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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Back on track

As many of you may know, I didn't have the most fun incidence last Friday. When I was on my way to the city I suddenly couldn't breathe, I thought it would pass...but it didn't. I have a very mild asthma and perhaps need to use my inhaler/puffer once a year. But this time it got worse and worse. I always have my puffer with me, but never need to used it...but of course this time I seemed to have forgotten it back home. I got out of the train, and couldn't get any air at all and kept gasping for air. I was determined to at least get inside to an appointment I had. At that point I could barely speak and I could hear my own heart beating. Fortunately the people there were really helpful and kind, we decided it was for the best to call the ambulance...I was white as a sheet and my head started to ache really bad due to the lack of oxygen.
The ambulance arrived with sirens and all. I received a mask that provided me with oxygen and some kind of ventolin mixture from the kindest paramedic I've ever met. Slowly I could feel my airways opening up and it became so much easier to breathe. It's the best feeling ever. There's no way to explain it, if you haven't been in such a situation before. Something like this has only happened once before to me, but I could feel it creeping up on me during several days...while this just happened within 1-2 min! Quite strange and scary...hope it never ever happens again.
I was so grateful for the help and that the paramedic saved my life (might not have been here if it wasn't for him) that once I headed back out to go home I had to thank him again. I had the choice to go to the hospital, but he said that I probably knew what was the best for me and we decided that I would go back home, skip class and just relax.
Had quite a headache once I got home, no surprised though..poor brain. Had something to eat and drink and spent the rest of the day relaxing. The next day my head ache was pretty much gone and I felt like a reborn person. I'm taking this preventative inhaler now, every morning and evening for 2 weeks so that my system gets back to its normal state again.


During the weekend I've pretty much just been on a slow-mode, trying to not stress too much and regaining my strength again. Yesterday was quite amazing. It felt like summer, probably Aussie spring, but it was so warm outside that I didn't need to wear my jacket.


It actually got so warm at one point that I needed to cool myself down with a delicious  mango and passion fruit smoothie. Actually it's was more of a mix between sorbet and smoothie. Both ridiculously healthy and cooling. Don't want to strain my body too much at the moment, so have to think about everything. :)


I've also had some classes and assignments to do for uni. But I've tried not to rush things on, it just have to take its time. Going pretty well at the moment. However, might spend this upcoming week writing 2 essays *shivers*...ok I need to stay positive...I CAN do it!


On top of that, spring is just around the corner..actually it's now on Thursday!! Ah can't wait, desperately need the warmth and sun. Might trigger some good inspiration so that I might finish my essays really fast and therefore have more time over to do fun things like sightseeing and keeping you all up to date on the blog with fun stories and photos. One thing is for certain, I'll try to stay well and I'll see you all soon. 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Viet Rolls

I don't know what it is about Thursdays, but they are always pleasant, sunny and warm. To make the most of it I headed out 1 hour before my schedule to enjoy a slower and more relaxing walk.


Stepped out of the door and was struck by the warm weather. Ahh, never have any trouble going to school on days like today.


In one of the yards in the neighbourhood is this huge bush with flowers that smell just like jasmine...a bit overpowering but pretty.

Definitely did a wise choice of dressing more light today. Oh it feels so good to know that I have spring ahead of me instead of a dreadful, grey, dull, windy and cold autumn...yes I'm staring at you Sweden!


Headed to the train station with no concern of being late. Missed one train...didn't bother me a bit...


Instead, I sat down on a bench in the sun and took out my Culture reader and went through the reading for today which focused on ethnic identity.


Once having arrived on campus I sat down in the shade to cool down a bit.


Oh apparently this tree is amazingly beautiful in the spring when it gets these lovely purple flowers...something to look forward to.


I've fallen in love with the Quadrangle, the most gorgeous architectural building on the entire campus...so be prepared to get bored by it by the end of this year after I've bombarded this blog with tons of photos from this place. You'll get to see every possible angle and corner once I'm done.


After the lecture and tutorial, Annie and me decided to have dinner in the city. Annie is in the same Culture class as me. She's so kind and we've had some fun discussions.


We ended up in a busy Vietnamese restaurant and I decided to have some fresh rice paper rolls with prawns and fish sauce. I absolutely love rice paper rolls and these were no disappointment. So delicious and fresh!


Before we started eating we had a cup of tea and then ordered some other beverages. I had a cold soy bean drink and Annie a 3 sweet drink.


Annie's dinner was a traditional Vietnamese soup...mmm!

Once we were all full and satisfied after a delicious meal we decided to head back to the Central station and said bye to each other. Had a great time and I'm sure we'll do something like this again in the future + I like teasing all of you with delicious food and sceneries. :D

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A flash of landmarks

Since I was such a good student yesterday (handed in my essay 1 week in advance without knowing about it), I decided I should give myself the reward to head into the city.


I decided to not stop by my regular train station at the Central, but to go for a longer ride...boy did that pay off!


Without knowing of it, I got the most spectacular view. For some odd reason I had imagined that the train only went underground when having reached the city...was proven wrong when I got to see the beautiful Harbour Bridge...


...and the Sydney Opera House at a close distance. When spring gets here I'll be sure to stop by Circular Quay (pronounced as "key") and have a closer look at the Opera House...and touch the Swedish Höganäs tiles!


Had lunch at the QVB and settled for some crepes filled with ricotta, feta, spinach, tomatoes and olives...delicious.
After that I mainly walked around from shop to shop, found some nice bargains as well.

Tomorrow is another eventful day, where I'm going to an interview...fingers crossed that things go well. More news of it tomorrow. Until next time, bye byeeee!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Lime... definitely not the fruit

To refresh my mind and get away from all the studying I've been doing this weekend, me and Sienna (my homestay host mum) decided to head to the Blue Mountains to help out in a eco-friendly house project.


Woke up at at 6 and left the house fairly well dressed.


Hit the freeway, which was wide and open. In the distance we could already see the Blue Mountains.


After an hours ride we arrived at our destination in the heart of the park.


Unfortunately I didn't really get to see that much of the Blue Mountains, but I did get to see a few small villages...very lucky people to live like that. Ahh lovely greenery and fresh air!


Arrived at the project were bales of hay have been stacked to insulate the walls. After that lime, cement and sand was mixed together with some hay. We filled in the gaps and Tim began to cover the entire walls with the mixture with this odd looking machine.


After that we had to smooth down the walls a bit. Was some hard labour, but definitely fun and I learned a lot. Having been there for around 5-6 hours it was time to head back home...totally covered in the mixture and with aching backs.


On the way home we were greeted by this enormous rainbow...brings luck. :)


Arrived back safely, rather refreshed and more wise about great ways of how to build an eco-friendly house.


Nice white/greyish shoes you say? Actually, they are supposed to be black. In fact I was more muddy before heading back, but pretty much got most of it off before getting in the car...even my hair was covered in it.

All nice and clean now though, after having showered and changed my clothes. Back to finishing my essay and relax before another week starts!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Braid away!

What a lovely contrast today was from yesterday. The sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. It's only 2 weeks away until it's officially spring here and I can't wait...especially for warmer nights, cause the evenings can get a bit chilly here. Oh well, not too long and I shall soon enjoy the climate Australia is famous for.

On Thursdays I have my Identity, Place and Culture class at 3 ó clock. It has to be my favourite course so far. We always have interesting discussions and get these fun readings, like last time we had to read about the Hulk/Bruce Banner...now how often do you get to do that?


Just before heading out I felt I needed a change and did a pretty cool hairstyle with 4 accent braids in a sort of 19th century inspired bun. Turned out pretty well. Actually got a compliment in class from a classmate and she thought that it looked so cute. :D


Here's me in my paleness, soaking in the sun rays haha.


This is the lovely Beverly Hills neighbourhood I live in. It's really peaceful and quiet...well apart from that HUGE dog that always barks when you pass him. He usually stops when he senses that I don't fear him.


I live fairly close to the train station, so it takes me about 5-10 min to get there, depending on how fast you walk of course. Today I decided to just enjoy the day and not rush to uni.


After having arrived at the Central station I walk 2km to Sydney Uni. Oh it's not as bad as it sounds, only takes 20-30 min + it's a great exercise. I could always take the bus, but I've promised myself that I won't be that lazy while I'm here. And by the way, a long the way there are plenty of things to look at, sky-rising buildings, English pubs, Chinese restaurants, Regency architecture etc.


Once I reach the grounds of campus there's a lovely park, like taken out of a Claude Monet painting. This is Victoria Park. Perhaps some day I'll take a nice walk there and show you all what it's like there.


Passed the park (a tiny fraction of it) and headed up some steps and was greeted by this aesthetic view. Oh Sydney Uni is just so beautiful, why can't every university be like this? Surely it must be good for the mind to find itself in a Hogwarts environment... surely it must trigger more inspiration thus making studying easier...or perhaps it's just an inevitable path to being distracted by it's beauty and getting lost in a daydream... ;)

So off I went to class, listened to a lecture about music and identity and had a discussion. Actually we didn't only listen, we also watched some Youtube clips...really like when lectures are so versatile. After I finished, it was already dark outside and a bit chilly, headed straight to the train station, went home and had a delicious meal. I'm heading soon to Bedfordshire to visit Dreamville, wish you all the best and see you tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Yummy & Pretty

See told you that I would be back a lot sooner, the next day to be exact. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up fairly well. Apart from if I end up doing absolutely nothing or just being too busy.

Despite of the dreary weather I took my umbrella with me and went out to get some fresh air to clear my mind.


Went down to the Beverly Hills train station and took the train to the Central. This ride usually takes me 20 min, so it's not too far. So it pretty much takes me the same amount of time as when I took the bus from Ashfield/Summer Hill.


Since it's a Wednesday I decided to have another look at Paddy's Market. It's so much calmer on Wednesdays, so I didn't have to sharpen my elbows while waking around. Bought 2 things to make me feel better and feel prettier. (now don't you go saying that you never do that...the smallest thing can make me happy...sometimes I just have to look at pretty things without buying it and I will feel a lot better)


The Asian grocery shops here are "evil"! They have so many things one would just love to try and the packaging is both amazing and cute. This shop at the World Square shopping complex certainly beats the Chinese shops we have back in Malmö. As a coward as I was...I only bought one thing....a yummy thing though. (photo further down)


Just outside that shop I was greeted by this, ah! Everything here just looks 1000x better and it probably tastes as good as it looks. Didn't get anything, perhaps next time...probably wouldn't have been able to decide what I wanted anyway. *drools*


After that escapade I decided to head back home... and look what was waiting for me! A freebie from Nivea Australia! Boy was I surprised. I absolutely LOVE Nivea and pretty much swear by all their products. Inside this tube was their new Invisible 48h roll on. We'll see if it's good or not. I'm happy at least, always fun with free stuff...appreciate it. :)


This is what I got today. 2 yummy things and 2 pretty things. Yummy wise, I treated myself with two boxes of strawberries since they had a good deal on them + strawberries are healthy. Then at the Asian shop I got myself a package of Japanese Udon noodle soup which I love, especially the noodles. Good to have when feeling a bit hungry during lunch time.
At Paddy's Market I bought a Maybelline cream stick eyeshadow, just because it was for just $4 and needed some new makeup. Wanted to get some of Maybelline's Mousse Blush, but they only had some odd shades so I passed. Instead I got something for my hair when I make a bun. It's really pretty and dangly. Photos will come when I've tried it.

Just had some dinner and drinking some tea now. Will read some stuff for my culture class tomorrow and then I'll just take it easy. Ahh life is pretty good right now...if only I could find a part-time job everything would be complete...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Sweet as Sesame Balls

Oh I've been busy as a bee, that's why I haven't been posting as often as I would like to. Uni has been taking up a lot of my time, plenty of thing to read and write. But, I'm finally starting to get a hang of it and I think I've planned things well...so might see more of me here on this blog. I really enjoy blogging and putting my posts together, so I don't want to neglect it nor you my lovely readers/friends!

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off, so I can pretty much do whatever pleases me or just studying if I need to do that. This week has pretty much been all about settling in into the new place. I really like it here and the family is just great. Since I had a day off I decided to head into the city, mostly to just have a look around and stretch my legs.


It was a divine weather and the street was bustling with people, especially around Town Hall. Right next to the Town Hall is the Queen Victoria Building, a wonderful shopping mall...just a bit expensive like the rest of the other malls around the CBD. But it's free to look right?


Since I didn't really find anything there that suited my taste pocket, I decided to at least indulge myself a bit and went into the newly opened Cantonese restaurant Fat Buddha. And no, I don't only eat Chinese food...I just happened not to show my other meals...which I actually should do. Will definitely be a change for sure!
So I had spinach and prawn dumplings, as a dessert I tried some sweet sesame balls which were quite good actually. Also had a pot of green tea with that. How is it that Chinese restaurant always have the best green tea? I can never seem to find any like that when I wish to buy it...


After that I simply had a look around all the malls. Saw a few things, but decided to save my money for better things. Well actually bought a hair dryer. Now I usually don't use hair dryers, actually I hate using it since my hair usually go all poofy if Ido. But, my hair just dries FOREVER (more than 12 hours) here, especially since there's no central heating in Australia...so it's pretty much as "cold" inside as it is outside. Yup, very odd for us Europeans to understand...but that's how it is. Probably why I received a cold during the first week I got to Sydney. Anyways, so I got this dryer so that I won't have to go to bed with super wet hair. At least I'll use it a bit until spring gets here, once it gets warmer I don't have to worry about getting sick.

Oh apart from that also got some TimTams. Aparently a big thing here. A yummy chocolate biscuit made in Australia. There are loads of different flavours and versions, but I took the one with dark chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate....mmm.

So I'm fairly back on track now, and I shall shape up with the blog posting. I promise, if not then...well we shall just have to think of something. ;)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

New place and a new start


So I've moved to a new place in a different suburb of Sydney today. I was quite sad to leave the other place were I really enjoyed myself, with beautiful surroundings and great company. However, I had to make this choice since I didn't want to start planning and moving while being caught up in all my studies. On top of that the place where my homestay host is moving to is going to need to be renovated, so it probably wouldn't have been the most ideal place for me to stay at.

I was quite fortunate to find this new place since I had previous connections with this Aussie lady and she was so kind to offer me a hand whenever I would need it and apparently her good friend had a room available for me..how kind is that? I visited them a week ago and I really liked it and decided that I would move in. The entire family are so kind, there are 3 girls, who are just lovely and so sweet, and 1 boy. Even had the time to help two of the girls (the youngest and oldest)  make some peanut butter cookies today. Turned out to be delicious!

There are also 3 other students staying here, we have the entire top floor to ourselves. There are 2 girls from China, who are attending English classes. One can speak fairly alright English, while the other barley none. I'm sure we'll get along some how, and one can always reside to using sign language or something.
The last person actually arrived today as well, after me. He's from India and is attending a High School somewhere.
So plenty of people around, it's surprisingly quite calm and I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay here.

Enough with the rambling, you'll hear plenty of me in the future now that I'm settled in. Take care and I'm off to take a shower and have a chat with my mum across the globe. :)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Glebe Markets

This week has sure been filled with wonderful sunshine and it has been so warm! However, it seems like this won't last too long since next week will bring "colder" weather...minimum +16C. I felt that I needed to take advantage of the lovely weather and decided to go out.


Waited for the bus to take me to Glebe Markets.


Glebe Markets are held every Saturday at the grounds of Glebe Public School. You can find all sorts of things there, ranging from second hand books and records to vintage and new clothing, and handcraft.


I saw this most gorgeous dress ever...but it was 2-3 sizes too big. *boohoo* :(


Pocket-watches with adorable covers seems to be the thing here in Sydney. If it wasn't for the price I would have gotten one of those...perhaps some other time.


Or you could just have a look at some crazy hats and other hand crafted items.


The great thing about Sydney is that it offers a great variety of food from all over the world. I got some steamed Dim Sum...the best I've had so far.

Yes, I did buy a few things at the market. However, I'll show you them tomorrow since it's pitch dark now. I can just say they are so pretty!

See ya next time!!