Eins, zwei, drei.

Hi, people. In case you live under a rock (more like, not checking Facebook or even talking to me regularly enough slash Leong Hooi cough), I'm in New Zealand already. Dunedin, to be exact.

A student town, where students study hard and party harder.

So, yeah.

This is the building that I study in. 

 

The Language Centre and Foundation Year never had that huge of a building last year, and they only moved in here a few weeks ago. But seriously, they've got the best facilities there. There's like a whole bunch of Mac computers in the ILC, and the design within the building is top-notch, modern and impressive. Next to it is a cafe (horribly expensive - eight dollars for a sandwich? I'll starve, thanks) and Unipol, the gymnasium.

 

 And this is the main heart of the campus - the famous clock tower of Otago. Since the new building that I study in is quite far away from here, I don't think I'll be getting to see this place on a regular basis, but next year I most definitely will when my lessons move to the main campus. The cherry blossoms will bloom by the riverbank during spring though, so I'll definitely take a stroll here a few times at least.

 And oh, that's my room. 

I am a lucky, lucky girl.

The room behind belongs to my housemate, a girl from the Pacific Islands, and the room with two beds belong to me. I can sleep on one bed, and dump some other stuff on the other - not to mention that the entire area of the room is large enough for two whole suitcases, as well as my clothes. Having a huge room means it gets cold easily too, though, but I'm going to ignore that for now. Since my room is much bigger than my housemate's room, I told her to come over whenever she wants to chat. I'm not claustrophobic, but being in such a small, cramped room like hers would irk me.

Unpacking was quite a tedious process. I realized that since I was at a stranger's home, it wouldn't do me any good to shame myself by tossing stuff everywhere, even if it technically was my room for the time being. Compared to my housemate's room, mine was messier even when I tried as much as I could to make things look neater.

 Tiny tech corner. I'm sure I could've put in more stuff if all my chargers, speakers and wires weren't there blocking the way. There's a study area (no books there yet), and one of those small pin-up boards where I could put anything important up. So far, uh, the only thing pinned up (not in photo) would be my list of subjects and the laundry schedule.

And see, see? There's a piano in the house that I can play from time to time. Neat! And I thought I wouldn't have the chance to touch a piano for a few months!

Anyway.

Life has been quite...eventful. 

I got lost, for one. I thought I knew Dunedin well enough, but no, I didn't. I ended up walking in the total opposite direction and ended up in some suburb area. It was only when I saw the signs leading out to the highway that I realized something was horribly, horribly wrong. 

The streets are parallel, see. If you take a wrong turn, you'll most likely end up...at somewhere else other than your destination.

Which doesn't leave me any room for carelessness, really. But you know, with a map and some serious backtracking while looking like some clueless Asian tourist, I managed to find my way back. Was I ever tempted to hitch a ride, but in Malaysia that would be like, asking for death, so...

I sat on my glasses by accident too, which was really careless of me. The right lens popped out, leaving me thinking stuff like, "Why the heck is this happening to me on the first day of orientation and oh my goodness I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" So, yeah. More map-scouting, more walking (running) along the streets during lunch break. I got them fixed for free. I must have looked really pitiful.

The oddest thing is that somehow I've been making more Pacific Islanders and local Kiwi friends more than Asians. I recall my sister and brother having a whole bunch of Asian friends, and I'm like, talking to the cocoa-colored skin ones and the fair-haired ones. In fact, some of the Asian people just didn't respond well even after I spoke to them. I don't mind, of course. Friendships take time, but hey, being a little responsive won't kill you, would it? If there's one thing I dislike, yeah, this is it. It's not like I was being out-of-character either. Sure, my English has a slang even if I've only been here for a week or so, but I feel quite natural in it and - nothing's wrong, basically! It's just who I am. Hopefully, I'll be getting some Asian friends soon too.

I've also been feeding the cat that lives in the house, but that was only because it wouldn't stop following me everywhere I went. It purrs whenever I scratch its ears though, that sneaky little thing, and likes settling on my bed, leaving fur behind. 

 No, we don't have any classes yet. It's still orientation week, and I've been familiarizing myself with bus routes, campus grounds, people around me, etc, and have completed the formal process of registration. Now all I await is my student ID and student email. The rest are done. Debit card (online shopping? More like, booking flights back home) - check, stationery - check, tomorrow's clothes - check, EFTPOS card, Farmers card, GoCard, all those little cards - check.

Yeah, one of the perks is that you get to wear what you want, have your hair however you want - unlike CHS. 

I feel the freedom. I love the freedom. I absolutely just adore it, and I don't miss CHS at all. 

Totally. And I'm not even lying to myself in any way.

I'm not even freaking homesick. 

I don't even feel the need to cry by myself in the middle of the night, have some dark side popping up, or whatever emotional thingy that can lead to my failure in life. I mean, there are a few days in a month where I'm less pleasant to be dealt with, but other than that...

Yeah, really. That's around it.

I'll update again as soon as I can. My parents love receiving long emails from me. Interesting, isn't it?