The people in the La Trobe International are so nice. They said it's the tradition to have a thank you lunch for the hosts. Another free lunch! Lol. Surprisingly it was like an asian lunch. They prepared rice and chinese dishes instead of hotdogs and sandwiches. :D
There were also some lucky draws and the prizes were quite nice. The grand prize was a free pass to Phillip Island and adopt a penguin! Not sure how that works but I know you can name the penguin. I want!!!!
My table has got 8 people and it was the luckiest table because 5 people from our table got the lucky draw prizes. Obviously, I was one of the 3 people. So sad!! I can't even get a La Trobe mug. :(
It's so nice of them that the staffs know every one of us. They can remember and pronounce my name! Haha. I didn't expect a cert too as there wasn't too much work to do and I actually wanted more. The International Welcome Festival was too short! Lol. Besides the cert, all of us got a complimentary award too and I got the 'Best Smile Award'. My reaction was like this --> @@". Can I have the 'Best Laugh Award'? That sounds nicer.
Anyway, I will definitely join again next semester. Wahahaha...
Happy Hosts
Fireworks
I just got to know that there will be fireworks in Docklands on every Friday of July. So I went there with some friends and have a look last Friday. It was quite windy that night and I was freezing! @@"
Before the fireworks, there were some fire performances on the stage. At that time, I wish I can stand beside her and borrow her fire to keep warm.
At 7.00pm, the fireworks started! :D
Red and purple.
There were actually some musics accompanying the fireworks and the fireworks patterns followed the music beats. So nice!
Nearly finale!
Finale of the night. The fireworks lasted for about 10 minutes. Heard my friend said the fireworks get nicer every Friday, but I can't be bothered coming all the way from my place on the last Friday of the month to see the finale. :p
My zoo assessment is coming very soon! Hope my voice is not shaky on that day. I want to get the uniform!! Ahh!!
By the way, I've been seeing this baby meerkat growing since few weeks ago. It's so tiny and cute!!
The Newbie Host's Experience
Being a host for the International Welcome Festival was not as scary as I expected. The campus tour turned out to be quite fun although I struggled a bit and looked clumsy at the beginning. Do you know how nervous you can be when everyone's looking at you and waiting for you to say something? It's totally a different feeling when you are looking from the eye of a new student and when from the eye of a host. Luckily after a while I felt more comfortable with my group, so can talk more easily, and I actually felt better when they asked questions rather than keeping quiet.
Next time I have to keep in mind that new students walk VERY slow!! I rushed like mad in front while they were taking their own sweet time chit chatting and enjoying the beautiful scenery at the back. Pengsan.... I think they will keep thinking: 'walk so fast for whaaat?? tired lah!!' Lol. But I didn't have a chance to hear that sentence as my group didn't have any Malaysians. Most of them are Europeans or Americans, and a few from Middle East.
It was my first time going to the orientation party. At first, I just went with a few people, but didn't know why our group became bigger and bigger, and so we kept changing to a bigger and bigger table. Lol. Because of such big group, 2 of us just took the whole box of pizza back to the table. Yes, we were the only group with the pizza box on the table. Haha. This group has got 4 Malaysians including me, 2 Japanese, 1 Thai, 1 Chinese, 1 Indian and 1 Mexican.
The party was alright. Besides chatting with new students and other hosts, all I did was just sitting there and watching people playing games on the stage and win prizes. The people were so sporting and can dance actively on the stage despite they just arrived in Melbourne few days ago. Although the prize for the dancing part was a trip ticket to I forgot where, I also wouldn't dare to go up the stage and dance even if you drag me. @@"
Overall this was quite an awesome experience and I can't wait to become a host again next year! :D
Egg Tart Without Tart
After spending half a day walking around in the zoo, I was super tired. Since ZY wanted to cook for me, I didn't mind to visit her house and mess up her place again. Haha. I still managed to find her apartment although I got lost a little and took the long way to reach her place. @@" Finding my way in the city really can shorten my legs' life.
We went for grocery shopping at the Aldi beside. Soooo convenient! Then, had a short rest because I was already half dead after all the walk. Guiding is not an easy task. Pengsan... When ZY's friend, Stephanie, arrived, our cooking started.
First was our entree: garlic bread! ZY was too rough in wrapping the garlic bread until there's a hole at one end. Lol. So Stephanie taught her how to wrap politely. :p
Coming up, steamed eggs! Again! I know. Haha. This is my only cooking that I'm confident enough to let people eat. Lol. This egg tart without tart was supposed to be dessert, but it was cooked faster than the main course, so we just ate whatever that was ready first. Hehe. And it's got good feedback from both of them! Woohoo! ZY was so in love with it and dug into it until the bowl pecah. Keke...
Overall, we had a good dinner and a good night plus lots of lame jokes. xD
An Apprehensive Host
My job as an International Welcome Festival host is starting on the first day of the international orientation, which is tomorrow!! And I'm sitting here, feeling nervous just like a typical newbie host (in fact I am). I'm doing a campus tour tomorrow. Ahhh.... so many eyes will be on me. Hope my mind don't go blank and miss out any points or lose my way. @@"
It's been a while since I studied this map. I didn't know there are so many other things I need to know about my uni. I only just discovered some shortcuts recently but I don't think I'm going to use it tomorrow. Hehe.
At this hour, I think a first timer host is feeling just the same as the international students who are attending tomorrow. Still thinking how am I going to make them interact among themselves when I'm not talkative myself. Swt.
Laksa King
Met up with ZY in the city again for a Malaysian lunch with another two of her friends. Everyone is missing hometown food. Lol. This time she brought us to Laksa King, located at Newmarket. By looking at the restaurant's name, it has already chosen the food for me. Lol.
I ordered seafood laksa. Don't know why I keep craving for seafood. The laksa is so big. It's like triple the size of the hawker stall laksa. Luckily I didn't eat anything before this. Hehe. Inside it has 2 tiger prawns, 2 big mussels, 1 scallop, some calamari, some fish cakes, 2 tofu and a huge eggplant. Should also give us some sambal to mix it into the laksa. But overall the taste is satisfying, at least it is good enough to cure my cravings. :D
After that, we went to visit ZY's new accomodation, or apartment. The lobby. Got statue somemore. Haha.
Four of us spent the whole afternoon playing Monopoly Deal. It's in a card style instead of board game. First time playing it. So noob. @@" Besides playing this, how can I let go the chance of stuffing in more HK dramas into my hard disk. I even put in some Korean series like City Hunter since ZY said it is so nice. My hard disk is going to burst soon. Lol.
A night view from the balcony. The best thing of living in this apartment is that there is an Aldi (cheap supermarket) located just right beside it, just next door neighbour. Soooo nice!! Don't have to run out of milk! Which is a very big problem that I always have.
So nice to walk in the city in a cool winter night.
Second Year Review 1
Second year started off not very interesting. Glad that I've only got 3 subjects. The first zoology prac has already drained my energy away when I heard about the insect collection. This semester zoology focused on entomology (insects) and ecology, and surprisingly they were so much more complicated than I thought. Although the pracs are very simple compared to those carried out in the lab, but when it comes to report writing, it is the most confusing report that one can ever write. Plus, the two lecturers aren't very helpful when students posted up some questions onto the website. :( So it's complicated theory, not too nice people, but simple pracs.
Up next, biochemistry. After spending 3 months with this subject, I have no doubt about the capabilities of La Trobe in producing excellent biochemists for research. The subject coordinator managed to incorporate all the skills needed to be a scientist. Knowledge, report writing, teamwork, lab techniques, prac exercises etc, the lecturers and demonstrators did put in a lot of effort and time to help us. For this, it's interesting theory, very good people, but hard pracs.
