I've been very busy these past few weeks. Sorting out visa, entry and exit clearances, getting pissed off by the sheer incompetence of some people, though everything seems to be sorted now. I've started to pack my luggage, put my new skywards tags, list down things I still need to buy, and squeeze in last minute meet ups with friends and relatives. We just got back from a one day visit to my lola in the province over the weekend, very hectic and tiresome but I just have to see them one last time before I leave for a whole year.

I'm quite excited, it's gonna be a new environment, new people, new work altogether. I'm expecting lots of challenges too. Right now I'm trying to get accommodation remotely, google map comes in handy in locating potential flats close to the University.

My thinking is that I've survived Johannesburg, I'll definitely survive Newcastle. But looking at the weather and the kind of assistance that I'm getting, I'm starting to doubt that. My stay in SA is soo organised: somebody had picked me up from the airport, I already have a place to stay before I got there, transpo going to work all sorted out. This trip looks like a journey to Mars coordinated by Philippine airspace travel (which is basically nonexistent). At the moment, I'm quite stumped deciding over which shoes to leave and which to bring.

Good thing about me is that I don't easily give up. I was able to communicate with a Filipino living there in Newcastle and he's really so nice to help me out. Too bad he's moving to Australia.
I've also been negotiating with a Brit for my accommodation, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll see reason over the Western Union money transfer thing which I'm not gonna budge in.

I have a hundred things to do and only two days left, I think I'll be needing some vodka.

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This is gonna be tough for hny and I, but we have plans on meeting up probably next year and we're both praying that he'll get the scholarship so we can travel around Europe together :)