8 Things I Love About Sydney (So Far)

EIGHT months of living in Australia has been awesome! I'm really grateful for the opportunity to experience life down here, where beer is like coffee/tea (they drink in the morning and for afternoon breaks), where the sports capital of the world is located (Melbourne), where I was referred to as 'mate', and where I was introduced to the most interesting jam I've ever tasted.

Photo by Anna Hwatz on Flickr

Here are my eight reasons why I love this place.

Quality of Air
In New South Wales (the state where Sydney is), the average daily air quality index is around 30 which is rated as very good. The city streets and the suburbs are lined with giant trees, that's why I always look forward to walks in the parks and to waking up to the smell of fresh air. Malinamnam ang hangin!

A Mix of The Old and the New
Bilib na bilib ako sa mga architects and engineers who created the buildings and common places in Sydney. Some of the architecture here were built in the 1800s but they are still functional and well restored. In downtown Sydney, you will notice that modern and ancient architecture stand side by side that for a moment you'd get confused as to which era you belong, but for me this gives it a certain vibe of cultural and artistic dissonance that I appreciate so much.

Multiculturalism
Refugees, migrants, students, and holiday visa workers are all welcome here. I've met a couple of Europeans and Asians who quit their full time corporate jobs and decided to come here to work in a farm sorting potatoes! How cool is that?

Hillsong Church
Holding services in a converted warehouse in the city (as well as other campuses), this church has raised up great leaders and made impactful worship songs that have attracted a huge following. Ibang klase lang talaga how they make songs that seem to echo what your heart wants to say in a prayer.
They have a new setup for Saturday night services, called Keeping It Real where speakers, instead of preaching, form a panel to discuss a common issue/struggle/problem they have encountered and how they became victorious afterwards. This new series is the most authentic, practical and enlightening service I can get.

My BSF Group
One thing I really look forward to every Monday is going to our Bible study group. The insights I receive every week from the grandmas and the younger fellow believers are tremendous. BSF is an international organization that teaches the Bible for free. They give us free reading materials to help us digest and reflect on a book of the Bible and apply it in our daily lives.
What I really admire about the grandmas in our group is their humility, wisdom and gentleness. I always find myself leaning in every time they give their answers to the 7-day questions.  

Double-decked Trains
OK, I know not all countries can have large railway tracks, that's why Sydney is lucky to have a large space for them. Their trains are massive and they have two levels of passenger area. Although the intervals of train arrivals are longer here (10-15 minutes during peak hours), commuting for me is still such a comfortable experience.

Fresh Produce
My tummy is always having a feast! Australia is undoubtedly blessed with rich and fruitful soil. I have not been to the farms but seeing the variety of fresh produce being offered in the market (and also by watching the telly),  I can tell that the land is very fertile. These are the average prices of some of my favorite food to eat:
1. Rocket, 1kg = $3
2. Raspberries per pack = $5
3. Brocolli = $2
4. Ground Beef, 500g = $3
5. Hass Avocado = $2
6. Truss Tomato = $1.20
7. Brushed Potatoes, 1kg = $2.33

Photo from ABC net

I also like that the groceries here have self-checkout counters for express shopping. Saya!

Winter Spring Summer and Fall
Since June, I've always come home to darkness. I knock off at 5.30 and my house is 10 minutes away from the office. But just yesterday, when I left work at 6, I was treated to an amazing sunset ushering the coming of spring. It is such a magnificent feeling to witness the changing of seasons. Now my closet has been compartmentalized, one section for winter/autumn and the other for spring/summer ("and I have an additional excuse for more shoes"- Lyubo), and certain activities are set aside for more season-appropriate ones. As a girl from the tropics, I find this quite a big deal. Now I finally understand it when they say "seasons of life". :-p

Thanks for reading! =)

Don't just be a pretty face.

"What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out."

