seeing oz through fresh eyes

Those who have been following my entries on Sunshine23’s adventures in Sydney will know I took two weeks off work to bring her around when she came to visit in Dec 2008.

In that period, we were together every single minute of each day. Some of the highlights in our time spent together were: We dressed up together for big nights out like silly young girls preparing for their proms; Sunshine23 pretended to activate the invisible manual overdrive mode by ‘cycling’ in top speed in the front passenger seat whenever the car experienced difficulties going uphill – okay, except for the one lucky soul (me) who witnessed this hilarious act, all others will have to exercise some imagination here; Our sudden transformations into toothless old women whenever we ate chocolates; My ability to adjust my G-strings anywhere and anytime with the skipping / ‘dragonfly tiptoes on water’ moves; Our creative scotch-tape and funnel solutions in times of ‘high tides’; and a lot more.

In short, I quote my housemate Becky who got to spend some time with us two crazy women: “I am damn amazed by your ability to self entertain”.

Amidst the laughter, I made some amazing self discoveries that got me thinking a fair bit lately…

Alright, this one is nothing new but I was suddenly reminded again of the one thing I miss most about Singapore and that is having close friends I can laugh and cry with around me. I have known Sunshine23 since I was 13 and that makes this year 2009 the sixteenth anniversary of our friendship. Sunshine23 wrote on her blog: “These 2 weeks have brought us closer… felt like I suddenly have a (another) sister.” and I agree. Making friends and maintaining friendships require effort. When I first arrived in Sydney, I complained about the lack of friends here, hence the occasional mild depression due to loneliness and self pity. 2.5 years on and the situation hasn’t changed much. I guess old friends are irreplaceable but there’s also nothing stopping me from making new ones. I need to take a step (more like a giant leap for this anti-social me) forward and uh… learn to make new friends…? At the same time, I think I’ve been taking old friends I have back home for granted. I am sorry if I haven’t called to ask how you are since my last trip back to SG. It’s not that you, dear friend(s), are not important, but that I am a bitch who doesn’t like making phone calls. Still it’s no excuse, I know… I’ll try to write (electronically) instead.

I put in 101% effort into planning Sunshine23’s itinerary and tried to share with her all the places, food and activities worth visiting and trying that I discovered about Sydney and its surroundings so as to make the trip worth her time and money. Because of this, I rediscovered Sydney and Australia in general with a fresh pair of eyes and saw how beautiful this country and her people are. I have been before to almost all the places I brought Sunshine23 to and never did leave each place previously with feelings of awe or thoughts of re-visiting it. This time round, I took time to research and explore each destination; I read up on its history and any interesting fact, spent more time walking the back lanes, had conversations with the locals and tried its food etc. The result was that I ended up leaving each place feeling as though I hadn’t seen enough of it. And I want to go back again. Up until now, I have never considered myself as more than a temporary visitor to Australia and I scoff at anyone who tries to convince me that life is beautiful in Sydney. Before, I had only been working here, not living here. I am now beginning to appreciate the lifestyle and culture here and may consider living here more permanently. Don’t get me wrong, Singapore is still my home and a place I will eventually return to, but for now, I want to start building a life here and enjoy all that this country has to offer me.