马中见礁四十年

Whoever wrote this is so creative and humorous..good for laugh!

那鸡 ： 兵马俑的陈列真是壮观。
近平 ： 小意思。...

那鸡 ： 这里到底有多少个兵马俑？
近平 ： 数量不详，不过几个月前少了一百五十几樽。

那鸡 ： 被盗走了吗？
近平 ： 不是。他们出国旅行后回不来了。

那鸡 ： 怎么了？
近平 ： 乘搭的飞机失联了。

那鸡 ： 咱别提这个了，好吗？
近平 ： 是你问到，我才说的。

那鸡 ： 兵马俑全都收集在这里吗？
近平 ： 不是。有些在菲律宾。

那鸡 ： 怎么菲律宾也有？
近平 ： 那些是在马国被菲绑匪儒走的。

那鸡 ： 你别为难我好吗？
近平 ： 哦。

那鸡 ： 这些兵马俑能分为哪几类？
近平 ： 可分为睁开眼及闭眼长眠的两种。

那鸡 ： 怎么那么特别？真有趣。
近平 ： 其实也没什么特别，就如马国选民罢了。

那鸡 ： 哎哟，你别调侃我啦。
近平 ： 哦。

那鸡 ： 兵俑都是依据中国人的样貌来雕塑的吗？
近平 ： 不一定，在灯光下雕塑的都是中国人，关灯后雕塑的就不是了。

那鸡 ： 关灯后的是哪国人？
近平 ： 有印尼人，缅甸人，菲律宾人，也有幽灵。

那鸡 ： 你有完没完啊？
近平 ： 哈哈，完了。

那鸡 ： 我有问题问你。
近平 ： 问吧。

那鸡 ： 钓鱼台是你们的吗？
近平 ： 那当然，废话。

那鸡 ： 你又如何证明呢？
近平 ： 岛上有座高级公寓。

那鸡 ： 公寓里住着中国人？
近平 ： 不是。那公寓不住人。

那鸡 ： 不住人，怎么会有座公寓？
近平 ： 据说有人跑那里养牛去了。

那鸡 ： 你再调侃我，你信不信我把福娃和凤仪染成彩虹的颜色？
近平 ： 我不怕，没关系。

那鸡 ： 为什么？
近平 ： 只要你不把熊猫的头发烫成您夫人那样的爆炸装就好了。

那鸡 ： TMD！Apa u mau lagi?
近平 ： 我要找回MH370。

那鸡 ： 。。。。。。

Woohoo..2 missions accomplished!

26.5.14 (Mon)

Early morning, we went to the Community House (glad that there was one near to our place) to get the children immunization records updated, as it was quite important when you wanna enroll them to school. Here, the centre opens fortnightly and you need to be there by 9am, to avoid long queue.

 

Here in the Community House, you get free immunization for children. You will need to bring along the children immunization records so that they can check and see  if additional immunization is necessary. So, after checking, Abby would need to get 3 injections and 2 injections for Ian. Hubby & I were liked "wow!"..and when we told Abby about it, she immediately burst into tears.."I don't want injection!"

 

Luckily the nurse here was quite professional..injection was done within seconds!!! But, both Abby & Ian cried loudly..so pitiful!

 

 

Abby was really crying badly while Ian, haha, peeping cheekily by the side. He wasn't aware that he too, need to be injected!

I love the colors of the trees here..very beautiful!

 After that, we went to check out the used cars centre together with YK. Our budget is around A$10k for 5 yrs old car and we really thanked God for getting a pretty good deal, exactly A$10k for a 3yrs old, Hyundai i30, manual. (We were told it was a best time to buy car around mid year due to their financial year and usually there will be lots of sales and discounts given). And buying car here was very straight forward, fast and easy. Within 3 hrs, we drove the car back home happily! Next mission - go for driving licence! (Msia driving licence only valid for 3 mths here)

 

 

Wonderful weekend spent with church buddies

24.5.14 (Sat)

Early morning, I followed Joan to Inala market, aka The Vietnamese Village for groceries shopping. You can see lots of Vietnamese here.  There are butcher, fish markets, vegetable stalls etc. Well, at least now I get some idea on the pricing for future reference. Joan told me, you need to go to the market early, preferably before 9am (during weekends) to avoid the jam and crowd..You can also find many old folks, like to hang out here, gather around the table, have tea while playing a set or two of Chinese chess..

