Things I miss

Don’t know what you got till it’s gone. I think this is part of human nature; to always take things for granted. After coming to Australia, I think there are quite a number of things I yearn for.

- People
This should come first in case people say I am a cold-blooded creature. Tee hee hee… I miss my family, friends and that special someone. Mama’s cooking IS the best and daddy’s naggings are good for me. Even my brothers’ arguments will sound like sweet music after the deafening silence here. I have yet to find shopping kakis (not that there is much to shop around here; their biggest shopping mall is smaller than Taka) so those back in Singapore are sorely missed! And I want to speak in Mandarin! Someone please come speak Mandarin to me!

- Places
Firstly, I long for my bed and all the accessories that go with it. I think Australians will be less prone to being bow-legged because they do not sell bolster here. I want my bolbol! I miss a room where the books are stacked full on one table and the laptop on 24 hours on the other; where there are many personalities that speak to me when I’m bored. Heh heh…

- Food
Strangely, I have only eaten one meal of chips. Maybe it is because I have been putting off eating out. Soon I will get sick of my own cooking and be forced to get take-aways. But there are not many places with great chili here. Think about it, in Singapore we have different chili for almost every kind of food. Sambal for stingray, the sour kind for chicken rice, the dark red one for roasted duck and padi for mixing in soups. Here, chili come in bottles called chili sauce. Urgh…

- Humid, hot air
Some people said the weather in Australia is good because it is so cooling. They also forgot to mention that it is dry and gives you lots of booger. Another drawback is that you cannot adjust the temperature. Whereas in Singapore, if we are feeling warm, we can head out to the nearest mall and enjoy the cool comforts of the air-conditioner. Here you just turn up the heater and hope that you won’t die from drinking water that condenses at room temperature.

- Ugly ixora and frangipani
I don’t see many tropical flowers around here. Probably because the rainfall is way below that of Singapore’s. All I see are wild flowers in their vibrant shades. Such as these:

Please give me back the dull colors of flowers in Singapore.

- “Normal” vegetables
Other than purple broccoli, they also have vegetables that look spoilt here.

Not only are their appearances weird, they seemed to be made of gold too! Shallots cost A$12/kg while locally grown Pak Choi is up to A$1.50 for a bunch of four. I hope I don’t choke while eating them…