Nabihah - Friday March 17
NO, FRIDAY ALREADY!!!!
Okay, okay. The day started out tiring. Emily took us hiking all around her suburb. So we can get to the train station. I tell you, Emily walks like a crazy person! Her walking is as good as my running.. Grrr..
Anyway, we took the train and made it to ABC Radio Australia just on time. We met up with Steve and his friend, Dom Friguglietti (not sure if I spelled that right). Effie brought us some much needed coffee to boost our energy which we lost from that hiking ( thanks Emily!! ). We met with Sabrina, Mr. Hanh Tran and some other cool people of ABC radio Australia. We discussed about the possibility of ABC Radio Australia establishing a program for Malaysia. I doubt that many young students would want to tune in to an educational talk radio, bit I do believe that if you throw in some awesome music, young guest speakers and fun segments, ABC Radio australia can create a well received infotainment channel in Malaysia. Later, we found out that ABC radio would give us some air time. Wow! We're going to be on radio. But first, lunch! Tuna panini, yum... Oh gosh, why is the portion size in Australia so huge... Later, we went to one of the studios and did a pre-recording for a segment for ABC Radio Australia. That was the first time for all of us (except steve, of course) to be in an actual professional recording studio. It was very exiting to be on Aussie radio. The DJ was so cool and Emily and Sunshine sounded so good, which made me really nervous speaking to the mic. But in the end, we all did a good job. (Our segment was aired about a month after this date.)
With that, ends our official TBC business. Steve wants to take us to his house in Yea. But first, we had some time in Victoria Market (yeah, like 30 minutes), but it's better than nothing. Steve got some halal lambs so his wife, Mary can cook for me tonight... Aww... Later that afternoon, we drove to Yea. The road to Yea was so scenic. And then we got to the area which got burnt in a bust fire around two years ago. They were funny looking trees. You can clearly see that these trees were once burnt bad, and now the leaves are growing on the shoots in order for the trees to survive. Steve told us that the fire were only 10km away from his house. He was pretty lucky.
Yea was just a pretty looking place, with wide open fields along the roads. Steve has the loveliest house and an even lovelier family. He also has two adorable dogs, which scares me. Dogs are scary... They are cute, but I'm pretty sure dogs eat people!! Steve took us hiking (ooou, twice in a day.. We're getting hell of a work out today) up his property. It was freezing cold, but when we got to the top, the view was fantastic. We missed the sunset by a matter of minutes, but we can still see all of Melbourne from here. Steve welcomed us to his double life. I have to admit, it does seem like he is living two completely contrasting life. But it was nice. The time we spent on the mountains made me think about how I would feel when I get back to Sik, to MY double life. I took 6 flights this week, more than I ever had my entire life combined. When
I return, I know deep in my heart, that I will truly and awfully miss Australia...
Later, we had the most lovely dinner which Mary made. It almost tasted like Malaysian food. The evening spent at Steve's house was delightful, with dancing and singing and just having an amazing time. It was worlds apart from what I will ever experience in Malaysia. Right then, right there, it truly felt like we were a real family. A funny looking one, but a family... And was a lovely was to end our Australian journey.
Tomorrow, home.
Nabihah, signing off.
Sunshine - Friday March 18
Tonight , we’re spending the night at Steve’s farm up in Yea. It’s really quiet out here and it is hard to describe, but you really do have to be at one with nature. Something which is quite alien to me seeing as I’ve grown accustomed to noise, hustle and bustle and carbon monoxide fumes of the city which is where I’ve lived all my life. We leave tomorrow after going to St.Andrew’s market for a final spot of shopping.
Just to recap today’s activities, we took the train into the city and met with Steve at the ABC. We got to take peeks into some of the recording studios where all the broadcasting action takes place. I can’t stress any more how exciting this was for me. We had a meeting with senior editor, Hanh Tran and other producers telling them about our journey and the things we learnt . We also discussed the ABC’s ties with Asian countries in efforts to promote Asian Literacy. I found the number of programmes that had been done by the ABC with Asian countries amazing, although I was disappointed to find that there was no such ongoing connection with Malaysia! Anyways, to round it off, we were spontaneously invited to come back for a pre-recording in the studio where the three of us would be interviewed about our experience in TBC Australia-Malaysia as they found it really relevant. It was so so so EXCITING! This was definitely for me the bestest bestest best (excuse my grammar, but I must emphasise how good this experience was) part of the whole trip!
My stay here has truly been an amazing one. I’ve really fallen in love with Melbourne and I really do hope to come back soon. This has been a tremendous exposure and I’ve really gained and grown so much since the first leg of the project in Malaysia last year. I’d really like to thank everyone who made this experience possible, the Australia-Malaysia Institute, Australia Education International, our amazing project Producer, Steve Cutting, and everyone else who had a hand in shaping this programme since last year. I have made lifelong friends and I’ll always remember this amazing journey as something that changed not only my perspective, but my life too.