                                                             - John 1 

8 Things I Love About Disney's "Frozen"

I have not written in a while, so apologies to my three avid readers. But the movie Frozen motivated me to write again. Here are the reasons why I give it five stars:

1. The movie reinforces my love for poems, songs, anything that rhymes, and in the belief that music sweetens life. LSS: Do you want to build a snow man? ;-)

2. It teaches us that love at first sight is a myth. Sure, you can get physically attracted to and be smitten by someone who got swager at first encounter, but only time will reveal what that person is made of when the blings and glitter of infatuation fade away.

3. It reminds me that God gifted us with unique personalities and special talents that we must harness. At first we may think that they may be a liability instead of an asset, but when we begin to let go of fear and insecurities then we start to realize that we have the power to be great and do great things.

4. It shows us that self-control is a strength and never a weakness. If you have self-control, you are strong, wise and a person of good character.

5. True friends (Some people) are worth melting for. So said my favorite snow man named Olaf.

6. It tells us that warmth draws people in, so it's better to be a ray of sunshine than a drop of ice.

7. It removes the stereotype of a prince saving a princess. It's about time we stop teaching girls to wait for their prince to save them. In the real world, we are responsible for our own lives and the people who depend on us. Damsels in distress are so last century! Ladies, remember that we have it in ourselves to make a difference on our own strength.

8. Its theme reveals to us that an act of true love is sacrificial, selfless and may not necessarily be romantic at all.

What about you? What did you like about the movie? =)

it's always like springtime with You

Your light is breaking through the dark...
This is what You do - You make me come alive.
❤

Untitled

I was walking around the 'hood the other day just people watching when I suddenly came up with a short poem. Not out of insecurity but out of curiosity, I asked...

Freckles and pointed noses
Paper-white faces with cheeks of roses
Deep wells of brown, green,
And sometimes blue
Wonder if they’re saying
I’m beautiful, too? 

A Done Decade: Farewell, Twenties

 Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty. -Robert Frost

I love to be in my 20s. I had the grandest time living it - finishing college, enlarging my network of friends, working in the corporate field for the first time, committing a lot of embarrassing mistakes, falling in love, making life-changing decisions, knowing God, moving countries, saving for a house and insurance, and becoming completely independent. Sure, there were some things I'd rather not do if given a chance to re-live my life, but looking back I realized that even the silliest mistakes gave me something valuable to keep.

For some reason, now that I hit 3.0 I don't really feel pressured or anxious to join the society's cultural bandwagon. I often hear people say that once you hit a certain age, you should have already accomplished something revolutionary and have made a mark in the society. Jesus started his ministry at 30. Martha Stewart made a career change at 30 and became a billionaire in her 30s. Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity at 30. And my favorite comparative analysis - my grandmother already had seven children by the time she turned 30. 

At Madame Tussaud's wax museum

But never mind Einstein or my grandma! Life is not a competition where we are required to collect as many medals as possible. I've come to realize that each of us has a unique background, a unique set of experiences and competencies, and are created for a specific purpose that's not like everybody else's. So let's just make the best out of what we have and be who we are supposed to be.

Saying goodbye to my 20s has given me the courage (as well as a good excuse) to grab the opportunity to move to a new continent. I left a promising job and six years' worth of friendship and books to migrate to a country with reversed seasons. I have yet to settle in completely but I am definitely enjoying the change of environment (oh so much space)!

I consider 3.0 as a rebirth. I know I am about to enter into a new season opening up to a different set of issues and challenges but the past decade's memories are not far behind me. I'm expecting some major changes, especially on the anatomical front (ugh) but I hope to still be the same girl who's in love with life and her Creator.

Here's to Jules 3.0 promising to be the best daughter, friend, worker, and princess that she can possibly be!

So help me God.

Weekend in Saigon

TRAVEL is indeed a good teacher. From history to anthropology to linguistics, the amount of diverse knowledge you can gain just by crossing oceans is tremendous. My college friends and I recently went to Ho Chi Minh for some bonding time. Since there are now numerous budget airlines operating in Southeast Asia, traveling can now be a spur-of-the-moment activity.

