BON VOYAGE !

EY HEYYYY! :) I just found out about this community! Let me introduce myself firsttttt.

Name is Xin, Im 18 this year
Currently studying in Diablo Valley College, that's in California, Pleasant Hill
I'm studying in the college so as to transfer to a univerisity after I get 60 units and above 
Basically living in a apartments (mostly rented to students)

You know what? I am the ONLY Singaporean in the school I think. Hahaha I hang out with Indonesian Chinese because my boyfriend is one (and I met him in Singapore not in USA).

Basically California is a nice place-- can never get too cold! always sunny. But the living expenses is REALLY high here. Hate it. hahaha.

Looking for any Singaporeans studying in california? or any other nationality too! Ex-Singaporeans. anyone! ahahah and advice on which university is good for business (bsides UC berk) :D:D 
 

Hi everybody!

My name is Han, and I have recently graduated with a law degree from the University of Melbourne. I'm currently doing a graduate diploma in legal practice to gain admission to practice as a solicitor in Victoria.

The thing is, I would very much prefer to live and work in the US. My dream has been to work in Silicon Valley, and I would like to ask LJers here whether there's anyone currently living or working in California, and whether they have any advice about what to do?

Thank you all!

The community seems a bit quiet, but I think it's the only one of its kind that I've found, so I decided to take some time and introduce myself :)

I'm 21 this year and from Singapore like everyone else here. I'm currently an Illustration major at Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. I've been through quite a bit since coming here, but I don't regret leaving Singapore at all. It's been very educational :)

Right now I live on my own in a rented apartment and just got myself a nice Toyota Corolla a month ago. The driving test here is a lot easier than in Singapore so I chose to wait till I got here before learning how to drive. And driving is so much a part of everyone's lives, at least in the smaller cities and suburbs here, that driving licenses are used as ID cards anywhere in the states.

I had some difficulty adjusting at first, but I think finally I've grown to love where I've settled. I was very shy when living in the dorms my first year and kind of holed myself in during part of my second, but now (almost 3/4 through my 2nd year) I have finally managed to feel at ease and comfortable here. There aren't a lot of Singaporeans here; in fact I believe I'm one of the only ones. The closest I got was this girl who is Indonesian but lived in Singapore for a while. So at first I would feel more self-conscious than usual, but it was a learning experience. Most people in Columbus are ang moh or black, some hispanics, and minority are Indians and Asians.

However, I just came back from a gorgeous Spring Break in NYC where I volunteered for my college, in a small Catholic church/school, St. Nicholas of Tolentine. I learned a lot about life, friends, and even some of my academic work as well over the trip... and I learned to treasure the great time I have here that my college has provided. Art students are so crazy and fun :D

So yes! I'm enjoying myself here, and will be back in Singapore this december with my boyfriend :) To show to the 'rents, lol.

Hey mods, if this is not allowed, please delete OK? I wasn't too sure! Sorry! I'm part of the organising committee so I'm trying to pimp this as much as possible. XD

( ROCK YOUR WORLD! )

happy BELATED new yr!  from the interns in Virginia!

since its tradition that binds us, 6 koreans , 1 hongkong-er (?) & 1 singaporean, together, we thought it would be fun and kinda meaningful to make dumplings together to celebrate. it was hilarious.. we had pork & beansprouts & tung hoon & onions stuffings.. basically whatever bit of ingredients we remember our mothers using, we stuck it in there.. was a odd mix but extremely yummerooos!!! =) and and the different wrapping styles: there was dim-sum style, korean style, curry-puff style dumplings of the same fillings all lumped into one!!! 

fantastic dumplings, heaps of soy sauce, a house filled with friends & a cachaphony of various asian language.. purrfect end to a stressful week at work! =) 

next on asian menu: glutinous rice-cakes!

You guys probably thought I was dead or something. In fact, I was extremely busy with my life and still is. However, I've decided to make my short debut post in sgoverseas on this day!

A little introduction about myself!

