|
|
Hari Raya
Gathering
by Kelvin Chong
25th October
2006, Chilli Padi Restaurant
Selamat Hari
Raya!
It’s the second day of Raya and we decided
to have a gathering in celebration of Raya
for our fellow club members. However, we
decided to do away with a BBQ gathering or
an open house this time, but have dinner at
a restaurant instead. Chilli Padi Restaurant
was chosen because it seemed to be the only
halal restaurant in the city to be open
during Raya. The semester was nearing an end
and many of us are kept busy with heaps of
assignments, not to mention the final exams,
which was just 2 weeks away. Nonetheless,
the turnout was not bad. There’s even a new
face:- Marieta, a Sime scholar, who has been
studying in Melbourne Uni for a while, but
is only making her first appearance in our
gatherings because we didn’t know her then.
Our bad. Even more the reason for
establishing ASDS, which we did a month ago.
Since we did not make a booking, we could
only sit outside. It was freezing that night
and everyone rushed for seats closest to the
heater. Once everyone have taken their
seats, there was a fair deal of catching up
to do. Everyone got so carried away with
talking that it took the poor waitress three
visits to our table before orders were made.
Under the recommendation of Marieta, some of
us tried the duck laksa, which was
different, but tasted not bad. Hmm, missing
Malaysian food...
Some of us did not order dinner, but opted
for dessert from Max Brenner just next door.
Once everyone has had their tummies filled,
we discussed club stuff. The response to the
establishment of ASDS has been very
encouraging so far, with close to fifty
messages exchanged in the club’s Yahoo
Groups forum in one month. Some activities
were planned for the coming months and
Marieta was appointed Editor for the club’s
newsletters.
At close to 10pm, we left the
restaurant and wished each other gambate in
the upcoming exams. As different people
finish their exams on different days, and
some of us will be going back to Malaysia
right after the exams, we knew it will be a
few months before we see each other again,
and waved each other good luck and a big
goodbye.
|
|
BBQ
Gathering
by Kelvin Chong
5th August
2006, College Square Lygon Street
 |
As said
before, there are more gatherings to come.
It’s the start of semester two in Uni, and
in keeping up with tradition, we held a BBQ
lunch gathering at our favourite place -
College Square. However, there is a reason
to celebrate this time - our scholarship
allowance has been increased, after some
rigorous preparation of the proposal. This
time, it’s the juniors’ turn to organize the
BBQ gathering for us seniors, as an act of
gratitude for all the advice and help we
have given them. I’m hearing some shouts of
protest now... |
|
Attendance was good, though a bit short of
the previous one. There was BBQ lamb,
chicken, sausages, potato salad, chips and
dessert. By now, everyone had known each
other and there was no need for
introduction, no need to be “pai seh”. No
need to be shy with each other, no need to
be shy with the food. The juniors have come
to love Australia, and there was excited
chatter among themselves on the nice places
they’ve visited and the cool things they’ve
done. The only complaint was the weather in
Melbourne, where there can be four seasons
in a day and be quite irritating. Now that
it’s winter, it’s quite cold over here in
Melbourne and there is nothing better than a
hot BBQ fire to keep us warm and cosy.
After lunch, some of us went to our friends’
place in College Square to sit down while
the others went home. Overall, the BBQ
gathering was a success and the juniors’
were up to the task. Everyone enjoyed
themselves thoroughly and it was great
catching up with each other once again.
|
|
|
BBQ
Gathering
by Kelvin Chong
4th March
2006, College Square Lygon Street
|
 |
Welcome aboard, mates!
The new term kicked off with the Sime
scholars’ first gathering of the year. Fresh
from a 3-month long summer break, Sime
scholars in Melbourne have returned to host
a BBQ gathering at College Square for all
the fresh newbies, who have arrived in Down
Under just recently. Yes, fresh was the word
of the day...
To keep up with the freshness of the
situation, freshness of faces all around,
the aroma from the BBQ chicken, sausages,
fries and kebabs gave the summer evening air
a unique freshness. Today, the new scholars,
whom I shall refer to as ‘the juniors’ from
this day forth, or at least till they are
old enough to be called ‘the intermediates’
(laughs), showcased their other talent:-
cooking BBQ meat stuff without that extra
layer of black coating.
Attendance was fantastic; all juniors turned
up, and there was even Arizal who came all
the way from Clayton, a good 40 minutes
drive from Melbourne, to attend the BBQ
gathering. Just goes to show that no one
could ever resist a good meal, no matter
what it takes... just kidding. Far from
that, it’s the sense of belonging and
enthusiasm to be part of a network of
scholars which brought everyone here. After
all, we will all end up as colleagues one
day.
While waiting for the food to cook, the
juniors introduced themselves and buzzes of
excited chatter followed. By the time the
first piece of chicken was ready, the
seniors have got to know the juniors a
little better, and the juniors have learned
from the seniors more about the nice places
to visit in Australia, the good eateries to
check out, etc. There was hardly a sign of
homesickness from the juniors, but more of
excitement of arriving in a new land. Piece
by piece of delicious meat emerged from the
stove, quickly snapped up by the hungry
ones. This was followed by fried noodles,
chips and dessert. Hafiidz also got some
Baklava, a savoury Mediterranean pastry for
the evening, which won the hearts, or
rather, ‘stomachs’ of everyone.
By 8pm, it
was already pitch black and everyone was
filled to the brim. The evening wrapped up
with some of us ‘tabao-ing’ or wrapping up
the plenty of leftovers for another’s day of
feast. Everyone had a good evening,
exchanged a good many contacts and got to
know each other better. It was a great
effort from the senior scholars, Hafiidz in
particular, who in such a short time,
brought together all scholars to what may
have well been the biggest gathering of Sime
scholars in Australia all these years.
Indeed, this is the first gathering of Sime
scholars Down Under, and shall not be the
last. |
|
.
|
