Cuong Ly Kim
November 2008 Update
All you guys had final exams in November,
didn’t you? How did it come? So it was a busy month with studies
for me and you guys, right?
At the end of October, I attended the farewell
party of QUT for exchange students, where we had finger food,
talked to friends and had a chance to say goodbye before returning
to home country. It was the time to relax before the heavy workload
for the exams in the following week. After that, I took four
stressful final exams. During these weeks, I went to uni for
studying in the library and came back home so late until 11 pm.
After the exams, I relaxed by hanging around
the city, ate and drank with my international friends, and had an
opportunity to see the Christmas cakes’ display there. There was
such a wide range of cakes with so many funny models. Then, I went
to DFO nearby airport for shopping with my friends and bought a lot
of cheap and beautiful clothes, and also went to Sunny Bank several
times for eating Vietnamese and Chinese foods.
I travelled to Gold Coast for eating sea foods,
swam and sightseeing. Fortunately, the weather of that day was
sunny, hot and so beautiful after the storm and heavy rain in
Brisbane. Gold Coast is such a beautiful beach that I really
enjoyed the environment there.
Last week, my home owner invited me and my
roommate to Ben Restaurant for eating broil crocodile, deer meat
and oyster. So amazing! Eating crocodile meat sounded terrible but
was so delicious.
From now, every Sunday, I involved in volunteer
work with my friend in the temple Phat Da in Inala, where we played
with the kids and taught them.
At the end of the month, I paid a visit to
Omani’s family and enjoyed their traditional foods, cake, and
eating style, and the time with them. I knew him when I was in
temporary accommodation on Kevil Grove Campus. He was very helpful
to me, and was my best friend. I was so happy when he said that I
was the first international visitor to his house and had dinner
with his family. His wife cooked very well and I‘d love her foods.
After the dinner, I saw the cartoon movie with their kids and
played with them. They were so lovely!! I walked around with them
and talked about our study, Omani’s Fasting and our country. Their
family was very nice to me.
Now, I am planning to travel for summer holiday
in Australia and really want to spend useful time in Australia in
two month left. 29 November, 2008 which is my birthday is coming
and I become 20 years old. Wow, I am going to become one-year
older! I have recently received the birthday present-a nice bag
from my friends and I really like it. And I am working out the
perfect plan for my 20th birthday because this is the
first time I enjoy my birthday party overseas and I would like to
make it such impressive and memorable event in my life.
October 2008 Update
The time flew so fast. It has been nearly 4
months since I arrived in Brisbane, Australia. Most of Peace
Scholarship Recipients are going to have the final exam in
November. Quite busy now.
At the end of September, I went to the ceremony
that granted certificates of Golden Key Society to QUT outstanding
students on Kelvin Grove Campus of QUT with my friend and family of
landlord because she studying Bachelor Degree in QUT received that
certificate. Through this ceremony, I realized that Australian
Universities gave good chances for students from various
backgrounds to exchange and learn mutually, and this title could
support students’ resumes when they graduated. Besides, I found out
that this society had the same point of view as Bank Association,
which I intended to establish in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the
near future. I stated my opinion about this Association in my
research theme “The Establishment Bank Association to shrink the
gap between Theory and Practice” and this work was recognized at
faculty level and chosen by Scientific Council of Bank University,
Vietnam to attend the award “Students Research Science” in 2008
organized by the Ministry Education and Training in Vietnam, and it
is now in competition process.
On 3rd October, I participated in
Vietnamese Festival, which
attracted a lot of foreigners and Vietnamese
people. In this event, we could eat free Vietnamese traditional
foods and see Vietnamese music show. It was such a meaningful
activity to introduce Vietnamese culture to friends over the
world.
In this month, I participated in two friends’
birthday, where I could enjoy Thai and Chinese hot pot and had fun
with my friends. Then, I had a warm lunch with Eleanor, Daniel,
Intan, and Nguon Pheakkey in the restaurant. We had funny chat
together because we have not seen for a long time. After that, I
went for sea food buffet with QUT senior officer.
Brisbane group sold chocolates for fund-raising
activity and every member had to sell 100 chocolates. Daniel and I
started to sell chocolates on QUT Garden Point Campus in the middle
of October. I could sell 89 chocolates just one day. It was such a
big surprise!
I was so happy to receive scholarship for
excellent result of last semester in my home university. My parents
were proud of me about that. Additionally, I have just had a second
interview with ABC Radio about International Youth Club (IYC),
which I involved in. I talked about what volunteer activities I
participated in, which skill and real-life experience I got, and
share my feeling and experience during my participation in IYC. At
the end part of interview, I also sent a message to all of
Vietnamese students in order to try to study and take part in
extracurricular activities simultaneously to get valuable
experience which was useful for studying abroad and applying for
job in the future.
Now, I am busy with a report of one subject and
study for final examination at the beginning of November. All the
best to you guys on the final exam!!
September 2008 Update
In the mid of September, I moved from Fortitude
Valley to Annerley to live with my Vietnamese friend, whom I met at
the beginning of this semester on QUT Garden Point Campus, is Trang
(the girl with a pair of glasses in the photo with me). My present
address is 1/437 Annerley road, Annerley, Brisbane, Queensland. I
have changed phone number to 0402 742 265(Optus). I leave this
number here for you guys who want to contact with me by cell
phone.
I was quite busy with exam and assignment in
this month. I had three mid-term exams in Finance 2, Financial
Market and International Finance, and one presentation of group
work assignment in Information Management. This is the first time I
did presentation in English in front of Australian and
international students, so that I was so nervous. Fortunately, its
mark was pretty good. Additionally, I was so strange with kinds of
multiple choice questions in the exams. The exams were so tricky
that they required students to have a deepen knowledge in order to
get good results. Therefore, I recognized that I could get more
knowledge in my major from QUT than from my Banking University in
Vietnam and skills in doing multiple choice questions.
