First impression... DAMMIT IT'S COLD. I can't feel my fingers.
Followed by... man I feel so out of place. Everybody's gonna stare at me.
I went to the beach with my friend to walk the dog and felt the blast of the chill wind, saw the ferocity of the waves and how the dog ran freely and how it played with other dogs. There wasn't a single ship in sight. This... is nature, and it's beautiful.
While out for my first run here in the evening, I saw a complete rainbow and the setting sun created a view that could not have been possible back home.
******
My friend here went all the way into the MMORPG game that I am playing to engage in our first conversion with me via my game character, Daughter of Punggol while I was killing bats and Filipino players in WvW. I was impressed. That was our first and last conversation but he left a deep impression.
Subsequently he made himself to Adelaide for an eye opening trip. He remains the only person I knew who has never set a foot in Australia even once prior to his application for the Australia PR visa. (and got it). Apparently, I was told that even Si Ang Mo (SAM), his migration agent, had not come across such a case before and was astonished why would anyone choose to migrate to a place where he has never even visited yet.
Subsequently he made himself to Adelaide for an eye opening trip. He remains the only person I knew who has never set a foot in Australia even once prior to his application for the Australia PR visa. (and got it). Apparently, I was told that even Si Ang Mo (SAM), his migration agent, had not come across such a case before and was astonished why would anyone choose to migrate to a place where he has never even visited yet.
So what is my friend doing shivering in the South Australian cold today? Any SA folks willing to befriend a nice, single gentleman as suaku as I was in this vast strange land? Please leave your email here or send it to asingaporeanson@gmail.com so I can forward it to him.
When I read R's description of his first impression of Australia, it brought back memories. Didn't I sound exactly the same when I first came to Perth? I miss the pre-employment days when I first came. Yes, there were fears, real biting fears that hit hard, but the days when Jen and I hugged each other like frightened monkeys with Albany tightly between us in her tummy remains important highlights of my life. There is no doubt my friend here will never forget this interesting period.
I guess your friend is similar to me -- the main aim is to emigrate (get out of that slowly boiling pot of water), so we just have to trust our research and adapt to whatever crops up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first applied for migrating to Canada back in end-2006, I had neither kin nor kith there. When I landed in Canada in Oct-2010, it was the first time I set foot on the American continent. In fact, the Canadian immigration officer was so surprised when he checked the system that I have zero record of being in USA or Canada that he asked his colleague to double-check before asking me to confirm that I have never been to Canada. I've been here for almost 3 years now -- surviving the ups and downs.
Adelaide is a nice place to be, it is not that scary. I too migrated to Adelaide without stepping foot on it 4.5 years ago before moving on to Canberra this January. So it is not crazy and it is do-able.
ReplyDeleteGet R to join the Singaporean Adelaide group on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/133798753449377/
My wife has never been to Australia.
ReplyDeleteThe first time she visited Australia was to make her first entry as an AUS PR.
Now she is happily working in Australia.