Looked what I found in Woolworth..durians importer from Thailand..oh wow!

 

Later in the noon, our friends, Thye and Eunice, together with baby Jeremy came to meetup with us at Joan's place before we headed to SunnyBank. It was our first time meeting Jeremy and he was really a cute and quiet baby. He actually followed us the whole day from 10am till 10pm+ and he didn't make single noise, unlike my Ian..gosh..cry baby!

Both are comfortable with their car seat..phew...(initially was a lil worry that Ian might make noise)

First, we went to SunnyBank for lunch. Thye brought us to a Chinese Restaurant operated by Taiwanese. Food was good and the portion was big. Often, we are being reminded not to make any conversion (AUD to MYR or vice versa) when you are here, else you wont be able to enjoy life here. But I guessed since we were new migrant and we just couldn't help it with the conversion..it may take us some time to adapt to the new life here. Then, we walked around the mall before going to SouthBank, a very happening place here, something like KLCC back home.

脆皮鸡饭，牛腩面，台式炒面，奶茶

SouthBank was a nice place with beautiful scenery, as it was located in the suburb of South Brisbane, on the southern bank of the Brisbane River. There was even a city beach in the middle of the park and many parents like to bring their children here for a swim or just spend a day here, relaxing and enjoying the view. Abby and Ian were so happy to see the playground and both had a wonderful time here.

Night view by the South Bank river

Around 5pm+, we left SouthBank and went over to Thye's hse to hang out. We ordered Dominoes pizza and the price was relatively cheap. For 3 pizzas, 2 garlic bread and a bottle of drink, A$22. Pizza here was so much yummy, hehe..We chatted for almost 4hrs before headed home. It was really a tiring day but we were happy to be able to meet up with each other, it felt just like the same old days back home. God is wonderful in many ways, and we believed that there are many more wonderful blessings from Him in future.

Yummy Yummy!

25.5.14 (Sun)

It has been a week since we moved here. This morning, we followed YK & family to church, Australia Chinese Methodist Church. Here, the Chinese, English and Sunday School start at the same time, 9am. Initially, I wanted to bring the children to Sunday School but they were too shy to join the kids there. Hence, all four of us joined the service together. Luckily, Ian fell asleep and we could "enjoy" the service peacefully. The Chinese congregation was not really big, about 200+ ppl maybe..but we felt comfortable coz we are familiar with the order of service. (We also attending Methodist Church back home)

After service, we got the chance to chat with many new friends in church. They were all so helpful and friendly. One thing special about this church was that many of the church members were from  Msia, particularly Sarawak, and they speak 福州话. We went for dimsum aka yumcha here, with YK and family before heading home to rest. Hubby finally got a chance to play badminton here when he followed YK for games.

Later at night, we joined them for church gathering at a church member's hse. The host cooked yummy dishes and we watched Thomas Cup live together..imagined a big group of Msian, supporting Msia team from Aust! But, well, Msian team had done their best for Runner up..hopefully, they will be able to win the game again in future. Abby and Ian also made a friend tonight. Kids are always easy to get along. All 3 of them were running around the house and Abby felt comfy to be with her new friend, Grace. At least, she has friend when she goes to SS next Sun.

 

 

Abby & Ian enjoying themselves here in Brisbane

23.5.14 (Friday)

Hubby was telling me that time passes fast here in Brissy..today is our 5th day here and so far, everything is good. Because it is going to be end of Autumn, the day here gets dark around 5-5.30pm and weather is very cooling.