You can pretty much tell my name from my username. It's Elaine, and I'm 20 going on 21 end of this year! Like majority, I'm from Singapore! Currently (temporarily for 3 more years) residing in Adelaide, Australia. Yeap yeap, it's the same state where our other lovely mod , starxstyle, is residing too! :D

I stay in a private student hostel, a humble en-suite double share room with my boyfriend. Lucky for us, it's an en-suite - there's toilet! Other than that, the common kitchen and common room (aka entertainment corner) is shared. The bus stop is a 3 mins run, 5 mins brisk walk, 12 mins slow walk away. It's a 20-30 min (depending on the senseless traffic) bus ride to the front gate of the school, which also brings to where I am studying! There are 3 uni's in South Australia, Adelaide. Flinders University, University of South Australia & lastly, University of Adelaide! I'm studying in the latter, majoring in Accountancy!

I can't remember doing anything fun here except for getting nearly drunk in my room with my boyfriend because we were challenging each other on who will be the first to regurgitate!

Oh and another was when I was at this beach (Henley beach for those who know), enjoying the breeze in the car, windows fully wound down, with the boy. And suddenly we were bird shit attacked!! The wind was SO strong that it swept the freshly produced atomic bomb literally across my bf's FACE (LOL!!) and my jacket (oh yes, u bet I threw it away). Shucks, and the bird could stare at me innocently! *mutters under breath*

....

I cook, and I have to say that I cook well! HAHAHA. I'm a nonya you see. Anyway, I don't have pictures of what dishes I've done because people would think I'm a psycho taking pictures while cooking! I will try, if I really do remember grabbing my cam along!

I will entrust starxstyle with the picture taking & posting job because I'm ALWAYS rushing for classes and will be way too tired right after school (READ: 8am-6pm mon-fri is sick). I will try my best to post some pictures when I can find time to do so, which I doubt will be soon!



OKAY, see you guys around! & sorry for the terrible chunk of words! *GASPS*

A getaway from everything city-like. The first day was very much Amazing-Race Like. Made my way to Darling Harbour at 0530am in the morning. The streets were mostly empty, with some drunkards struggling to walk. Oh yes, I never saw that much puke in my entire life. The grounds of Darling Harbour were filled with spilled alcohol and the smell was reeking. I admire those workers trying their best to make the place look presentable in the morning. It was Australia Day Celebrations the night before.

Using my morning blurry brain, I noticed a sign that indicates no fruit is to be be brought into all states except QLD. Perhaps because the fruit inter-state is poisonous and filled with foreign bacteria? Ignored that and proceeded to sit and watch the planes take off.

I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, which is highly unusual. Neither did I sleep the night before. Upon reaching Adelaide's airport, scooted out of there asap just in case some dogs smelled fruit and come barking after. That would be hyper embarrassment plus a 2k fine. Got to Thrifty Car Rental and woahla, an expired licence and lost licence = no licence. Using desperate measures, I called cousin 1 to come pick us up. Thank God everyone in the house was awake otherwise cousin 2 would probably have screamed at me. We were stranded for half an hour before we got picked up.

Carless, we took a simple map and began to plan what's next on the agenda. Waiting for the public bus at the airport was quite refreshing. The air was chilly, crisp and fresh, unlike Sydney's. The temperature must have been around 20 or so. I found out the bus ticket was similar to Melbourne's. It's small, compact and you had to "validate it"...which I found kinda weird. If you bought a ticket, obviously you'd want to use it, why keep it for another time? We did not validate it because we didn't know at first. If conductors had come on board, we'd have been fried.

Central Markets was our first stop. It's nothing like Sydney's Paddy Markets. Instead of Asian grocers yelling "1 DOLLA 1 DOLLA" there was more space to walk around and no yelling. European grocers filled the market with products like cheese, sausages & other European produce. It was very very nice. We had lunch at a small food court and proceeded to the information office. The city was extremely quiet and spacious. Honestly, I wouldn't even know it's the city if not for some/few high-rises. After running through bus timetables and 20 brochures or so, I was forced to call a friend. We then toured around the city area and had a coffee to keep ourselves awake.

Then we headed to Botanical Gardens which is quiet, plenty of plant variety and there is a rainforest! It felt a bit strange walking in the middle of summer in a light jacket and still feeling the cold but I managed.

