Bunch of Decisions

School just officially started today.

guess what i did? nothing. yup, i dont have classes on mondays... and thursdays. so that's great for me i think.

being in idle mode doesnt help me because it makes me think a lot. it makes me do a lot of lists in my head, that totally makes me crazy but at the same time it makes me plan ahead.

the first descison i made: instead of staying at the dorm and doing nothing, i decided to start on my readings. [yehessssss! responsible]

and i couldnt help but be amazed as to how systematic the school and everything else is. i wish UP could be like this. EVERYTHING is connected... as in everything talaga. its so convenient and so useful at the same time, less hassle for the student and less stress from the school.

its so COOL.

the second decision: should i compete in a public speaking competition

as i mentioned earlier, the uni provides every detail online. and because of this, i saw this public speaking competition called "the Kirby Cup" and since  i wanted to be more participative and active in school events, i decided to join an academic competition rather than a sport competition.

and today, i applied. [let's see where this road takes me, i may regret it later on] hahaha

third decision: should i join a committee in IH

nominations are open for the International House committees, where residents are able to join and organize events for the house the whole year.

i still have a week to decide on it, but i think it would be a good way to get to know everybody in the house.

fourth decision: third language

i only have 8 hours in my week for school, and the rest of the 160 hours is useless.

so ive decided to enroll myself for  a third language. this i have learned, is important if you want to be a diplomat or an ambassador. it is important because in the test, you will need to write an essay using your third language.

so yeah, i guess i could say that first day of school was a little bit busy in my mind. : )

BALLEt-bale buto

I'm very excited that school starts on Monday. Actually, I'm excited that i might have a blonde professor... i mean seriously, i've never had a blonde professor before. haha [that was a random thought]

anyway, i just wanted to share how my week went during orientation week.

i told you that i've been meeting a lot of people and just actually trying to find people who i can "understand and relate" with. and i'm very happy to note that i do-- we're all postgraduates and somehow in related courses, so that's good.

and yes, i haven't had any pictures with the harbor bridge or the opera house, but i did however get to walk the WHOLE george st (like their main and busiest st), went to all the malls, got to see a far view of the bridge and opera house, went shopping, attended a crab racing event, joined a club, ate some gelato, and i did some BALLET with my cousin and her best friend.

i know what you're thinking, why the hell ballet?

my answer: why not?

the main reason why i wanted to study abroad is to experience and go through unfamiliar territories, and ballet is one of them. the ballet classes-- yes, i will continue to do it-- is under the harbor bridge, which makes it the most amazing place to do it, cause after, you can actually appreciate the city going home.

and yesterday, i FINALLY learned how to do my own laundry. whatever, laugh all you want, but i admit that i dont know how to wash my own clothes. hahaha but after that, look at me, i can put that on my resume now-- abilities: use laundromat. HA!

lastly, i attempted to jog around the main campus, i have been meaning to do it the whole week, and when i really did get up and ran, i started regretting why i did decide to run. first of all, i would like to remind everyone that maps are very tricky. they make it seem that the campus is SMALL, but its actually NOT. i started dying after about 8 minutes in my run. hahaha but i was too proud to stop and actually walk since a lot of cars pass the main roads. so i ran. i ran so hard that i thought my heart was going to explode. the funny thing about it was, when i wouldn't pass any people, i would breathe like a dog, HA.HA.HO.HA-- like superrrrrr loud talaga, and when a person would pass me i try NOT to breathe loud, and when they pass me-- i would just blurt the stuck air inside me. HOOOOOOOO. hahahaha [not really proud of that, but yeah] haha

moral of the week: JUST DO IT. parang nike. you'll have to do it eventually, why not do it now?

BREAK OUT

I've been officially in Sydney for a week now, and being here in Sydney has been great. i got to do a lot of stuff that i wouldn't usually do. as i was pondering how its been since i left Manila, there was a certain question that i wanted to answer:

How do we get out from our comfort zones?

i've always been a sure person. i plan things, i think ahead, especially when its about my life, soooo planned that this whole studying-outside-the-country was one of my dreams.

It was in 2003 that i started making my own bucket list, well, actually just really the things that i wanted to do before i marry. i'm not going to share my list, but i will tell you that being here in Australia-- studying-- was my top 10.

and so far, im happy to note that in that list, about three fourths of it has been crossed out, but then of course, there's still bungee jumping, travel around asia, go hunting in south africa, go and participate in some kind of festival, nude beach, and a lot more to cross out.

anyway, i haven't really answered the question.


For me, getting out from our comfort zones does not mean doing the opposite of what we want to, but actually doing what we want to do, because actually making our goals and dreams possible MAKE US got out from our daily routines.

so that brings me to another question: when are you going to break out from YOUR comfort zone?

I know I am.

where I stay. what i see.

im sure you're wondering where i've been living and how it looks like right? well, here's a pretty much summary of where i stay:

where: International House

its really close to the campus, cause it is at the middle of a main street and in between two of the big campuses. the room is liveable, nothing fancy, a bed, a desk and some cabinets. 

i highly recommend this if any of you guys plan to study abroad, cause apparaently international house is almost everywhere around the world, and it really has a good support group. i think right now there's a total of 202 residents from 44 countries. WILD. there's only one Filipino, and that's me! : ) but there's three who have filipino parents but do not speak tagalog, so wala din. hahaha

it's really jsut a 3-minute walk to the campus and its great! (except for the unisex communal bathrooms... i know! shocking, but no worries, its pretty clean)

AND 

the other night, i went up to the rooftop and i wanted to see what i would see at night... so i took some pictures so you could also imagine what i see. its pretty nice! 

