It is already my 8th day in Melbourne. Without homework, getting lost, or taking the wrong bus, I am back at where I live in good time. Watching the sunset glow shining through iris cluster to gently rest on the balcony, I can’t help but have the urge of writing something to vent a mix of feelings that have just surface out of nowhere.

Eight days ago I was on the flight to Melbourne. With my headphones on and watching a movie, I thought to myself, half awake, what kind of architectures Melbourne has? Are animals there fierce? Is the air there much better than Lanzhou?

One question after another just popped up in my brain. I thought as if I could create a brand new world just by relying on my own imaginations, even I was not in Melbourne yet.

The flight touched down at 3:00pm. The sky was blue-white with a glaring sun hanging high up. I knew, from today to February 11, there were 35 days I would spend in Melbourne, living here and studying here.

It is my first time to study aboard. To be honest, I was excited and also nervous at the beginning. The most thing I worried about was that I cannot communicate well with my host family and my classmates. The one hosting us is located in a place called Glen Waverley, which is a beautiful place with a lot of malls, busy days and extremely quiet nights. My home mother is Jennifer, born and raised in Melbourne, and she is very nice to me. She prepares lunch for me and greets me every evening by saying “Snowy，how are you”, to which I normally reply “I’m fine” before starting to have dinner while chatting with her in English to improve my language proficiency. She tells me a lot of stories about herself and recommends many scenic spots to me. Before I know it, the sense of unfamiliarity when I first arrived at the homestay has gone completely.

As for study, the university we visit is called the Monash University. The classes we took on our campus are mainly about English learning. In a typical class, 75% of the students are Chinese, which means there is almost no language barrier. However, it is my first time to attend those long classes which last four hours every day. Of course, teachers here are very nice.Another interesting thing is that the teacher ask us to go outside and find some problem in this city, then give a presentation to others. The presentation help us to find the problem and the solution and share our ideas with other people, which is excellent to practice our speaking.

    Although I only spent 35 days in Melbourne, I enjoyed the nature there, the people there and my course in Monash. I’d like to make friends with my teachers, my host and my classmates. All of them are friendly.

    Besides study, we are also tourists. on Saturday，we went to St Kilda Beach. The nearby sand is lit up by the sunshine and there were many people walking their dogs. Looking afar, I could see the line where the water met the sky, with swimmers popping up from under the water every once in a while. We walked on the soft and warm sands with bare foot, found shells in water, and got stroked by one wave after another. Sometimes, several seagulls would join our party as well…… Tired but meaningful, sat on the beach, shower in sea breeze and listen to the sound of waves washing over the sands. Inexplicably, my mind started to open widely as if all my worries and anxieties had been wrapped up by the sea water and washed away by the waves.

At this moment, I am so glad to be able to be in this beautiful city and share my happiness with you.

(Written by Xuewei Liang;Edited and photographed by Enlin Tian)