We got the car off a friend at the Irish Murphy's and drove to Victor Harbour via Glenelg (the only town where you can backwards and still get the same word). The wind was blowing extremely fiercely on the pier so we couldnt' walk to the end of it. There were no waves, and I'm not sure if there ever will be any big ones. I like Glenelg beach even though that day was cold and gray.

I had my first nap in the car and when we got to Victor, a hot bowl of tom yum soup was necessary. The next phase of the "race" was probably the worst yet. Looking for accomodation was such a horrid job. We must have dialled approximately 10 places and ran on our feet to another 10, but every single place was booked out. There was only a single bed available. After hunting for more than an hour, we head to Granite Island on foot. Imagine crossing the Singapore-Johore Causeway on foot with chilly winds blowing at 115knots/hr. It's not even high walls on the sides, I could have been blown away just like THAT.

Despite the cold and windy front, Granite Island at 2100 was a spectacular of penguins, water rats and possums. One penguin was already building its nest in Jan when it is supposed to begin building in May. Globalwarming was the first thing that popped into my head. After Granite Island, we had no choice but to drive back to Adelaide at 2230. Between 1130 and 0100, everything was a blur as every single place we approached was booked out. Finally landing something at a Pakistani tended motel. Slept dead like sheep.

When we woke the next morning, the first thing we had to do before dropping off the car was to find accomodation for the night. Shakespeare's International Backpackers, I recommend it. They had a larger than usual tv and it was quite clean. Sunday involved Adelaide Hills - Handorf and Mount Lofty PLUS the men's Australian Open finals. It's unbelievable how friendly people in Adelaide are. A security bouncer happily turned up the volume so we could watch the match, an old lady approached us to help with directions to Handorf and a special bus service was called upon to cater to us and 2 other German tourists. Driving us up and down the loft, and making sure we'd catch the next bus back into the city. It was incredible.

After which the rest of the week included shopping with my cousins, keeping out of the averaging 38deg heat and just taking it all in.





( Adelaide - City of Churches )

Good morning lovelies! I've been lurking around in sgoverseas, but I've decided to come out and introduce myself. I'm currently on exchange at Uppsala University, Sweden. I've been here since August 2006, and I will return to Singapore at the end of June this year.

So far, I've been adjusting well. I love the fact that I can actually see the wide open sky here because back in Singapore the skyline is always obscured by the skyscrapers. It's the middle of winter now, but it hasn't really been snowing. The temperature hovers between -3 to -17 on cold days, but it is not that cold unless there are strong winds.

I think I've babbled on enough. Here are some picture I took in the past 6 months. Enjoy!

( Land of Meatballs )

A shout out to everyone. A brief introduction - I go to Sydney University. Been in Sydney for almost 4 years. I've finished all lessons at uni itself, that's official as of last week. The only thing left is a final essay. I do management in an asian context. I'm very glad that school's almost out. What's next for me? I'm currently doing a little domestic travelling up and down the eastern coastline. Then hopefully, sometime in the not too distant future, I'd be able to find a real job.

What do I miss about SG? All my friends and family, plus who could resist the local delicacies? Definitely NOT the weather and mosis though.

What do I love about Sydney? The weather, Turkish bread, Korean bibimbap, Indonesian homemade food, Bondi/Coogee/Cronulla beaches, events galore & much more.




( Here's a few shots I took of my resident area )

Hello folks!
Yes it's meee again ;p
Just doing another post following dear tiara's suggestions =D

I,unfortunately unlike most of the lucky souls in the forum,don't have a maid.this is cause my parents think my brother and i are old
enough to do all the work ourselves and don't need anybody to take care of us.Of course,credit for the most work done around definitely goes to my mum.
Queen of the house.LOL.
Anyway, after I left for australia I really got into the mode of baking.Ermmm people who knows me will be overdosed by my cheesecake and tiramisu.cause
those are my favourite things to bake! Ohhh! Chocolate chip cookies too! =D heeheehee
So you know...if you're in melbourne and you know me,good luck to you! =P 

My best friends in melbourne city has to be my friend from msia,May whom I met at school, and my housemate Pattttttttt who's a singaporean =)
I live in an apartment with two other singaporeans and one msian.I'm the youngest in the house and we all get along really well.
One of them is a health freak,hence movitating the rest of us to go to the gym LOL.I'm now a crazyyyy fanatic of Combat.

