Living here in Australia has been a good and pleasant learning experience. Minus one or two unpleasant occasions, the Australian people have always shown themselves to be a courteous, friendly, fun-loving and sporting crowd. One thing I've also learnt from the aussies: the art of havin' a barbie... Never in my life have I ever seen a nation so infatuated with grillin' meat over raving live fire to the point where barbie pits are even provided in their gardens (who would've thought, eh?)!
Now I always make it a point that whenever I'm in a new country, new society, environment, etc... I ought to make an attempt to learn their cultural decorums and what nots... It's a good cultural experience that encourages you to be more aware of other people's beliefs and social practices (why certain people do certain things, believe in certain beliefs, etc) and consequently you come to be a more educated and understanding global citizen - which is very important, particurly with as the concept of "globalisation" seems to be really taking hold of the world.
Anyhow, going back to barbies... we had one session of it yesterday! Whoo hoo! There was a small group gathering in Frankston yesterday with some of the Melbruneians and it was a grand opportunity to head over and catch up with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. Unfortunately due to the STUPID unrealiable train services, our supposedly one-hour trip ended up being two to three hours long. The trains to Frankston kept changing/cancelling so often that we had to change trains three times in a row! Insane right...? Ah well, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation to it.
Pictures of the some of the folks during the Frankston Barbie
Upon our arrival in frankston, we were picked up by Ms.Giggles and another Melbruneian lady... which we were very thankful for as we weren't keen on taking a cab there (yes, we private university students are resorted to being cheap as we don't really get much of an allowance - as such we are VERY THANKFUL when any form of help and compassion comes along). Walking would've been a very good option however but I don't think the others would want that.
During the "kayu tiga" game
Plenty of Melbruneians at the garden with some familiar and new faces. I decided not to eat much as I had already eaten in the train on my way there to frankston with the others, so instead I opted to join in the fun and chit chat with the others. Halfway through, some of the group decided to play a little Bruneian game which I had never ever seen before, it's called: kayu tiga (literally meaning 3 sticks) - a game comprising a mixture of chase and dodgeball. It was an interesting game where a small structure was created in middle (in this case it was made by piling up shoes standing by one another) and the whole idea of the game was that each team will be given an opportunity to break the structure by throwing a ball at it, if it falls... then the team will have to rebuild the structure before getting hit by the ball (thrown by the other team). Fun-ness!
I was teasing one of the small boys during the barbie by pretending to chase him with the camera. As much as he got angry with it, secretly deep down inside I think he liked the attention, as halfway through the chase, he was giggling and smiling every time I caught him with my camera... hehehe Oh kids, camera-shyness at such a tender age...
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