My first update from Biri Land...

After all the settling down problems were solved, i still could not spare time to blog for the past few weeks..Finally, I have the passion to write in my tiny space again... Lots of happening events are going on here... Couldn't really take a breath with so many cool stuff around... I am safe an sound in a different soil now... Biri-Biri land is just too awesome for words... I felt like I am part of a movie taken in some faraway country, but hey it's just a few hours away from my home...

Assignments are piling up, tensions are growing but the lectures are wonderful though there is much catching up to be done especially when independent self-learning is the major agenda in the university life here... I've had a cosy little room on 6th floor in the uni residence hall called Huia which is seriously satisfying as there is a refrigerator meant for my sole use in the room! Cooking is not a problem with that storage space where i could store all the food of my liking... Further more, there are some very cool people living here... Socializing activities are held almost all around the clock where chances of interaction and socializing are high (unless absent from these activities)...

The weather here is chilly when I first got here with the blazing sun above my head and frosty winds threatening to freeze my face, hands and legs...Yea, sounds contracting doesn't it? Well, it is true... I'm turning black now... even the lecturers from my country remarked "You looked so tanned now!" Yea, i went out almost everyday under the sun without applying any sunblock because i was so used to without it.. So that is the consequence that i must bear throughout this summer and autumn..A friend told me not to worry, because I would definitely turn white-ish again when winter comes... Hmm, having doubts over that, but anyway hoping that it will for me...Swimming in the ocean was one awesome experience with the water reaching 25 degrees Celsius when we were in it... Our screams and shouts regarding the cold salt water was ignored and bombarded with an additional remark from our Kiwi pal who said "Harden up, mate!! You guys are pampered at home..." hahaha... After last few weeks we really did harden up though... Now i sleep without any thermal wear on but instead short pants...lolzz... i guess my skin thicken and harden up after bearing the insult of being ridiculously cold in the midst of the 'warmest time of the year in NZ'...
Well, enough of the story telling..Here are some pictures which features some of the highlights of the pass few weeks... noho mai ra for now!!!

Powhiri (welcoming event) at Epsom Campus

A night outing just to get ice cream!! I love the ice cream here!

Auckland Zoo

Fire Corps at Domain Park -flashy luminous rods! Beautiful!!!

Land for sheep

Lamas

And horses too!!!

Mission Bay- We jumped!!!!

Numbering...

sheets of 'dates' flew off the calendar...
there isn't much flips before the number appears...
We use to count the days of merry-making and call it a wink of an eye...
the days of the dreaded working and slogging a cold long winter...
but we know it in our hearts that,
without numbering,
we couldn't count...
the height of plants remains...
people stay short as elfins..
numbering brings progress,
like the countdowns of the launching of a rocket...
without it there won't be men in the moon...
without it, there will not the a sign of the first breathe of life,
nor there the last of it...
so numbering has a lifespan's worth as a matter a fact...

Clowns...

Many a time, people like to compare those who could not express their true feelings to clowns... They said that those clowns bring laughter to the others while coping with their true feelings within which are unknown... Maybe they are the most obvious ones to compare to...
Many a time we are clowns too... We crack jokes to break the awkward silence even though we do not feel like doing it... We put smiles on to entertain our clients or customers (for those who are working)... We try not to be too whelmed with happiness in our success as the one next to us is crying... We often contain ourselves as we are always in the most complicated situations... Any wrong customary expressions bring about chilling glares and astonished looks... That turns us the center of attention... That is when we realised that the atmosphere at the moment becomes uncannily uncomfortable, thus prompting us to re-collect our feelings... Emotional Quotient thus become our sole aim to which we are striving to to become socially competent people... We always put the feelings of others at the first change of scenes... We clown around with our feelings... abusing them till they are under our complete control... Till then we become expressionless... We thought we have mastered the skills of showing the appropriate feelings and thus jumped with joy... However, a new trend is on the rise... Praises made at a proper time may turned "you sound cynical"... Or worse, being labelled as the 'sugared mouth'.... From there the cycle goes on till one day you decided not to show any positive or negative expressions... So the best thing that you will hear isn't "congratulations, you have master the art of being sociable" but "I think you should go and undergo a laughter therapy... You need some twinkle in your humour..." That was when you will feel like a clown who is eager to please but not being pleased...