'enuff of my talking and time for the picture attack ;p

Haaaaa, it's me again! I'm just bored right now 'cause I just had supper after training and I don't want to sleep yet.

I'm gonna nick Tiara's idea of asking who are all your besties/friends! (I hope you don't mind!)

As for me, I met my bestie from the first day of Trinity Foundation orientation (haha, usually I'd think that orientations are pretty useless). It was one of those tour of the uni things. So we've been sort of stuck together since. Hehe.

( More rambling )

( Fast forward to pics )

Hey everyone!

I've never cooked all my life without help (the maid always helped me) so I tried to organise a dinner party with my friends barely 3 days after I was here in Adelaide and this came out of it: ( Amateur cooking )

Hi, firstly I would like to thank everyone who took the initiative to introduce themselves & made this community so much more interesting. It's good that some of you could even plan gatherings, especially those studying in Australia.

Next, the mods have come up with a great idea to make the community more interesting. Anyone will be eligible to post questions such as " Who's your best friend in the country you're residing in " or " Where do you live ? In the dorm, in an apartment or in a homestay family ? " Please include pictures such as pictures of your best friend & home when responding to the person. The person who is posting the questions, have to answer their own question & post pictures as well to make it fair to everybody.


For now, I would like to ask if you guys have learn to cook/bake since a lot of us are so sheltered with maids back in Singapore. If you already know how to cook/bake before you came to the country you're currently in, which food did you just learn to cook/bake ? Also, What other food do you wanna learn to cook/bake ?

As for me, I didn't know how to cook until I came to Canada. I knew how to bake a lot of cakes/cookies, etc since 5 years ago but haven't been touching the oven for long. Will try to pick up baking as a hobby soon !
( PICTURES @ HERE ! It may not look appealing but according to my sister, it's tasty & definitely edible ! )

Meanwhile, keep the posts coming !

Hey all!
I am here because of Prissy! :D

I will be heading south(makes me sound like a bird) soon, next month on the 13th.
Will be schooling in Trinity College, the Foundation Course, Feb intake 2007.
(Melbourbe, Australia)
It the catch is, i am 19 this year?
(foundation has huge intakes of 17year old singaporeans) and I feel old already! :(((((

I just packed m clothes and the fear, anticipation, depresssion, rejection, joy and whirlpool of emotions are taking their places in me.
I am feeling them and I can't believe I will be somewhere else soon, ALONE.

Ok, why am I doing this?
Because A Levels was a nightmare and I hope to redeem myself and head towards my dream (marketing, advertising).

And I want to make friends even before I head south. :D

Ok, what else do I need to say? :)

OH YA.
My name is Kerrin
and nice to meet all :)

Hello there!
I am Jiayi, 18 going on 19, currently in the mids of my finals for the foundation/diploma (however they call it) programme which I started doing ever since last june.
I am based in Australia, Sydney (of all places) studying at Insearch (University of technology syndey) hoping to major in med science in uni (that's if I clear my finals).

I have a keen interest in photography as well as things much related to creativity.
And I have recently been addicted to fishing (new addition to my hobby list).
I find fishing a very interesting and enjoyable thing to do over long and boring weekends.
It gives you a lot of space when you need to think.
My decision in coming here was very sudden and random, since I am a talk and think but no action kind of person.
But it was a good decision I reckon .

After graduating I am hoping to transfer to melbourne or even the states to finish up my post grad degree.
When time comes we will see, since I have even barely started uni.

Hello all! I'm Natalie, 19 this year, and currently doing my second year of Bachelor of Arts over at University of Melbourne, majoring in Psychology and Cultural Studies (and I take silly subjects like... Love Stories). Planning to become a practising psychologist next time so we'll see how that goes.

I decided to head down to Australia for further studies, because I didn't want to do A's (and PE). Hehehe, but actually on hindsight, all my friends who went through JC told me that it was a huge waste of time. So lucky for me, I guess. I was from CHIJ TP (ten years!) and went to Temasek JC for one month just to see what JC was all about, then flew down to Melbourne for foundation studies in 2005.

