Freoooo

Been rather lazy to blog. So I'm going to show some photos taken from the past week.

Baked my first ever brownies. YUM but I'll stick to one piece at a time.

Went to this suburb called Fremantle aka Freo. They have this place called Cicerella which serves delicious fish and chips. After lunch it's walking around the market and being entertained by buskers.

Week 1

I've survived Week 1 in school! I don't know why lessons here are not packed like sardines as compared to Singapore. When I was in NYP, there were lectures and tutorials one after another from 8am to 5pm. And I literally had classes everyday then.
Here in uni, I've got 8hrs of tuition distributed in 3 school days per week. I had one unit exempted because of my diploma. That explains why my tuition hours are so little but still?! With alot of spare time on hand, I try to use it meaningfully.
I think I'm more mature now than I was in poly. I used to sleep alot in class and do alot of last minute preparations for exams which in case you were wondering, they were futile. My 'hard' work didn't pay off because I wasn't serious about revising nor getting good grades.
For my first week in uni, I realised I'm actually keen to study. I listened intently (really) during classes. I did my pre reading and tutorial work before class and when i got home, I would spend some time revising and applying what I've learned to my previous nursing experiences.
Somehow, the teaching method here in Aussie differs from Singapore. The lecturer engages her audience with alot of questions. The Caucasians are the ones raising their hands and giving answers and asking questions, never Asians. However, you would see us scurrying to the lecturer after class, bombarding her with tons of questions that we should have ask but were too shy to ask during class. I guess it's the culture we were bred in.
I think it requires a lot of discipline and hard work to survive in a tertiary school setting. If I'm going to be sluggish and complacent in my school work, I'm quite sure I will not do well.
This week, I'm thankful for being back to school. It seems so surreal to be here. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying my classes and am still getting used to my lecturers' Aussie accents.
And I pray that I will not waste the time here, but make it a most meaningful and fruitful learning experience.
Till then, take care mate!

More to life

I'm still getting used to the life here in Perth. The pace here is generally slower. People do not rush on the road nor at work, neither do they walk as fast as me. Here in Australia, you just have to be patient and

The sun is scorching but it's less humid than Singapore. You don't really perspire but the heat is just as bad enough.
What I really like about Perth is that people here are very friendly. A stranger will just smile or greet you when you pass them by. Priority seats on the trains are always occupied by the elderly, preggys or handicapped people, never abled ones.
I love the sceneries too. It's breathtaking to gaze upon a starlit night, something you can never see in Singapore. I love the beaches too and today, my church friends Andrew and Linda brought me and Maj to Cottesloe beach.



There were alot of people swimming and basking in the summer rays. Well basically, they were enjoying life. It's quite strange to see such a big crowd on a Thursday. Makes me wonder don't Aussies have to work at all?
On the way back home, I saw alot of quaint cottages and nice houses. It's quite a common sight here. I was daydreaming how nice it would be to have afternoon tea with muffins at the front porch and enjoy life slowly that way.
In the car, we were talking about how people climb the career ladder to have that lucrative income. The higher you're on top of the career ladder, the more difficult it is to say it's enough.
Andrew commented, "there's more to life." I pondered on this sentence for quite a while.

Indeed, there's more to life than the houses we live in, the cars we drive, the amount of money we make, the warm fuzzy feeling of sitting at a nice quaint cottage sipping tea and enjoying this life. Although it's not wrong to enjoy what God has given us but if things on earth become our idol, it is not what God intend.
I'm reminded of the first question in the Westminister Catechism. It asks "what it the chief end of man?" and the answer, "man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."
I'm thankful I learnt a little lesson from an outing to the beach today.

Yea, there's more to life. Oh Lord, help me be homesick for heaven.

Quietness

I can watch this all day. Love the tranquility.

A time for everything

I didn't fall immediately to sleep yesterday night even though I was really tired and my eyes were heavy. I thought about my colleagues, my patients and my two and a half years in the paediatric ICU. I've learnt so much there. There were the valuable nursing skills to the medical knowledge. But one thing I've gained the most is to know that life is precious and at the same time, precarious. I've learnt to appreciate the people I love even more. I'd seen countless children afflicted with pain and suffering. Some passed on while some lived on to tell the story. I often marvelled at their tenancity and courage toward life. It makes me want to "run the race and fight the good fight."
It was sad to leave this place and the people whom I had laughed, cried and worked with. There were some children whom I've haven't seen them got well. There were some people whom I have not asked for their forgiveness. There were also some people whom I have not told them that they have a special place in my heart. But there's a time for everthing and and a time for every matter under heaven. There's a time to search and give up, a time to keep and throw away. I may never be back here again but all the memories and lessons I'll always bring them with me wherever I go.
While clearing my locker after work, I peeled down this little card I pasted way back on my first day of work.



This will be my prayer still for as long as I'm a nurse.