AND

how my new school looks like... and you're going to feel like you're i a harry potter movie. I SWEAR!

AMAZED????

just imagine my face when i saw the buildings... my jaw literally dropped. 

O-week! O-wow!

ITS FINALLY COMINGGGGGG!

yesterday, i had my first trip to the city by myself and went to my housing. MY FIRST NIGHT. my gosh. i really didnt know what to expect. all i know was that im ready to make friends. : )

it was a long day that consisted of enrolling and orienting us with almost everything, and i mean EVERYTHING. its actually cool that they really have this whole system of just taking care of anything-- from depression to parking to security to discounts to bus tickets. it was overwhelming, but the thought of answering your FAQs was great.

anyway, i had a great adventure last night. as for our welcoming, we had this activity called "the speed friend-making" yes, it is what you think it is, its like speed dating but the only difference is you end up being friends with them. met almost everybody, mostly the new residents and a lot were either from canada or singapore.

i promised my new friend that i would write about him, so here goes...

so as we were doing the activity, i had the chance to talk to one of the funniest person that ive met so far. so here's the info that i got about him in two minutes:

name: durlabh (i say it as DYUR-LAHBHHHH while acting the lab part as love with a puppy dog face)

where is he from: born in india, moved to tasmania

degree: bachelor's, he's a new resident and a freshman

what course is he taking: AEROSPACE ENGINEERINING... AND I WAS LIKE, HUWATTTTTTTT?????

and he was like... YEAHHHHH. i cant believe it either

so i asked him why he picked that one... his answer:

"well, when i was growing up, i always watched spaceships and that's why i picked this course, but then i dont know. i think after this semester i would be doing like [does the act of hands in fornt of his face] why, whyyyyyyyy did i choose this course?"

and we laughed so hard and we were like saying, WTH did i pick this course, WHYYYYYYY!

what made it really funny was that he looked like abed but with emotions, if you get what i mean. [abed is a character in the series called "Community"]

sooo yeah, i met a lot of people, not all, but it was a fun night, ended with a game called mafia. : )

Welcome to the WILD

im sure you're wondering what have i been doing and where have i been going, and that is why i figured that it would be best of me to write what's been happening here and what exactly have i been doing, and maybe inspire some of you to do what im doing. : ) (AND KASI NAKAKATAMAD TO MAKE KWENTO AGAIN AND AGAIN)

okay, GREAT! 

i left the philippines last february 17, 8:35 PM and arrived to Sydney, Australia at around 9AM, feruary 18. so basially, ive only been here for three days... and in all honesty the only thing that ive done is sleep, eat, and walk a little. no touring yet or whatever youve been imagining me to do, why? because 1. im going To be here for atleast 10 months, there's no rush. 2. im trying to familiariaze with everything here, like for example...

- how the way the cars go, its the other side. driver's on the right seat.

- how i cannot just walk the street

- how i can now see blondes everywhere and act normal when i see a blonde baby with green eyes (yes,i do get excited all the time hahaha)

- how im not suppose to stare at people who walk it barefoot (its normal)

- how the sun is so freakin HOTTTTTT! sweating is normal here-- not good, cause you smell different kinds of smell

- how you should walk rather than use a car

- how im suppose to understand their accents... mehn, its hard ah!

but, i did however learn how to ride the bus to the city from my cousin's house in mosman, and i went out for drinks with my cousin and her friends, got to see the city, my dorm and how its across victoria park that is currently being used for a month long celebration of the mardi gras for gays and lesbians, and how it FINALLY hit me that i am actually in a different country, and the only time that it REALLY REALLY REALLY hit me was today.

here'sthe story:

i went to my dorm and fixed my stuff, and so i fixed everything... and i went down to check out the place and all, then i came across two people riding the elevator with me, one was a buff-looking guy and another 40-looking russian girl (im assuming she's russian cause of her accent) and our conversation went like this:

russian girl (RG): hello! where you from? 

me: philippines

RG: ohhhh! you know you're very beauitful, dont you think so? (talking to the buff-looking guy)

buff-looking guy (BLG): yes, she is. 

me: (blushes) thanks! 

we go inside the elevator

me: dont you think its hot today? its sooooo hot!

RG and BLG: yeah... its is, very hot.

talking about something, then RG goes out of hte elevator

BLG: sooo... what's your name

me: my name is.... uhm... ROMEYNA, but you can call inna, how about you? why you are you here for?

BLG: oohhh... im taking my Phd for medicine, and im from meHHHHHIco (mexico)

me: ohh wow! 

BLG: and my name is HECTORRRRRRRRRRRRRR

me: ohhh your name is HECTORRRRRRRRRRR

then elevator opens, i get out and i say bye. 

while walking to my room in the hallway, i smell this incredible... very... MAASIM at AMOY ARAW smell... amoy... KILI KILI.

AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED I WASNT HOME ANYMORE. cause at that particular experience i realized that, 1. my name is pronounced differently na talaga, 2. im very exotic in their eyes, fumorforeigner! 3. the smell is nowhwere near the smell in the philippines, and 4. this is going to be a great adventure.

MY STORY ENDS FOR TODAY. : )