Year Eve:
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is this place like a big melting pot?
[attach]44324[/attach]作者: 宝贝不哭_219 时间: 3-1-2009 06:47
在此, 也向所有关注英语版和英文帖子的筒子门道声新年好!! 你们的支持是我写下去的动力~~ 作者: 采薇子 时间: 4-1-2009 16:15 标题: 回复 #22 宝贝不哭_219 的帖子 Happy new year !
作者: 老顽童 时间: 7-1-2009 20:15
果然有才!作者: highnoon 时间: 12-1-2009 00:22
must say I'm shocked by your English, considering you've only been here for such a short time, the credit probably could only be given to what you've accumulated in China, and if so, that's very impressive.作者: 小波 时间: 15-1-2009 15:06
BEAUTIFUL!
JIE ZHE XIE作者: 路过蜻蜓 时间: 20-1-2009 03:40
wonderful
看楼主的帖子顺便学习英语了作者: bonniecyx 时间: 20-2-2009 09:16
有才啊!keep writing作者: 尘埃落定 时间: 20-2-2009 16:39
thank you for sharing ,it's help me to improve my English.作者: 西北北 时间: 23-2-2009 02:45
Good on you ! lou zhu, keep going, and by the way, do you find it is usefull to improve your wrighting by doing this?
Thanks again for your sharing and good luck!作者: cxj001 时间: 11-3-2009 22:45
提示: 作者被禁止或删除, 无法发言标题: good article uphold作者: gpoint 时间: 18-3-2009 17:53
I believe that u have scored in ur writing of IELTS test, am i rite?
We are expecting some more stuff to come upon other daily social life such as food, education, medication, transportation bla bla, as some of us here are still quite new to OZ, especially like me (never been to OZ, but planning to make a move now).
GIVE U 2 HANDS!作者: xiaohaiou 时间: 13-4-2009 12:48
I am waiting for more chapter^^,Your dairy is good,I am happy to see it. up up.作者: 半糖主义 时间: 18-4-2009 23:10
very elegant作者: st62461 时间: 30-5-2009 15:41
才气十足!keep writing作者: houzilulu 时间: 30-5-2009 23:13
ur chapters are really wonderful, i am so attractive of it. hope u go on writing, and let us know more stuff about OZ. THX a lot 作者: kevinsun 时间: 17-6-2009 18:09
good experience ,thx for sharing~~~
i'm so encouraged by ur words~~
thx again~~~作者: 豆子hyde 时间: 19-8-2009 19:11
your English is as well as your chinese,u know that?作者: pp_kevinyin 时间: 28-8-2009 16:58
Really good article and good girl! waiting for your new words!作者: 采薇子 时间: 31-8-2009 15:16
Hi, Baby~
How are things going? Miss U and want to get ur news.
Waiting for more articals ~作者: 豆子hyde 时间: 1-9-2009 14:41
I am used to meeting my friends at QVB too~
hehe~
[ 本帖最后由 豆子hyde 于 1-9-2009 13:45 编辑 ]作者: kevinwolf 时间: 10-10-2009 01:39
what a girl! 作者: MillerYang 时间: 10-10-2009 18:45
Where's baby?作者: Jill 时间: 25-12-2009 11:00 标题: lovely i developed two new interests in Sydney---Window shopping and people watching !
that looks similar to me.
I 'm really appreciate your this kind of Optimism ,it's destined to be true that you will achieve your dream soon.作者: dbh 时间: 10-2-2010 15:10
Thank you!
up!作者: 肥头 时间: 22-2-2010 15:40 标题: 回复 #1 宝贝不哭_219 的帖子 It's so wow,bitchen作者: berryjuice 时间: 27-3-2010 16:49
Make a mark first.作者: wq889666 时间: 1-4-2010 18:10
GO ON~~~作者: marlozhang 时间: 8-4-2010 14:50
your face and your eyes looks very sweet and nice.作者: stiou 时间: 13-4-2010 09:25
Up
作者: 绒绒妈妈 时间: 24-4-2010 19:15
什么时候我也爱上英文呢,不太习惯。写很多字的样子,好像没有中文那么简洁作者: xche0571 时间: 20-5-2010 14:02
..........................)作者: bigben0123 时间: 7-6-2010 21:24
How I admire you!作者: uu 时间: 22-7-2010 20:53
baby is my first idol!!! 作者: happysky 时间: 22-7-2010 21:39
学习了。。。。。作者: cxse7en 时间: 28-8-2010 21:23
thanks作者: alphakv 时间: 24-9-2010 23:08
That's excellent work, keep it up, lead the way, I m one of your follower for sure!作者: webing 时间: 13-11-2010 13:33
这是我向往 的地方,一个能找到生活意义的地方。作者: pinxinge 时间: 24-11-2010 23:47
提示: 作者被禁止或删除, 无法发言
顶一下老帖子,呵呵。作者: 科姆点睛 时间: 20-1-2011 02:52
Your English is crazy good!作者: moonduck 时间: 25-5-2011 08:25
Both the content and your English are fabulous. Waiting for the following chapters...作者: icyphish 时间: 25-5-2011 13:50
Keep the articles going and post more pics!!! 作者: IVAN3 时间: 18-8-2011 23:02