Secret Smile..

People have been asking me how am I living here in Sydney. Let me tell you my story…

Lidcombe and Auburn are suburbs close to my campus. Not many Malays are here, but Auburn is a Muslim community, and Lidcombe are more mixed. When I first came, i stay in Auburn. Now, I’m in Lidcombe.

I used to stay in Auburn Hopital Residence, where students usually choose to stay as second in campus choice. Its quite cheap, $90/week, and I have a room of my own, fully furnished, complete privacy. I dont complain about the shared kitchen, with other 30 students in the floor, but we also had to share toilets, boys and girl.. not so nice, eh?

so, after 3 months, I got a new place, a flat, 2-bedrooms, sharing with a working Thai lady. I fell in love with the place immediately, as it’s very comfy and … homey… I will have my own sweet room, with a comfortable bed and duvet, a studying desk, a book rack, long mirror, a decent cupboard, a generous rattan laundry basket, and my very own little TV set!! it cost me $10/week more than the hospital residence, with additional bill payments, around $30/month, according to usage - phone and power only. Fair enough! Further more, its in my campus suburb, 30-40 mins walking distance from home to uni. there’s an 80cents bus if Im lazy to walk, and my place is just 5mins walk from the Lidcombe train station. How cool is that!

this new place - an apartment / flat I can say - is just so adorable. The lady has been living there for 4 years, and has everything you need to live in the house. washing machine, a big brand new fridge, DVD player, a big tv in a cozy living room with sofa and table set, a dining table, vacuum cleaner, and a lovely pink bathroom. not to forget, our very own balcony to dry our clothes.

if only I could ride a bike - I could save a fortune! time wise and money wise. but I still need to learn how to ride a bike - i hope its not too late or too embarrassing to learn cycling at this age and this hight.. <sigh!>

with that aside, its a good community. I buy my food from a shopping complex in Auburn, where there’s Woolworth (just like Giant) and Big W (a bit like Jaya Jusco, but cheaper). Since Auburn is a Muslim community, I also get my halal chicken and sometimes meat from the many available butcher there. And yes.. I cook, coz its way much cheaper living by cooking your own meal every day. I’m getting better at kitchen job by day. And because Lidcombe and Auburn are around 25 mins to Sydney city by train, its a comparatively cheap place to live in.

Alhamdulillah.. if you ask me.. life is getting better for me in this foreign place, praise be to Allah!