Becoming a mentor

My workplace recently started a school based mentoring program to empower and support young people who are secondary students, to keep them engaged and introduce them to an alternate learning environment.

I have always been interested to work with and help out young adults. Before this job, I used to be an IT teacher for students in diploma and advance diploma in a university. So when I saw the email floating around for mentoring, I signed up for it. The best thing about it is that most of the program happens during the lunch time which means I don’t need to compromise with the time I get to spend with Chhori.

Once I applied for the program I got a call for an interview. I was nervous about the process but it went quite smoothly and I was selected by the panel.

The program started 10 weeks ago and it was a great start. We met the girls we are going to mentor and had a few activities to get to know them better and vice versa.

From the first week, we have been meeting with them every Tuesday afternoon at lunch time and doing different activates.

I can’t believe that the weeks have just flow by and we have done cultural cooking, craft class, laser tag, self-defence class, speech class, African drumming class, sushi making class, yoga class and all in a fun environment.

Most of the girls picked for this program are average students who are a bit shy at first. As we got to know them slowly and they opened up and now they are really comfortable with us.

On the cultural cooking day, I made chicken momo and taught them how to wrap up the momo. I was surprised that they learned it so quickly and did a great job. Other mentors made pizza, frittata, calamari haloumi and scones and it was and awesome session.

Last week, we went out for lunch with them before their 2 weeks break and we will start the program again for another 10 weeks.

I am so happy that I signed up and am a part of such a great program to get involved with young people.

Have you done anything similar? Please share other ideas you have to get young people involved so we can use that for our next session.

Thank you everyone and take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Winter is here

For another year, winter is over in Games of Thrones (how great was this season especially episodes 9 and 10) but Australia is in the middle of winter and I am not the happiest person these days.

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It is so cold every day and the rain and the wind make it worse. The sun rises late and sets early giving us less time in a day.

I am sure you all know my distaste for winter from the various posts in the past but I don’t like it even more now as I have a child. With the start of winter, Chhori caught a cold and she had fever for few days. We had to take her to the doctor when her fever didn’t go away for a few days.

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After Panadol and lots of caring, her fever went away but she was left with a running nose for almost 3 weeks. Then I caught a cold as well so we were both sick at one stage. When I was feeling I was going to be OK, my flu came back making it impossible to sleep at night. In that 3 weeks, AS and I had to take time off from work to look after her. She was not eating well and it was really hard to see her suffer.

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Not everywhere in Australia is it cold like this though. When we went to Gold Coast for holiday, I couldn’t believe that the weather was so good in May. We went to the beach every day and the water was warm and Chhori and my in laws had a great time playing with water and sand. We were even in an outdoor pool and it was fine.

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I know this winter won’t last long as the weather will change eventually but waking up to a cold morning every day, I can’t help but hate winter.

I am just praying that this winter will pass without Chhori getting sick again.

Do you have a love or hate relationship with winter. I know lots of people who love winter but I am definitely not one of them.

Take care  and have a great weekend !

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Sea World Gold coast

The main reason for our trip to Gold Coast was to visit the theme parks. When we planned our holiday we were not sure if it was the right time for it as it is was the start of winter but we were glad to discover that sunny Queensland lived up to is name and even in May, the weather was nice and sunny.

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We spent a day going to Sea World and we had a great time.

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We started the day early as we wanted to see everything in one day.

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As soon as we got there we went to watch the Fish Detective Sea Lion show. The show started at 10.15am and it was quite an entertaining show with all the tricks from the Sea Lion.

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After that we went straight to the Affinity Dolphin show where we got to learn a bit more about Dolphins and watch the amazing acrobatic performance. We really liked it and my in-laws and Chhori were happy too.

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From there it was time for some rides. Chhori enjoyed the Nickelodeon Land where there were rides for small kids so we took her on a few rides. Some she really enjoyed and others she was not very keen on.

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My in laws also enjoyed many rides including mini roller-coaster and Vikings Revenge Flume.

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The Vikings Revenge Flume was the best one for adult as it ends with a 13 meters drop with a speed of around 58 km/hr with splashes of water everywhere.

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On the Nickelodeon Land, they also had a Dora show which is called Dora’s Best Friends Adventure Show and was Chhori’s favourite show of the day. She dance and had fun with the characters on the stage.

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Throughout the day we also checked out the Polar Bears, animated Sharks and dolphins, Penguins, tropical fish, and sting rays and sharks. The interactive touch pools were good as well as we could feel the starfish and other rock pool creatures.

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The last show for the day was Jet Stunt Extreme where some of the world’s best Jet Ski competitors perform plenty of stunts and flips.

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It was a very long day and we were all tired once we finished for the day. We drove back to the hotel and rested for a while.

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Then we were off to the swimming pool and spa to wind down. I loved the holiday for various reasons – no cooking, no cleaning, no worrying, just relaxation and heaps of fun.

If you ever visit Gold Coast, make sure to visit Seat World. It is one of the best places to take kids as well.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Movie World Gold Coast

We went to Warner Bros. Movie World again the next day after the Carnivale. It had a different vibe in the morning than the night before. The theme park had attractions and rides that catered to all age groups, there is something to do for everyone.

