Wow, I have to say that I have been extremely tardy with my blog writing. Life has really taken over me in an insane way. But I was looking over my old post, Why I quit my job to move to Australia, and realise that I need to seriously update you with what’s been happening in my life.

In that post I wrote some of the goals I want to achieve during my time in Australia:

1. I will be studying and upgrading my skills: Goal achieved!

I am now a qualified nursing assistant/care worker. I work around 80 hours a fortnight. Although I feel so blessed (in Australia, you’re happy to get hours to work!) it’s a physically demanding job. In an eight-hour working day, I can easily walk up to 7km! I have to also lift a lot, so I sure have a good workout on the job. Needless to say, my body ached so much when I first started as a care worker!

Now, we are not nurses per se (though the residents/patients often call us that!) but we support nurses in their jobs. We basically do things like catheter care, pressure area care (patients need to be turned so that they don’t develop bedsores), feed patients, change their continence aids and help them with showers etc. Some people think it’s a dirty and lowly job, but I found that it has given me a good idea how nursing works and has given me invaluable experience in helping others.

I now know how to deal with people suffering from dementia and how to give palliative care. Seriously, I don’t know what job that exposes me to the workings of healthcare without years and years of study! If you want to gain experience before embracing a health care career, being a care worker is the way to go. Many of my colleagues went on to study nursing, medicine, pathology and yes, occupational therapy, something I hope to do one day.

While my new career is occupying most of my time, I’m still developing my writing. I’ve been taking online writing classes with prolific writer Dean W Smith because I like his practical lessons and no-nonsense approach to writing. Writing is not something you do when “inspiration hits”. After 13 years as a journalist, I realise it is also very much about time management, learning new techniques and overcoming your personal demons, believe it or not. Writing fiction, however, demands a whole new set of skills. And to my surprise, I had to get over a few psychological hurdles before becoming an effective fiction writer. To be honest, I am not there yet, but I have managed to speed up my writing considerably.

2. I would like to get Australian working experience: Achieved!

Best of all, I have colleagues from around the world. China, Nigeria, Botswana, Australia, Indonesia … it made me realise how underexposed we Malaysians are to people from other countries. I’m such good friends with my African colleagues that when I read articles like this (Profiling Africans is crazy, says Minister) I feel really ashamed of being Malaysian. I also remember how suspicious Malaysians are of foreigners and realise that Australians are extremely welcoming in comparison. Dear Malaysia, we have a long way to go.

3. I want to travel: Sorta!

I was too busy working to travel too much, but I visited places such as Carrackalinga, Hahndorf and McLaren Vale. Gorgeous, all of them! Next year, I plan to take a few weeks off to visit New Zealand 

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Old Comments

Hi Elizabeth.Wow! Just found your blog. Is great. I have got PR and plan to go to Australia early next year. Studied in Sydney over 20 years ago. (Stayed with Malaysians!) Undecided which city to move to now. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth popular. But heard Adelaide is lovely with fine weather too. Want to experience a new lifestyle. I am learning Japanese. Would like to meet different nationalities like you described.Can you share your initial experience, like where to stay, finding jobs, the difficulties…

Elizabeth Tai 9 years ago · 0 Likes

Hello Andrew,I now live with Aussies, and I work with a huge range of nationalities: Australians, Africans, Japanese, Koreans, China-Chinese, Indians – wow, it made me realise how insular Malaysians were! And I am so so so so grateful and happy for the exposre I have now. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I can honestly say I barely have contact with Malaysians now except for a few meetups with good friends.

We Malaysians are so underexposed to other nationalities. Just see how suspicious we are of foreigners in our countries! Advice to students: If you are going to study in Australia, please (10x) go out of the Malaysian circle and mix with other nationalities. I lived in an international flat with a few Americans, a Finnish dude, a Mauritian and and an Indonesian. It was the best way to experience college, I tell you!

Andrew 9 years ago · 0 Likes

Hi Elizabeth and John,Thanks for your advice. I agree we are quite clannish. I spent 5 years studying in Sydney (22 years ago). And my housemates were Asian except for the last 2 years. Due to the courage of a Caucasian fellow student who didn’t mind living in a house full of Asians, and in a high crime area to boot. 2 others joined later. Anyway thanks to him, I got to experience a completely new culture and brought back much more fun and memorable memories.

John Ling 9 years ago · 0 Likes

Hi Andrew Congratulations on getting your PR and taking the first steps to move to Australia. Emigration is definitely an uphill climb, especially for Malaysians. Compared to other nationalities, we are very clannish and insular. And we have most definitely been spoiled by a protectionist economy; we’ve never had to compete with highly skilled and talented people from, say, Brazil or South Africa.

But so long as you’re humble and willing to maintain an open mindset, you will find Australia to be a very accepting and generous nation. And, in the long-term, years down the line, you’ll reap the rewards.

Elizabeth Tai 9 years ago · 0 Likes

Yes, Andrew. A game plan is really important – so is a positive mindset. You also need to know why you’re really in Australia. You need to be prepared for the idea that your career will have a setback and may never recover. If you value your career over your lifestyle, then migrating to Oz may not be for you. But if you’re here for the lifestyle, then be prepared to do all you can to achieve it.

Andrew 9 years ago · 0 Likes

Hi Elizabeth,Congrats on a successful transition to Australia. My wife and I are preparing for that step, we got the PR, we are in the midst of selling our home, but we have developed cold feet. Our plan is to go to Perth, but we are worried about the challenges of getting jobs. I see how you have succeeded because you have a game plan. Good for you.

John Ling 9 years ago · 0 Likes

And, oh, do drop me a line if you do come down to Auckland.

John Ling 9 years ago · 0 Likes

I’m so glad to hear you’re settling well into Australian life and enjoying your adventure there. =) I share your thoughts about multiculturalism as well. The funny thing is, most Malaysians continue to cling on to the myth that Australians are racist and intolerant. But it’s quite the opposite — they give immigrants a much warmer reception when compared to Malaysians. You only need to watch an episode of MasterChef Australia to witness how far the country has come