Melbourne is a weird place, Melbourne uni even weirder. But it's all good. I'm quite a loner. And also, quite a random person. I love Melbourne because many good bands come to Melbourne (but unfortunately I'm too cheap to pay for the tickets), it has great food (Jamie Oliver!! ♥), good shows on free channels (though it can't beat America!), great albeit erratic weather and err.... OK that's about it. The Why I Hate Melbourne list is longer but I can't complain. Hehe.

I go back every winter and summer, aka the extreme months. Hehe. Even though I've only been studying in Melbourne for two years, I really do miss Singapore. That's why I sometimes teach a few of my Aussie/international friends Singlish, make them listen to Mr Brown and watch Phua Chu Kang. Hehehe. Does anyone know if they have PCK on VCD? Would love to bring some back to Melbourne! :D

And those of you studying/working/living in Melbourne as well, let's all meet up for gelati binge session! :D (Also, if your interests lie in House, VMars, Spooks, Coupling, Blackadder, anime/manga, kendo, Russia, or Italy, feel free to friend me and we can have mad crazy discussions about these!)

Yeaa, better stop typing rubbish. Soooo, I bring you some pictures. Of food and random people. I hope you don't mind! Sorry they're mostly of my kendo mates... because I hardly have other friends! Hehe.

( Rather image-heavy random selection! )

That's it for now! I might post more once I get nice pretty pictures. Hope to make more great friends soon! :D

Didn't really do a proper introduction in my previous post.

I'm Tiara.
Born & raised in Singapore for 18 years.
Came to Vancouver on Dec 2005, which makes me 20 now.
Am an Indonesian Chinese as my Dad is an Indonesian.
Am currently studying university year 1 in a university college (Langara College). Am quite old doing uni year 1 as compared to the other Singaporeans as I was in Sec sch until Secondary 5, wasted half a year waiting for the O's results, half a year in TP & came over to do my foundation year for 7 months.
Will be transferring to University of British Columbia as soon as I gain 30 credits.
Love Vancouver for it's peacefulness, being able to dress in anything you want without getting stares, the friendly people in general, the welfare services, the food, etc.
Hate Vancouver as it rains 3/4 of the year.

Guess what I miss most about Singapore ?
The local delights, the sun, my BFFs & of course the family !

So anyhow, shouldn't bore you with my introduction.
Here's a post of a variety of food I ate in Vancouver throughout the year 2006, start drooling !



( Yummilicious meals to satisfy your tastebuds ! IMAGE HEAVY ! )

I love taking pictures of various types of food. Thus, posting of this entry. Stay tuned for part 2 ^^

name's Felicia
currently in Santa Monica, California
majoring in Psychology
studying in Santa Monica College but transferring soon
not Singaporean but Permanent Resident (I'm Indonesian-Chinese)
schooled in Crescent Girls' and had a short stint in Catholic Junior College

I might post photos of my place soon, if I can dig up some. Great to meet y'all.

short intro abt myself.

name's huiliang, and i'm currently finishing my third year at UC Berkeley (a.k.a. Cal). It's my final year as an undergrad in mechanical engineering, and i'm probably going to continue on at Cal for my Masters in ME, so i guess i'm be in the wonderful Bay Area for another year.

california's a great place, weather that doesn't get any better. overwhelming population of asians here in the Bay Area, esp in my college. lots of homeless bums on the streets too. probably remnants of the hippie movement back in the 60s.

i'm rambling now. really don't know what to write. drop me a msg if you want to know more about the area or Cal, or anything in particular.

as for pictures. hmm. i'm currently accessing this via a school terminal, and pictures that i had taken over the years are not readily available. hopefully i'll be able to find time to post them later on.

hey all!! 

short and sweet introduction to this community.. (p.s. its an awesome idea!)

name: zhi ying (aka zhing)
i am: 24 going on 18.. 
currently in: Williamsburg, VA
occupied with: internship in events mgm
thing i miss most bout home: the food, family & the sun..
thinks that: Prima Deli pastes are the bomb. 
how i got here: was doing masters in switzerland when i decided to do this internship
loves most about the US: the shopping, the job, my peaceful & humble abode, starbucks icecream

and im sorry i don't have an awfully exciting picture of Williamsburg to post...



view of sunset from my office! =)