Although I was under high pressure of exams in
this month, there were many activities I involved in. First of all,
Erika, Daniel and I attended in River Festival on 30 August, which
was held in Brisbane once a year. We can see fire work, which is
more beautiful than that of Vietnam, I think. It attracted a lot of
people not only from Brisbane but also from neighboring city within
Queensland. We also discussed what we should do in fund-raising for
Peace Scholarship Program in Afghanistan. Secondly, I had a BBQ
with a group of Vietnamese friends in Roma Street, Parkland for my
roommate’s birthday. After that, we went to Sunny Bank to eat
Vietnamese traditional food-Pho and karaoke. It was such a funny
and impressive party that we spent all day to go together. Thirdly,
my university celebrated for student to go to Carnival of
Flower-Toowoomba, where we visited Japanese Gardens, University of
Southern Queensland, Queens Park Gardens, Laurel Bank Park and also
private garden homes. There was a parade with flower displays and
vintage cars. In these gardens, there were many kinds of beautiful
flowers so that I took so many photos with my friends and flowers.
I found out so many amazing sceneries here. Fourthly, on 21
September, Daniel and I went for UNIFEM Australia’s Spring Walk,
held in Brisbane Botanic Gardens. We acted as coordinators in this
event. Finally, I enjoyed the Catch-up party for QUT study abroad
and exchange students, where I could meet QUT students from
different countries such as France, Korea, China and make
acquainted with them. I also took pictures with them and Ms. Dianne
Farley, who helped me to arrange temporary accommodation before I
arrived in Australia, is International Study Abroad Officer, and
Mr. Geoff Edmondson - Director of International Business
Development. It was nice to talk to him and from him, I learned
more about exchange student programs between QUT and universities
of Korea, China, Vietnam.
I had an interview with electronic newspaper
“Bay Vut” of ABC- Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Radio
Australia-Vietnamese Service). In this interview, I introduced
Peace Scholarship Program, talked about my impression and feeling
when involving in this program, shared my experience of the process
and difficulty in applying for Peace scholarship. In addition, I
told more about my life in Brisbane, my study in QUT and problems I
met in my life, study, and my future plan when finishing this
semester in QUT.
Next week is semester holiday of QUT and other
universities as well. It will be a good chance for me to catch-up
lessons for good preparation of final examination, but I would like
to go for somewhere to reduce stresses during the first period of
this semester. Next Friday is Vietnamese Festival held in Brisbane
and this is a good opportunity for me and Vietnamese students to
involve in Vietnamese traditional music shows, eat Vietnamese food
and meet Vietnamese people, so that maybe they can reduce their
home sickness. Actually, I have really enjoyed my life and study in
the first period in Australia. I hope I will get more experience in
my study here and join more activities in the remaining time of
this semester.
August 2008 Update
I have been living in Brisbane, Australia for
one month and 16 days. Wow, I cannot believe it. Fortunately, I
adapted to a new life very soon and it took me just two weeks here
for being familiar with foods, cold weather, bus route, friends,
new way of study, because first of all, everything was strange to
me. Studying in Vietnamese university is quite different from
Australian university. In Vietnam, I just have 3 hours in lecture
and no tutorial, and there are a larger number of students in
class, so it is difficult to do group work assignment. Actually, I
think that studying in Vietnamese university is not busy like
here-so many things to do such as individual assignment,
group work assignment, additional reading and
exercises. Although I just need to spend 3 hours in class like in
Vietnam, it is required me to take 9 hours minimum each subject for
self-study. I just finished my first assignment by English in my
major, which I have not done before. It was terrible for me because
I had to learn how to reference and read a lot of books and
databases. But, to be honest, I am really interested in studying
here because I can diversify into international community, use
large library with a range of books and modern facility, learn with
lecturers speaking English, attend workshop to fulfill study
skills. So, I hope to study more in Australia if I can.
Hi..hi…J
Although I felt workload of study in this first
month, I still hold my motivation and enthusiasm in extracurricular
activities. I involved in activities of 2 clubs. At the end of
July, I attended the Multicultural Fiesta held by Campus Christian
Movement Club, where I could find out so many different traditional
costumes of international students from over the world and know
more about different culture. It was great because it was the first
time I had been in the party like this. I also went to the
gathering party of this club celebrated every Friday, where I can
make acquainted with new friends; most of them are Asian students
from University of Queensland and Queensland University of
Technology. I also joined with Student Life club members, whom I
had BBQ with in Southbank, Parkland on Australian Public Holiday,
August 13, 2008. I was so happy to meet my lecturer, who taught me
basic law in Banking university, was in Brisbane to visit her
husband learning for Ph.D in Griffith University and he was also a
lecturer in my home university. He taught me howo to cook
spring roll in Chinese style. I would like to cook for my parents
this food when coming back to Vietnam and laso for all of you.
Furthermore I went to Ekka-holiday exhibition celebrated once a
year in Brisbane with them. It was so wonderful that I enjoyed
games and foods and see a lot of Australian and foreigners here and
quite many children.
Today, I went to Mother Day Festival for
Buddhists in Phat Da temple and met a lot of Vietnamese people
here. There are children music show and lion dances. In this event,
everyone was pinned a rose on chest and Buddhists who still had
mothers were pinned with pink roses, whereas, white roses for the
remainder. The aim I got to this event was to pray to Buddha
for my mother’s happiness, health and luck in life.
This month is a quite busy month to me and I
would like to enjoy more extracurricular activities and have more
experience in study, and also make acquainted with more
international students.
