Tag Archives: happiness

Greetings From Down Unda!

I’ll be starting this long overdue blogpost with two memes that capture what my 7 weeks in Melbourne, Australia have been like: soamazing.jpg amazingmeme.jpg Melbourne is Amazing! I’ve been struggling to find a word to describe what this city feels like, and the one word that constantly comes to mind is “home”. There’s an aura about Melbourne that just grabs you, and makes everything feel…easy. It’s unexplainable to be honest, but if you can think of that one happy place in your mind, Melbourne is the one…to me at least. You could blame it on bias, but all of the wonderful friends I have made here share the same sentiments. In Aussie time, it’s been exactly 7 weeks since I arrived here, and it’s terrifying to think how quickly time flies. I’m trying to grab as many memories as I can, and writing this blog helps keep them all in perspective. I don’t want to forget anything; this feeling of home, it’s something I haven’t felt in a long time. But before I get into that, I want to properly introduce myself. About Me: My name is Lynn Onyambu, I am 19 years old (20 next month!), and a senior in Penn State/University of Melbourne. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but i’ve lived in the US for 12 years of my life. My father is Kenyan, and my mother is Zambian. So even though i’m half blood (Harry Potter PUN-DEFINITELY-INTENDED), i’m still 100%, all around African. I speak Swahili fluently, and a bit of Spanish (barely, but definitely more than the casual “Hola, Yo Quiero -insert name of restaurant chain- “). I am majoring in Media Studies, International Communications, and minoring in International Studies. I’m not a Pennsylvanian native, but I’ve lived there longer than I have lived anywhere else, so I guess you could call me an adopted native. I bleed blue and white, but that’s a given cause PENN STATE, DUH! Why I Chose Melbourne: I honestly ask myself the same question. I always had dreams of doing an exchange program in London, but one day Australia just popped into my mind, and I ran with it (Chris Hemsworth may have been a slight motivation). I researched the best communication schools in the world, and the University of Melbourne was one of them (and also the top university in Australia!). I was hooked before I even clicked on the website, and my Google search became even better once I noticed their school colors were similar to Penn State’s. I found out that Penn State did in fact have an exchange program with Unimelb (gotta use the nickname to up my street cred), and it was all set from there. Months later, here I am, in the greatest city in Australia (sorry Sydney!), possibly even the world. I am studying in a university where I don’t feel overwhelmed, doubtful, or even scared. I’m in an environment where everything reminds me of home, and Penn State, and that’s more than I could have ever asked for. Goals: I only have two goals that I want to accomplish while I’m here.

  • To be the very best version of myself, morally and academically.
  • To live. I sometimes get stuck in keeping myself in a comfortable routine of complacency where I don’t challenge myself to see more than what’s beyond the surface. But i’ve got my night goggles, telescope, and binoculars this time around, so let’s do this!

Pic of Advice: cover1.jpg I have found my happiness here in Melbourne, and for those of you who will read this, I challenge you to do the same. It’s certainly not that easy, different trials and tribulations will factor in, but it’s also not impossible. Every journey begins with the first step. Ps. Here’s a picture of some of the friends i’ve made in Melbourne. No worries though, more pictures are coming soon. I have so much to share with you all! Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for blogpic1.jpg Stay lovely, Lynn


Location: Melbourne, Australia

Holidays in Hong Kong

At first I was not excited about it because I would be missing this special day all my family gathers and has a blast!  I have a very large family and this only happens around the holidays.

After I got over the fact that I would not be with my family on this day; I was feeling a bit “down”.  It did not even feel like it was this very day that everyone rejoices over.  I had to remember when looking at statuses on Facebook and Twitter.

What’s this day huh?…. THANKSGIVING!!! duh

Its not that the Asian culture doesn’t celebrate it, because they very well do.  It just didn’t feel the same.  Plus on top of me missing every other special event for the past 4 years of being in college – not being around for thanksgiving almost tore me apart.  I was being a real scrooge.

Well, I wasn’t that bad.. I was just sad.  I finally sucked it up, got off my tush, and ended up having a very great Thanksgiving.  When I talked to myself (don’t judge, its just like writing a blog), I realized I cannot keep getting in the way of my own happiness.  Here are some pics of the night! My expectations were surpassed! 😀

Thanks Hong Kong!

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Location: Fat Angelos, Shop G3, G/F, Panda Hotel, Panda Place Tsuen Wah Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong

Grateful for my Experiences PT.1

A lot of people don’t understand that I am not cutting my opportunities short.  They do not understand that my priority for coming here is SCHOOL first, everything else second.  I planned to do things outside of school, but only if I am available to; gain something from it, will enjoy myself more than 80% of the time, and if I am surrounding myself with people I enjoy being around.  I wanted to sit and think about what I have done so far, and I can very much say that If I had to leave Hong Kong today, I will be satisfied with what I have accomplished so far.  So everything that happens or I am asked to be apart of is a bonus. Being pressured is not an option, because at the end of the day most people only worry about themselves.  I do not want to be stuck in a situation that truly makes me unhappy because I did not look out for my best interest.  So KEEP READING PT. 2 OF THIS ENTRY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO, BUT DIDN’T GET A CHANCE T BLOG ABOUT!


Location: STATION ROAD, SHATIN, HONG KONG