Last but not least, animal health. This is an agricultural science subject. Eventhough there is no chicken raising project like last year, but this subject is a lot more interesting and attracts me more. It's about diagnosing an illness in domestic animals, zoonotic diseases, microbiology, immunology, vaccines and parasitology. Basically, the fundamental things a vet needs to know. The pracs are awesome. We played with sheep poop! :) Lol. Yes, we need to detect the worm eggs in sheep faeces. How fun is that! Furthermore, I love the lecturers. Besides presenting their lectures excellently, they are also super helpful and friendly in answering our help. The people in agricultural science building are sooo nice! I still remember how helpful the demonstrators were in helping our chicken report last year. :D Overall for this subject, awesome theory, awesome people and awesome pracs!!
So far, I've kind of narrowed down the things that I might want to deal with for the next few decades of my life. For the next semester, I'm still doing zoology but not ecology or insects anymore. Phew... It's called animal physiology, so it's more of the biology of the body. Now I know ecology is not my study interest. However, I'm still keen to volunteer to help the ecologists or conservationists in carrying out their research out in the field (the physical stuff), but I won't do the research myself. The report writing can kill me. x.x
My interest still remain in the vet field. I want to be involved in the animal health industry. Creating vaccines, controlling zoonotic diseases, studying parasites, diagnosing sickness or whatever that is related, or might also end up benefiting human health indirectly. :) The field is still wide, but I think I will find out what I'm capable of in the next one and a half year time.
By the way, my options will become more because, besides animal physiology, animal nutrition and medical veterinary microbiology are coming up next semester. Sounds interesting.
Top 10 Animals I Must See Before I Die
Although I want to see all the animals in the world, but these 10 animals are a must for me to meet them in real life, and possibly, touch them with my own hands too. So counting down my top 10 creatures.....
#8 - the giant anteater. Yes, I want to see a huge one. I'm always curious to see its body stucture. It's got such a big tail. Look how fury it is.
#7 - walruses. Seeing them and shaking hands with them in any zoos in the world are more than enough for me. I don't plan to travel all the way to the Arctic to see one. That is scary. Lol. And I want to hug them too! :)
#6 - a tarsier. This primate is tiny enough to fit into my palm. Look at its big round eyes that are larger than its brain. It's got the innocent look. Haha.
#5 - the proboscis monkey. It's the big nose and beer-belly that make this monkey unique. Just to get things right, the big nose serves no purpose in improving the monkey's sense of smell. In fact, it is used to attract females. So the larger the nose, the more handsome the male is. Hmm... fair enough. So do they have more boogers then?
#4 - the sloth. Look how cute it is. It's smiling. :) Always look so peaceful with such slow movements and relaxing lifestyle. However, no matter how cute it is, this is the only animal I will give it a shower first before I give it a hug. One of the reason is that its fur have got cyanobacteria that turn the sloth green for camouflage, but the main reason is that there are about 1000 beatles crawling in its fur feeding on the cyanobacteria. Insects! OMG! I guess a picture with it plus a hand shake will do for me. Lol.
#3 - the beluga whale. Another smiling fellow. How cute! I wish to swim with this guy and kiss it. Haha. This whale can turn its head up, down, right, left just like we do. A bit different from other whales.
Lastly, ranking number 1 on my list, is the aye aye! A creature with the face of a weasel, teeth of a rat, ears of a bat and fingers of a witch. To sum up, it's the weirdest looking lemur in Madagascar. It's because of these unique features that make me want to meet this lemur in real life. Besides, it's got a very long middle finger. Unlike humans, that elongated finger is not used to express rudeness, it is used to search for food instead. It uses its middle finger to tap tree branches and detect hollow branches that contain grubs. Then, it will use the same finger to dig the grub out. Awesome! I must visit Madagascar one day!
Provided 2012 is not the end of the world and I have 100 years of life, I must meet these 10 awesome animals before I die. :p