AiLeng's diary 爱玲的日记: 2nd week in Brisbane

3.6.14 (Tues)

Last week, we had an eventful week, especially getting to know many friends, mostly from church. And, all of them are from East Malaysia, speaking福州话. We have no idea what they are talking about (kinda hard to understand, unlike Cantonese or Hakka whereby you can roughly catch the meaning) And, whenever we have gathering, there will definitely be a dish of 红酒面线, quite yummy! Most of them have been here for close to 10yrs and had a firm foundation here. They are all very nice and friendly people to mix with, and are ever ready to offer helps to us whenever needed. We thanked God for blessing us with helpful people around us, to help us settle down as soon as possible.

During weekdays, Hubby is busy applying jobs online, writing his cover letter and emailing his resume. Jobs market here is very competitive and we were told that it may take the employers some time before responding to our application. Well, we just do our best and hopefully, either one of us will get a job (part time or full time) soon. Usually, we will go to either Coles or Woolworth for grocery shopping. (5mins drive from our place)

Both enjoy having their own shopping trolley

During one of our church gathering, we were introduced to a couple who came from China and currently working at the cow farm, slaughtering cow..haha..This is a job that the locals do not enjoy working even though the pay is good, about A$25-30/hr. We also heard many interesting stories from Joan on the hardships that people encountered when newly arrived here. They too, took many years to overcome the challenges faced and now, none of them were willing to go back to their home country anymore! So, we are looking forward to the day to come.

I also had the chance to do some baking here..(hands are 'itchy'!) I shipped all my baking equipment over here but they have not arrive. So I gotta buy new tools. I baked Walnut Butter Pound Cake..Hubby sounded me a bit coz we have no income now, better spend wisely. Bake only when I got orders or we are financially stable, :P

On 31.5.14 (Sat), Thye introduced another Christian couples to us. We went to their house and had lunch cum fellowship. Very nice couples. They also shared with us their stories. It is always good to know more people here because everyone has different stories and all are very encouraging. We know we are not alone on our journey here. Abby and Ian had a great time playing with their son.

On 1.6.14 (Sun), we went to church. It was our very first Holy Communion service here. Before the service started, I brought Abby to the Sunday School and told her, I would come and pick her after service ended. She nodded with smiling face. In less than 5mins, one of the teacher brought her back to the service hall. Abby was crying..she didn't want to stay in SS alone. Looked like next week I gotta accompany her in SS till she gets familiar and comfortable.

After church service, there was a welcoming lunch for the newcomers. This was something new to us. Basically, we were being introduced to the church Reverent, Pastors, Leaders and church histories, to know more about the church and feel welcomed. I had the chance to chat with Betty, one of the pastor's wife. She has 3 children and had just moved here from Sydney early this year. So we 'clicked' well as our topics were all surrounding children and also our new life here.

Then, this morning, we went for morning walk around the neighborhood. The weather was so cooling and nice. By the way, it is winter now. During daytime, you still get sunlight but it will get colder later in the evening. Ever since I was here, I wear socks and jacket to sleep. During our walk, we were admiring the houses here, the designs, the landscaping..Abby and Ian were so happy..they ran along the walk path. It was a beautiful morning!