The Australian Adventure Continues: A Recap of Our 2nd Month Down Under

It's been two months in The Land Down Under! Here's a recap of what we've been up to and how life has been in April.

A Humble Sri Lankan New Year Celebration

The Sri Lankan New Year, which is the most auspicious and family-centered event back home, dawned on April 14th. Our fellow Sri Lankan housemates, Don and Laknath, suggested we celebrate the New Year together. So the four of us gathered in the kitchen, and we cooked the traditional Sri Lankan New Year dish - milk rice. Laknath whipped up a delightful spicy chicken curry. Sahanaka prepared a mouthwatering spicy chili-onion sambol. Don, our resident entertainer, strutted around the kitchen, making silly remarks and keeping us entertained. I took on the role of videographer, capturing snippets of these precious moments on camera. The kitchen buzzed with the comforting, familiar smells of milk rice, the spices, and our laughter that echoed through the air. As we sat down to enjoy our meal, we wished each other success in the New Year. Despite being far from our families back home, we discovered a new family bond - one forged in shared laughter and the warmth of friendship.

Autumn Colours in Ballarat

I've been dying to see Australia's Autumn hues since the start of April. On ANZAC Day, we headed to Ballarat with our good friend Bhashana. The city of Ballarat was beautiful with brightly coloured tress. Red, Orange and Yellow hues were everywhere, complimenting the Victorian-style buildings of the city. We were told that May would bring even more stunning colours, so we are hoping to explore Australia's mountainside in the coming month!

An Improvised Burger

On our grocery run at Aldi, Sahanaka and I picked up some burger patties. Concerned about the potential carb overload of buying both burger buns and bread, we decided to swap the buns with bread slices. Once home, we tried our improvised burger and it was a hit! The bread slices paired surprisingly well with the burger. Seeing our enjoyment, Don and Laknath showed interest in our unique burger. So, we happily prepared two more burgers for them. The surprised looks on their faces when they took the first bite were priceless!

Badminton at Deakin University

Laknath, who used to work at Deakin University, invited us to join him and his friends for a badminton session at the university. Excited, we hurried to put on our sports gear. We caught the bus from our place, and arrived at Deakin, a gorgeous campus with an amazing sports arena. Laknath's friends were a fun bunch. They're all PhD students researching AI and ML just like him. We played badminton with them for an hour, and then caught the bus back home. It was a really fun evening, forging new friendships and exploring the campus grounds.

The Job Search Continues

The job market is proving a bit tricky at the moment. The IT market particularly seems way more saturated than we assumed. Despite applying for jobs on a daily basis, the responses are pretty scarce. We've both had a couple of interviews so far. So we're hopeful for a positive outcome.

Farewell to a Friend

Laknath landed an exciting job offer in Sydney earlier this month, and he moved out just a couple of days ago. We're all missing our friend dearly. His late breakfasts, midnight cooking sprees and the entertaining conversations were a big part of our lives at our share-house. Farewells are always sad, but we're grateful for the memories we made.

And so, life goes on in Australia. This month has been a mix of new experiences, anticipation and settling in. We'll keep you posted as our new chapter unfolds.

Love,

Yasho.