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I had tried some extreme rides here before like Superman Escape which goes from 0-100km/h in less than two seconds, Arkham Asylum which has speeds of up to 85km, batwing Spaceshot, a rapid 4.5G vertical launch up a 60 meter tower, followed by a drop into a breathtaking negative descent – beyond freefall (you feel like there is no seat under you) the last time I was here but I had never been on the Green Lantern Coaster.

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This time we didn’t bother with extreme rides but stuck to rides at WB Kids Zone which is great to go on with kids.

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We took Chhori to Looney Tunes Carousel, Sylvester & Tweety Cages with my MIL while AS and MIL went and enjoyed Road Runner Coaster.

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By that time it was time for the street parade so we went back to Main Street to enjoy the All Star Parade featuring Movie World characters including Batman, Scooby Doo & Shaggy, Bugs Bunny & friends as well as DC Superheroes and Villains.

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We also enjoyed the action-packed Hollywood Stunt Driver show which was particularly great if you love cars and stunts. It was fun with the story line and the big bang at the end.

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Overall great day for all of us.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Anniversary lunch @ Gowings Bar & Grill, Sydney

I am sure if you have been reading my blog for a while, I have mentioned multiple times that AS is an introvert but for our anniversary he surprised me by sending me the following poem.

I wish I could write with such majesty
But woe is me I have no poetry
The only words that come to me
Is “Happy 5th Anniversary”

Years ago you stole my heart      
You have it still my sweetheart
Now with our family on the start
Let’s live happy, never apart

Happy 5th Anniversary my sweetheart!

I have never thought he will ever write a poem for me and to top that up, post that on Facebook. I know it is a big deal for him and he did it for me.

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Apart from that, he also bought me a ring and a beautiful card. He knew I wanted a solitaire diamond ring for a while so he got me one this time. Of course I am very happy to get such a beautiful ring. It was a great start to our Anniversary.

As we are parents now, it is hard for us to take an evening off from Chhori. Also it will be hard for my parents to look after her the whole day and till late evening so we decided it would be best for us to celebrate our anniversary with a lunch instead.

So both of us took a half day off from work and met in the city for lunch. We decided to go to Gowings Bar & Grill, Sydney as one of our friends recommend it.

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As we walked into the QT hotel to the restaurant, we could feel that the décor was very different than normal hotels. The building has a wonderful sense of old-world character with a quirky wall full of old trunks and suitcases and even brick exposed walls.

The ground floor has the Parlour Lane Roasters which is a café that serves freshly brewed coffee and light bites by day, and by night, wine and bar snacks.  Gowings Bar & Grill is located on the first floor. As we stepped out of the lift, we were greeted by a friendly staff. She took us to our table and helped us with the napkins.

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As we sat down on our table and we noticed that there were many corporate people there on their extended lunch and the place was full.

I loved the ambiance of the restaurant with its modern and plush décor. It was definitely different to the previous anniversary’s fine dining experience.

The first thing we were served is two baguettes to start, with Pepe Saya butter. The bread was warm but a bit hard to chew.

Beer Steamed Prawn Cocktail “Re-Dux”

Beer Steamed Prawn Cocktail “Re-Dux”

We started our lunch with the entrée. AS chose Beer Steamed Prawn Cocktail “Re-Dux” served with shredded Iceberg , cucumber, tiny shrimp, tiger prawns, cognac horseradish and fermented tomato hot sauce, squid ink and prawn crackers and I ordered Yellowfin Tuna Tartare lettuce Cups served with kimchi, organic soya sauce, toasted sesame, pickled fennel hearts.

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare lettuce Cups

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare lettuce Cups

Love the tuna as it was crunchy with just the right sauce. Not too sure about the prawns as I don’t like beer at all and it had a strong smell of beer. AS loved it though.

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½ Spick duck

The main meal was ½ Spick duck  served with Paris mash steamed black cabbage and salt bush and Wood roasted free range pork belly which was filled with malt bread stuffing , sage and parmesan wasabi spinach served with mustard apples, Paris mash and black truffle gravy.

Wood roasted free range pork belly

Wood roasted free range pork belly

The pork belly was the highlight for me for sure with such a yummy flavour and the portion was perfect.

Even though it said ½ duck in the menu, we didn’t expect it to be such a big portion. Perfect to share, amazing flavours but it made us too full so we decided that we would order only one desert and share.

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For dessert we had the Finger Lime Coconut Lemon Custard Tart which was served with Buffalo Ricotta Chantilly, green coconut flesh and coconut ripple gelato. The first spoonful came with the powerful flavour of lime and lemon but we love it. We made a good decision to share as we didn’t have much room in our tummy for more food.

Finger Lime Coconut Lemon Custard Tart

Finger Lime Coconut Lemon Custard Tart

Over all we had a great time and an uninterrupted adult conversation. We were so stuffed after the 3 course meal that we decided that we would shop around for a while and then we went for a relaxing hour long Thai massage.

By the time we were done, caught a train and reached home it was around 7pm.

When we opened the door to our home, Chhori was patiently waiting for us. As soon as she saw the both of us walking through the door, her eyes lit up and I knew that she is the best thing out of our relationship and there is no argument about it.

As I opened the baby gate, she came running and hugged and kissed me and the day just became perfect.

Thank you everyone for sending Anniversary wishes. We really appreciate them.

Hope everyone had a great weekend too.

Take care and happy Monday

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO