Due to a combination of busyness and "can't be bothered" attitude, it has been a long time between blog postings, so there's a fair bit to catch up on. To make it digestible, I have split this into two posts.
Now you may be wondering about my choice of title, but for me it is a relevant one given what has happened over the last few months, in at least two ways.
First, I have completed the Master of Teaching (Secondary) with flying colours! For my final semester, I studied two subjects which focused on Content and Language Integrated Learning, otherwise known as CLIL: EDUC90481 - Content and Language Integrated Pedagogy, and EDUC90482 - Linguistics and Sociolinguistics of CLIL.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I AM NO LONGER SINGLE! I'll say more about how that happened later.
CLIL has been trialled and implemented in some schools in Victoria; my teacher for both CLIL subjects this semester, Margaret Gearon, and one of my previous lecturers, Russell Cross, coordinated a research report about CLIL in schools for the Victorian Government.
I am pleased to report that I received H1s (First-Class Honors) for both subjects, despite submitting some papers after the due date. I attended the graduation ceremony on Thursday with my parents, and was delighted to finally wear the trencher (square hat).
The ceremony took place at the historic Royal Exhibition Building. The weather was lovely, and it was great to catch up with friends and classmates. There was a minor moment of mayhem when it came to my turn to receive my certificate; when my name was called I was supposed to doff my hat to the chancellor, but I held onto the tip of my hat a slight fraction too long, and the hat came off my head! Fortunately I was able to scramble and catch it before it fell to the floor. I put it back on my hat and went to get my certificate, and then I did a little victory jig after coming off the stage and walking back to my seat.
Now to the news you've been waiting for (unless you know already), and that is that I now have a GIRLFRIEND!! Her name is Vanessa and we've been officially dating since late October. I guess I should start from the beginning about how we even got together, which is a story in itself.
The path to Vanessa began with a status that I posted on Facebook on September 19. One of my old school friends had just tied the knot at the end of a whirlwind, but grounded, romance, and other friends and family members were also marrying or getting engaged, and starting or adding to families. In the midst of all this, I felt the urge to pour out my heart:
As I see my friends and family members pairing off, proposing, marrying, and starting families, the waiting game becomes more and more difficult. Of course, I am thrilled for all of them, and I know I should enjoy being single and "free" at this time in my life. But I hope I don't have to wait too much longer to find my life partner.
So please pray for God to give me MORE patience to be the right guy for the right girl at the right time. Thanks everyone.
A week later, one of my old school friends messaged me privately. He had read my post and told me that knew of a girl who might be just for me. I agreed with him that it couldn't hurt to give things a try and see what happens. So he got in touch with his colleague, who is one of Vanessa's former teachers.I also asked my friend two questions which were important for me:
1) Is the girl a Christian? and
2) Have you had experience doing this sort of thing before?
To both questions, he answered "Yes".
After two-and-a-bit weeks, I finally got a response from my friend saying that Vanessa was also keen to give it a try. He found me her profile and I sent her a Facebook friend request. Soon after she accepted my friend request, we began chatting via Facebook messenger, and found out that we had a lot in common, besides being Chinese and Christian.
Our first date was set for October 26, and we met up in the evening to go see the romantic comedy About Time. Since then, we have met up several times and done various things together, and our relationship has slowly grown and developed. Just last Friday, I was finally able to introduce her to various members of my family. And yesterday I visited her church with her.
Let me briefly introduce Vanessa: She is Taiwanese Chinese, born in Taipei, but moved to New Zealand when she was young, and did her secondary schooling here in Melbourne. She is bilingual in Mandarin and English, and is trained in hospitality and cooking.
Now, although I think there are prettier girls going around than Vanessa (and I'm sure she won't mind me saying that!), what matters for me is that she has the right heart. God knows best; He does not always give us what we desire, but He will always give us what we need. With regards to outward appearances, there are two verses from the Bible that come to my mind. The first is when God is showing Samuel who to appoint as King Saul's successor:
For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7b, ESV)The second verse comes from that famous passage in Proverbs 31 which describes the characteristics of an excellent wife:
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30, ESV)We will undergo our first significant period of separation in January. Although we will see in the New Year together at Vanessa's place, she leaves later in the day with her family for New Zealand. By the time she arrives back in Melbourne, I will have already departed for Europe. And on the day I return from Europe, she flies off again to New Zealand with her family for a friend's wedding!
We have already planned to catch up on Valentine's Day. I hope that nothing comes between us during our time apart, and that God will enable us to somehow grow even closer. After all, don't they say absence makes the heart grow fonder?
Alright, that's more than enough for one post. Stay tuned for the next part!
Cheers and God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment