Macquarie here I come.

Assalamualaikum.

So... It's been a while since I last wrote anything. The last post was actually written on my last day in Malaysia but I did not publish it then because it wasn't done...but when I continued writing it two nights ago, I realised I was bored of listing out the things I'll miss (because it's going to be an endless list!) but decided to publish whatever I have written anyway.

Seeing that Zaty is actually reading my blog, I've decided to write another post, to update her (heheh). First of all, it has been a very (thinking of the right words to include here...) interesting, adventurous, a little bit confusing and scary week for me. Two weeks ago, I kind of made the decision to just drop everything and move to a different country and do my masters (yes, exactly two weeks). Well, I actually applied for this whole thing since last year, it just took a while for my sponsor to approve it (wait, I think I already wrote about this in my first post, so just read that one to know the whole story). So in just two weeks, I had to quit my job, book my flights, do my medical checkup, apply and wait for my visa to be approved, pack and say goodbye to everyone....and I actually managed to do all of it! It's been a crazy week, but I'm proud to say that I survived.

22nd February was actually the day that Jo and I were supposed to leave for Australia. Our flight was supposed to be at 10.55 pm that night...but ofcourse, we have no control of some of the things that happen around us. Oh well.

This is what happened... We arrived in KLIA quite early around 8 pm and checked in our bags and got our boarding passes all ready. Nana and I decided to join Jo's family at Secret Recipe while my parents decided to get something different for dinner. So we sat there, talking while having dinner and my bestfriend Hidayah joined us too. A few moments later, A arrived... and I don't think there is a way to describe how I felt when I saw him. I think I was smiling all night... He joined us and I was very impressed at how comfortable he seemed and how he could actually join in the conversation even though he only knew me (he knew my friends only from what I told him). At around 8.45 pm, my brother, sis in law and nephew arrived, and my parents also joined us at Secret Recipe. It was quite nice, having all my family members sending me off...and for him to also be there. I hope he likes my family.

A gave me something (a gift?) and told me not to open it until I board my plane. And then I asked him, will it get me into trouble with security? He just laughed and said not to worry. I was very curious of what was in the bag that he gave me...but I decided to respect his request and wait until I board the plane. I really thought it was very sweet of him to give me a farewell gift...

At around 9.30 pm, Jo and I said our goodbyes to our families. We were quite already quite late considering that we haven't done our Maghrib and Isya' prayers. We reached in front of our gate and it was already the final calling to board our flight... The line to pass security was quite long! When we finally passed security, suddenly an announcement was made to inform us that our flight has been delayed to 12.30 am.

I was okay at first and spent my time texting A. It was a nice feeling, because at least he still wants to chat with me as usual even after meeting my whole family. I told him that my flight got delayed so he stayed with me for a bit. He reminded me to look at things positively and that there must be a reason for it. Oh I also opened the gift that A gave me, it was a beautiful red pashmina, 16 gb thumbdrive and some money... Thanks awak! He told me to check what's in the thumbdrive once I get access to a laptop and I told him I will...

At around 1 am, there were still no announcements about the status of our flight...and people were starting to get cranky (including me) but A kept reminding me to stay positive. He stayed with me until about 2.30 a.m (the internet connection was quite bad and I guess he was tired) and I told him to go to sleep. The airline finally told us that we were only flying at 7 pm the next day...and that they were arranging our transports so that we could spend the night at a hotel. Surprisingly, I wasn't that disappointed even though I had already said my goodbyes to everyone. The airline decided to put us in Marriot Putrajaya for the night (Yay, free holiday!). Jo and I passed out as soon as we reached our room.

We woke up the next morning and had a very lovely breakfast buffet, took a walk around the hotel, played ping pong, and went back to our room. I decided to check out what's in the thumbdrive and I was surprised to see what A had put in it. There was a digital quran, and videos+songs that I've shared with him since we first got to know each other. He asked me whether I remember how he told me he was browsing youtube a few nights before and then revealed that he was actually going through his history to find all the songs again. I really think it was sweet of him :)

Jo decided to catch up on her sleep while I went down to see my parents. My parents were still in Putrajaya and decided to see if I was okay. I told them I was fine and not to worry because I have Jo with me. After that I took a shower and continued texting A. At around 2 pm, Jo and I went down to have our free lunch buffet! Yay! We took our time enjoying the food and there was a live band too! They even came up to our table and asked if we would like to request a song so Jo requested "The way you looked tonight". There was also a clown who went around the tables and made animal-shaped (or what ever shaped you want actually) balloons for everyone. I requested for a sword while Jo asked for a giraffe. I actually regretted my choice because I should've asked for a crown....I'd like that better.

After lunch, we found out that we needed to check out of the hotel at 3.30 pm and the bus will take us back to KLIA for our 7 pm flight. So we went upstairs and got our stuff and hopped into the bus. We reached KLIA quite early so we decided to check out the bookstores. After that we went to our gate and waited for it to open. Our flight finally took off at 8 pm (because two passengers did not board the plane and they had to find their baggage and remove it from the plane). 

I managed to call my mum just before I board the plane and suddenly I cried. I was fine the night before, but I guess reality hit me that I was really going to a new place far from my already comfort zone. Our flight reached Sydney at around 9 am Sunday morning and the first thing we did was to register our new mobile numbers. Then we got a shuttle to take us to Macquarie Park, where we would be staying until we find ourselves a place. That was the first time I met Kak Hir and her housemate Farah. Both of them were very nice to let us stay at their place while we get ourselves sorted. That night, they took us to another postgrad's house so that we get to know other Malaysians there. For a first night at a new place, we felt very welcomed. Thank you Kak Hir, Farah, Kak Didie, Kak Ila & family. Thank you for making the process of adjusting a bit easier for us. 

I think I should continue this in another post... I think this is too long and I'm already bored. Ha Ha. I will write about our first day at Uni in the next post...InsyaAllah. 

I think this is all for now.