This was actually my second trip to Vietnam. The first was in 2010 on a backpacking trip to Hanoi, Siem Reap, Bangkok and Phuket for Chinese New Year. Since Cams, our friend with incredibly itchy feet, enticed me with the pretty cheap airfare, and since I haven't explored Saigon/HCM that much, I happily went along. Because we would be staying there for only one night, the plan was to just hang out, relax and have coffee. No guided tours, no Cu Chi Tunnels, just idle time with weasel and baguettes.

Photos by Camille Venturina

The streets of Saigon are flooded with motorbikes and its sidewalks lined with peddlers and food stalls luring you to buy fresh tropical fruits, tasty salad, and delicious baguettes. Vietnam for me has one of the best and cheapest coffee in Asia. The $1 coffee we had by the roadside was just heavenly - rich and slightly bitter with a tinge of coconut taste.

taken by Camille Venturina

 

 

The hotel we stayed in is located near Ben Thanh market so shopping was definitely included in our itinerary. I must say that Vietnam is slowly catching up with Bangkok in terms of being a shopping destination. The clothes I saw in Saigon mall were fashionable, cheap and of good quality. The jewelry we found were classy and modern. We even found a very gorgeous 120-dollar long gown inside one of the small boutiques. Cathy, who initially planned to have her dress custom-made in Singapore, didn't need to think twice and bought it right away.  

A clean room for S$56 a night

 

Beef pho

 

A dozen of shopping bags and a gallon of caffeine later, we found ourselves headed to the Fine Arts Museum and the War Remnants Museum expecting to see some French-inspired art pieces and photographs of pre-/post-war Vietnam.

taken by Camille Venturina

When we arrived at the War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh), we were greeted by an exhibit of large tanks and fighting planes parked before the main building. There were a number of Caucasians taking photos and doing a selfie beside the artillery on display so we followed suit.

taken by Camille Venturina

 

I vaguely remembered what Vietnam War was all about. All I could remember from history class was that it was between North and South Vietnam and that the United States was a major player that stepped in to quell communism in Indochina. (No) thanks to Broadway entertainment, romance always comes to mind when Vietnam War or Fall of Saigon is mentioned. Rhoda and I even sang the chorus of Sun and Moon while waiting for the two girls to finish their photo session with engines of dusty black-painted metals as backdrop.

 

 

 

I was not prepared to see the photos that were waiting for us on the second floor. Hanging in a wall painted in orange were photographs of disfigured infants and children, most of them with missing limbs, mental disorder and other physical deformities.

 

collage by Camille Venturina

It turned out that these people were victims of a deadly chemical called Agent Orange used by the United States army during the war.

U.S. troops covered with metal masks in preparation for the spraying of Agent Orange in Southern Vietnam

In 1961, President John Kennedy approved the use of herbicides to defoliate the dense jungles of Vietnam. This decision turned a bitterly fought war into an illegal, immoral, and humiliating contest for the United States and an ecological catastrophe for Vietnam.

The Americans sprayed the forests and rice fields of Vietnam with Agent Orange, a concoction of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, two exceedingly toxic weed killers. One of them, 2,4,5-T, was contaminated by TCDD-dioxin, the most potent molecule in the industrial world's chemical arsenal. - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evaggelos-vallianatos/vietnam-in-the-aftermath-_b_2989215.html

More than four million of the population were exposed and the effects of the toxin manifested until the third generation of post-war Vietnam. Until now, there is still an ongoing lawsuit against the United States government and continuous lobbying for a thorough cleanup of Vietnam from the chemical. My heart broke into pieces as I looked at the faces of the innocent victims who were unfortunate to be born in that decade of the Cold War.

War is ugly. War ravages a nation and its people. War strips dignity off a human being.

I was born in the 1980s and grew up in the time when beauty pageants became popular as every home saw the arrival of the television set. I remembered the all-too-familiar answer to the standard question, "What is the most important thing you would wish for the world to have?" Suddenly, it didn't sound so much of a cliche anymore.

Good thing our trip didn't end on that very sad note. We had another round of coffee and more servings of spring rolls afterwards. But as I remember the city of Saigon, I promise not to forget the lessons and the new information I received. I will surely include Vietnam in my prayers and may the coming generations really achieve what every living soul desires to have - peace.