It was Sunday. Amanda has a habit to walk along the beach on weekend. So, I woke up at 6 and joined her to have a morning walk. It was my second time having a morning walk along Coolum Beach. On our way, we met Amanda's friend. Oh, she seems know everyone! I was very impressed about how friendly Australian are, especially in Sunshine Coast. They greet one another, or just for saying "How are you!" "Have a great day!" "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
If people say, Indonesian are friendly, I think Australian are friendly and genuine too. I feel that they are genuine. Every morning my hostfamily asked me "How's your sleep?" "How's your day?" Frankly speaking, I felt discomfort at first. It might be I'm used to live alone and never been treated like that. But after that, I feel really happy when they ask. I feel that they are really care about me and want to make sure I have a good time in Australia. I feel surprised how that simple question can make you really worthy.
"How was your day?" a very short question, just need less then 1 second to say, but makes impact.
Back to the beach. Amanda introduced me to everyone she knew on the beach. I felt really respected. The people asked me which part of Indonesia I come from, so I tell them about Jakarta, where I live now, and Jambi (Sumatra Island in general) that is my hometown. Most of Australian go to Bali, and they are very familiar with Bali. They told me that they have beautiful beaches in Sunshine Coast, but Bali is really good for surfing because it has good wonderful wave to surf. Then, I told them about other places to surf in Indonesia, and they have to go there someday.
The weather became hotter, then we went home. I had some fruits and yogurt for breakfast. It was very unusual for me because my tummy would be in trouble if it had something sour in the morning. But surprisingly, it was good. No problem at all. I think my stomach adapted well.
It was Sunday, but I didn't go to church. I just knew that my hostfamily doesn't go to church. But their parents do. So, they told me that I could go to church with the Grandma and Grandpa next Sunday. Then, before the lunch time, we went to Sunshine Plaza to buy something with Senate and also her beautiful daughters Santhosa and Nirvana. They are African-American family, but they love Buddhism things. They have a lot of Buddha Statue at their home, but they are actually not Buddhist. Cool, isn't it?! I get amazed how Australian can express their belief and what they like freely.
There was something different in the deptstore. It was my first time looking and using a self service - pay machine. The buyer can scan the stuff they buy and insert the cash money or credit card into the machine and voila! You're done! Simple and effective! The other good thing is, you should not worry if you are unfamiliar with the machine. There is always someone who stand by to help you and ask you if you need help or not. I also love how the salesperson greet us after we visiting the store. They will greet "Hi, how are you?" when we arrive at the cashier and say "Thank you, have a greet day!" after we paying the stuffs. Lovely!
In the afternoon, Grant's parent came to our house for afternoon tea. I found out they are a really good Christian. But Grant's and his family don't go to Church. Wow! How come they still have a very warm relationship and communication! I realized that they respect every individual choice. Oh, can we do that also in Indonesia? I bet Indonesian parents will be very angry if their son/daughter declares that they want to have different religion. We had a really good time that afternoon while eating the butter cake I and Grant made the night before.
Every single individual is exposed to different experiences, thus each of us might reflect and decide in our life differently.
No comments:
Post a Comment