New Life in Melbourne

Thu, Jan 24, 2013

It has been almost 2 months since I came to Melbourne. I had never been outside Vietnam before, and my 1st overseas trip was to a place 6705.69 km away from my home. That is a long distance. Many people probably never travel that far in their whole lives.

Obviously, culture is an abstract concept. That element of life can be hardly captured. You may hear a lot from stories, read Travel magazines, or watch Travel channels on cable TV; but you will never know what it really is until you experience at first hand. One word. Amazing. I wish I had had a chance to travel abroad when I was younger.

I used to work in American and Australian companies. On a daily basis, I went to meetings with clients from various countries. In business context, however, human interaction rarely goes beyond certain boundaries. You might give them firm handshakes, maintain eye contact with them, or even share life stories in dinners after business meetings; but they will never be the same as fist-bumps with your cousins’ friends or hugs and air-kisses with girls. People express their emotions and feelings much more strongly here. I see a lot of body movements and facial expressions. People can laugh and talk very loud on the street without worrying that someone will judge or look at them as if they just return from outer space. In short, life cannot be better here.

I arrived during the Xmas holidays. No firms were hiring. Right after the holidays, fortunately, I got a great job and have been working for a few days. The working environment is exactly what I have imagined. Professional, fast-paced, and fun. High five if you also think that most of web development workplaces are like this! I will never regret for quitting my sales and banking job to go back to writing codes. That is the best decision I have made.

2 months is not a long time. I still have a whole journey ahead. It has just been started…