Morning...

After weeks of hibernation at home, I pestered mum to bring me along to the morning market in Chinese Street (some called it Little Chinatown in my state)... It has been a long time since I drop by the town at such early hours... Roads were filled with the hustle and bustle of cars... There has been a steady increase in cars and other vehicles here which breaks the dulll pace in the streets...
It was cloudy but bright enough not to give the morning a gloomy shadow... Rows of old wooden houses with their ancient designs are still there, at least along that street... Those houses further down did not survive as they were demolished to give way to newer developments... A pity that those are now mere memories... The swiftlets though are still abundant in the air sweeping up and down to take a good look at what the crowd of two-legged were doing...Most people were out standing in front of their houses...There will be a competition to choose the best decorated shop house in the street...Everyone is plannning hard to become the most outstanding one...
The festive season is around the corner... I got infatuated by the excitement too... Let's hope that it is a nice one this year...^^

The Wind...

I was at my table when the wind blew so strongly into the living room... The weather today fitted nicely...It breezy with occasional showers to cool the earth... The door kept swinging open, slapping the walls behind... Those gusts of wind and breeze blew all over the room, brought the rain - stained mossy smell of the earth into the house... Everything was so delightful as the homey feeling lingered around...
Dad switched on the television that time... Just in time for the news... I lifted my head to a news coverage about a family dispute over the heredity rights and parts of the wealth owned by the ailing billionaire gambler... The elder must have regretted taking in 4 wives... I feel that he does not have much loyalty towards his family, that is why they are only 'loyal' to his treasures... What a family... Even the news caster commented that it looked like a family dispute which is re-shoot directly out from a tv drama, but now it is a real thing happening in reality... I guess movie directors and drama script writers have predicted correctly about what will become of all kinds of people even before all these dramatic scenes happened in real life...
The wind blew in again... This time it was so strong that it had swept up a piece of paper laying on the table nearby and flung it straight at the face of that particular elder who appeared on the screen in time to be given a virtual smack at the exact moment...
Looks like even the wind was jeering "Serves you right old man, no mercy for you!" I just could help but wonder, maybe winds think too...

Pomegranates...

Mum brought home pomegranates the other day... It has been a long time since i have tasted this fruit... opening it is like opening a treasure chest filled with tiny studs of ruby-like juicy sacs... Each harden sac shades from the reddish sparkle of the red wine to a translucent creamy milk colour... Embedded in the center of each 'ruby' is a new life for its kind... I use to leave most of those untouched because of the limitation in time, though they are sweet and nice to eat, it takes a long time and a little skill of the tongue to separate the flesh from the brownish seed, so small that it could easily be swallowed by accident (which may cause complications in the bowels)... As I was not in a hurry just now, i finished the whole fruit which has been satisfying for only a moment as shock creeps into me when i look into the face of the old clock... I took 1 hour to finish chewing the flesh and spitting out those almond shaped seeds... This is the first time i tasted success in finishing a fruit... The effort that has been given is certainly something that should never be done when my hands are full (i certainly would not have so much time to spare again as my semester will start soon)... though petty to consume, i could not help wondering about the cost of each of these fruits...They are not cheap to come by although they are tiresome to eat.... Mum said she had bought it so that i could get to know this curiosity of a fruit... This time she bought it out of nostalgia to re-introduce this fruit to me... I presume that she does not want me to forget the taste and appearance of it... Mum used to say that children nowadays missed lots of chances to taste unusual fruits which are abundant in the traditional markets for two reasons: they are picky in the type of food they eat (prefer only fast and tasty instant food or the more common type such as apples usually seen in supermarkets); they never get their slippers or shoes dirty by stepping into wet markets (this is pretty certain as most wake up long after the sun rises)... It is a good thing mum always brought home many fruits whether it grows locally or somewhere exotic... i am a fortunate one to taste such a wide variety of food (it is always food which inspire me) =D

Carefreely...

Such days are ending soon... The path laid eagerly for me to walk it... It would be something like a fairy tale, an adventure, a quest or something beyond imagination?