Good things

Just this year I counted seven flights that I have been on. Five of which were purely for immigration purposes. Now, I'm not writing this post to hate on the immigration policies or  the people working for that part of the government in any way but gosh how happy I am to be out of it for now! Yes you got it my visa has finally arrived and my last mandatory trip, this time to Singapore, has come to an end. In order to get a second tourist visa after staying in Perth for three months I left for bali just over three months ago. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on how different two countries so close to one and other are. Bali, while hot and humid just like Singapore was definitely less urbanized, clean and organised. Although both countries smelled a lot like the pungent sweet and sour fruit durian. While I was in Bali I tried the creamy smelly fruit and decided it wasn't my cup of tea, but then walking through Singapore you get confronted with the smell wherever you go, except on public transport. Singapore's public transport was absolutely fantastic. There were signs all around stating the amount of the fine you would receive if you would eat or drink in any of the public transport station and trains. Just FYI it ranged from S$500  to S$1000. This, no doubt, contributed to the cleanliness of the stations. The cleanliness and the asian feel, smell and shops reminded me more than just a little of Japan and in particular Tokyo. The tall buildings and the large amount of people on their perfectly timed public transportation made me feel homesick for a country I haven't been to in years. This all compared to Bali where public transport was pretty non-existent and all transportation was done with taxis and illegal rides on the back of scooters.  Scooters which flooded the streets and were a big part of the scenery on every road. As a place to stay in Singapore I chose a Hostel for Backpackers on Lavender street. The room had four beds and was only meant for women. The WiFi was included and there was free toast with jam and coffee available in the mornings. The nightly fees were very reasonable and the city was only two train stops away. All around the city there were massive malls filled with restaurants, for me it wasn't difficult to pick Japanese cuisine often but for anyone else the choice could be overwhelming. All in all I would say Singapore has been a positive experience and I even met some people who I could consider friends.

However, I must say, the best part of all was coming back to Perth after five days and having received my partner visa. As soon as I got back I started applying for jobs, I got a bank account now and once I get the bankpas I can get my drivers license changed to a Western Australian one. Ah how good it is to be a recognised resident as I'm sure Nombeko could relate although her case is much more extreme.

Immigration is always so intimidating.

On a different note I would like to introduce you all to our new friends: Ajax and Emma (cats). It's been so nice to have them around in our very own apartment. I have a lot of things to be happy and grateful for lately and I couldn't have gotten here without the help of the people I love. My mind has gone to some dark and pessimistic places in the last year or so but right now I really can't complain about much (I'm sure I can find something if I try really hard). Let's just hope things will only get better right?

Ajax is white with a ginger tail!

Also one last anecdote I would like to share, I had a dream last night where my boyfriend got a new job and they were making him sign an agreement where he would have to pay 50 dollars a day to have his uniform cleaned. I thought this was absolutely unacceptable so I had an argument with his boss which ended with him punching me in the face. I reported it to the police and decided to sue them for millions of dollars!  Ha! I didn't know I had turned into an American.

Lots of Love

Time Flies

It has been a while since I wrote something on here. I think the reason I haven't is because I always feel the need to write about something interesting that's happened in my life and until now the definition of interesting was challenged by my activities. It has been a little over 6 months now that we moved here to Perth and my visa still hasn't come through at the time I'm writing this post. Unfortunately while my isn't here yet I'm only in the country on a tourist visa and I'm not allowed to work. Yay forever holiday! You might think, but after about a month or so or perhaps even sooner you'll start having trouble finding things to do and become bored, a couch potato and grasp at things that are even remotely interesting. I have always liked having hobbies and I've had a fair few sports related, arts or music related, tv or game related hobbies. However I've never had the chance to completely immerse myself in my hobbies and do them full-time instead of just on the side. In the first few weeks I went through a phase where I would buy some cheap wines, take off their label and stick them in a scrapbook where I wrote down how the price-quality was and whether we should buy this one again. Of course I realised that I didn't drink enough wine to keep me interested in this particular hobby unless I took up a whole different type of 'hobby'. Luckily I decided to take up painting again, learn a new instrument (ukulele) and learn how to knit. These are the things that have been keeping me busy as well as going to family events and (trying to) keep the house clean.

Something's that's kept me going was looking forward to going back home. Just about a week ago my boyfriend and I came back from our trip to The Netherlands where we stayed for almost three weeks for my cousin's wedding. It was nice seeing my family and friends again. The time spent back home went incredibly fast, it was so enjoyable that it slipped through my fingers. Of course it helped that I constantly had something to do, somewhere to go or someone to meet. It gives you a sense of purpose. And I think that is what I need, I need a sense of purpose. I have been trying to find it in my hobbies and even trying to make some friends but it's hard to make friends without something equivalent to a job or a study. Of course I thought about volunteer work but it's darn harder to find than you'd think. In fact I thought volunteering at Greenpeace would be fun only to find out you need a work visa to volunteer! I found a few other things but nothing I particularly wanted to do or had any chance of meeting people (like waking up at 5 to walk the seniors to the mall). I mean I guess I'm not such a noble person that I didn't want something out of volunteering, social contact (preferably people around my age). One thing I am immensely grateful for (sheer luck) is that I get along with my boyfriend's family quite well. I always enjoy the weekly get-togethers which give me a nice shot of social contact.

I have sent the final paperwork just over a week ago for my visa so all we can hope for is that it'll be here soon. And even better sooner than the 10 days I have left on my current visa. I'll keep you updated.