HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE !!!!

-      YOU CAN NEVER CROSS THE OCEAN UNLESS YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE SHORE.

-      IF YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU NEVER HAD, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING YOU’VE NEVER DONE.

 At the end of Sep, 2003, after landing at Melbourne Airport, I was picked up by a Uni Bus, It drove us all the way to the University. I looked outside the window, it was sooo beautiful, cloudless blue sky with nice countryside view, the whole Melbourne seemed very flat and was covered by trees and grasses. It was very rare to see high-rise buildings, and people walking through, no bicycles riding, you can only hear cars driving passing by.  “Was I gonna live in this mountain area?” I was surprised.

 Suddenly I heard a voice “ Hello, everyone, here is the last stop, Please get off the bus, a security bus will come over pick you up shortly. ” I waited with excitement, here you go, a mini-bus was coming. Compared with Aussie casual old style dress, I wore a bit fashion and formal, a pair of leather semi-heel summer shoes, with Denim Jean Jacket on, matched up with a cool pair of short trousers, it made me feel a bit weird, In Melbourne, there was no body care about their dress as much as in Shanghai.

 After a while, the bus stopped outside a one-story residential building. Here came an Asian lady, who led me to my bedroom, on the way I saw a few people talking TaiWan-Chinese, when the door opened, I looked around: What the hell? Was that I booked from uni website? Obviously, the one bed-room was huge, with one bed at the corner, it looked like they made the room temporarily, “ You’d better catch a bus to the language center and the supermarket also…”I suddenly got grumpy: “Are you serious?” Was that so far away and inconvenient? I was unhappy: “no, I definitely don’t wanna stay there.” “ Where are you come from?” the lady asked, “ Shanghai,China..” I said, “ No wonder, but we only have this room left” “ But this is not the one I booked, May I speak to language centre please?” “ Ok, wait for a minute” , in a while, the lady connected me to the language centre. “We are very sorry, we don’t have any room left at Chisholm College,” I was stressed out, I repeated the same words impatiently. “Hang on, I will check out for you again…wow, you are very lucky, one student has just moved out from Chisholm. You can move in today.” HaHa, I won, …I was not gonna stay where most people speak Mandarin, that was not the purpose I came to Australia.

 The Security bus stopped outside Chisholm College in the Uni, there was still a fair way to go,  I walked clumsily, with right hand pulled a 30-kgs heavy luggage with a lap top on, a 7-kgs backpack over both shoulders, carried a pretty big handbag with left hand….it was such a hard way to go along uphill. I felt my whole short tiny body was gonna crush in no time. It was a bit awkward, “people might think I was a refugee something like that”….well, I took as much luggage as possible because I wanna save as much money as I can.

 In the meanwhile, I saw one student walked through: “Hi, how are you? Where are you come from? Would you like me give you a hand? “That would be great!!!” I said. “Thank you , thank you so much.”

 When I got the key and opened the door of my room, I was disappointed: it was completely in a mess, simply it hasn’t been cleaned after someone moved out as it was in such  a short notice.” One friendly student reported to the office, and a cleaner was sent in later on.

 Yeah, this was the place I liked, with students came from all over the world, nice, friendly, young and energetic.

I looked outside of my window: there were big trees surrounded with birds singing, far away, there were some kangaroos jumped in and out, there was one bed, one desk, one wardrobe, and central heater was provided the whole winter. What a lovely place!!!!

 That night my pillow was wet, my eyes were swollen, I cried over and over, I missed my family in shanghai, I missed everything there, now I knew what was called loneliness… there’s nobody care about you, no one you could find talk with, and nobody you could rely on…you got to be stronger if you wanna survive, there’s only one choice-to be more independent.

26/03/16

it was the building i stayed for 3 years since the first time i settled in Melbournei