 

As I said earlier, Abby can only go to Prep next year June, so she is so happy that she need not wake up early for school, need not do any writing, coloring and/or reading. However, I brought over some of her books and teach her at home so that she won't get lazy.

 

Kids enjoying themselves with the local cartoon channels

 

So far, we have been to the nearby parks for a walk and also malls, especially Coles and Woolworth. We bought a box of local ice cream and it is yummy..the texture of the ice cream is so creamy and all of us like it. Certain things here are cheaper than Msia for eg fresh milk, bread..Will explore more next week.

 

I love to see them laugh!

Yummy ice cream!

 

 

 

New life, New beginning, New chapter

21.5.14 (Wed)

It has been 3 days since we left our country home, Malaysia. Yep..we are now staying in Brisbane, Australia..but felt like I am here for holiday instead of living here..haha.

18.5.14 was an important date to us as it marked the new chapter in our life. It was the day that we migrated to Brisbane and to start a new life here. We woke up very early that day as our flight was 10am and needed to be at the airport 3 hrs earlier before departure time. I was grateful and glad that my father in-law came along with us, so that he could take care of the children while we checked in the luggage. And guessed what, of all the people I knew, I met my ex-colleague at the airport. What a small world.

When it was about time to board the plane, the children gave a big hug and kisses to their Grandpa. Both our mums and sisters did not come to send us off (as it would be sad to see us leaving home to a far away country)

We were quite happy with our journey. Why?
1. Punctuality on the boarding, take off and landing time.

2. We get to board the plane first as we have children.

3. The seats were not fully booked so we have extra seats for resting.

4. We ordered meals on board and surprisingly, food was yummy, esp the Pak Nassir Nasi Lemak..haha

5. The children managed to get some rest on the plane and didn't really make much noise.

We arrived at Coolangatta Airport, Gold Coast around 8pm (we flew with Air Asia flight) and our friends, Joan & Thye came to pick us up. It took about 1hr from the airport to Joan's house (we will be temporarily staying with her and family till we get our own rented place). Weather was cooling but to me, it was too cold..I was shivering..haha..it was my very first experience living in a 4 seasons country and I prayed hard that I can survive through when winter is here..lol! And funny thing was, when we reached Joan's house, Abby told me she wanted to go back to Klang and play with Grandpa!

Joan and hubby, YK were my church friends. 5 yrs ago when we had our honeymoon in Gold Coast, we met up with them too! They had been staying in Brisbane for more than 10yrs and when I contacted them and told them about our migration plan, both YK and Joan welcomed us with open arms, allowing us to stay with them as a start till we get our own rented place. Thank God for good friends liked them!

Many of our friends were surprised to hear about our migration plan. And as soon as they knew about it, many questions popped out and I was a bit tired to answer the same question over and over again. So, I decided to blog it and direct them to my blog for more info. (selected only the most asked questions)

Q: You are migrating? How come never hear you mention it before? Why?

A: Yes, my family and I have migrated to Brisbane, Australia in May. Well, we wanted to try experiencing new life in a new country and also for a better future for the children. (Hopefully)

Q: You or hubby got a job there?
A: Nop, none of us got a job yet. Starting ZERO here. Will need to settle down first then look for a job slowly. It won't be easy but we are prepared to accept any job opportunities that are available for a start.

Q: You got a house there?
A: Nop. We are grateful to have nice friends here, who are willing to host us for as long as we want to or till we get our own rented house.

Q: You got PR? How did you guys get your PR/Visa?
A: Yep, we got our PR in Aug 2012, through an agent, Global Migration Solutions. (anyone who is interested, you may visit their website for more info)

Both Abby & Ian were very happy here. We can only enroll Abby for prep next Jan. They already made themselves at home!

Took a walk at the nearest park, Forrest Lake Park

We thanked God for His guidance and blessings on our new journey and we trust that He will continue to look after us in future.