Today is Australia Day and here I am sitting at my desk thinking about my one-year stint in Aussieland back in 2011.

Oh how I miss it. Those were the days where I could be a carefree student x wild child without a worry in the world – except for academic stress of course, but then again, that has never been an issue for me. *dusts shoulders 😛 😛 😛

How I wish I was sitting right on this very sunny lawn in university right now

instead of being here at this cold, freezing office 😛

I love doing throwback posts & flashbacks. I was meaning to write a post about Australia some time back but I never saw a connection or a proper timing for it. So… what better day to churn out this blog post about Aussie on Aussie Day itself, eh?

Let’s travel back in time in 2011 to the land Down Under!

On my 4th week in Melbourne, Australia, Monash University decided to take us all to Luna Park in St. Kilda Beach as part of their orientation program for the exchange students & freshman year students.

Waiting for our bus!

Just a few of my observation whilst in Australia – Aussies love sitting on the grass.

I hardly see that here in Malaysia!

En route to Luna Park. Woohoo!!

For some reason, I didn’t have many (East) Asian friends whilst I was there.

Laura & Vanessa were among my favorite girlfriends who were fellow Asians too.

Lauz & I

Van & I – take one!

Van & I – take two!

Can’t remember how long the bus ride took, but we arrived before we knew it 🙂

HELLO FROM LUNA PARK!

Admittedly, the entrance gives me the creeps.

See what I mean? 😛

We arrived really early in the morning just before the doors open.

LUNA PARK ALL TO OURSELVES!?

That can only mean…

Yup. Gonna be ridin’ all day, yo. 😉

Ferris Wheel!

At the carousel! Time for a merry-go-round!

With the RAs (Residential Advisors) Alia & Laura.

Playing with mirrors at Luna Park

Don’t we look short & stout here? HAHA

Everything was so merry and filled with people!

3 of my beautiful housemates!

Everything is still vividly in my mind. We were the girls of West 9.

That’s Elizabeth, Narelle and Camille. Camille used to leave me little cute notes on my door addressed to Jessicat, whenever I wasn’t home for days. Thanks for making my West 9 days a memorable one, ladies!

And my girlfriends from the house next door. Were you girls in West 8?

Not sure what we were doing at this point, waiting in line for a ride, I reckon.

Rollercoaster rides! Truth be told, I’m no daredevil.

Although I’m terrified of it, I’ll shut my eyes, scream my head off and enjoy the ride.

Likewise, for the Ghost Train, I’m pretty frightened of it as well but I don’t chicken out.

I endure the entire ride with my ears closed and eyes half-shut.

Here we are on some 3D ride thingamajiggy.

Fire-twirling demonstration!

Lining up for the rides with Mossy & Jade

Laura joined us soon enough!

And around the world we go!

One for the road with Lauz before we left!

Wildchild quirks of 21 year olds.

So dear Australia, on Australia Day today, let me take a moment in retrospect and reminiscence to say a few words.

Thank you for..

Being the drop-bear on my road and the chill to my coat

The Gold to my Coast and the vegemite on my toast

The sea to the sand and the VB in my hand

The Kanga to my roo and the barbie on my que

The Harbour to my bridge and the lamingtons in my fridge

The grog in the trams and the TimTams to my slams.

The surfer boys to my beach and the Uggs to my feet.

You can check out my other tales & chronicles during my one-year stint in Aussie, tagged under The Australian Diaries in this blog.

I’ll always be eternally grateful to such an enriching and fulfilling experience. And to all my bestest Melbie & Gippy friends, thank you for making me feel like home – you know who you all are. If given the chance, I would do it all over again.

HAPPY STRAYA DAY, TO ALL MY MATES, C*NTS & YES EVEN THE COUNTRY BOGANS WHO THREW TRASH AT ME FOR BEING ASIAN.