Overseas students pull out

How's that you aussies... now you know how important we are. MUAHAHAHAHA. lol
ok, i am not that sick. a bad aussie economy impacts me too! eeps! hopefully house prices fall though. hehe

Article from:  The Australian

FOREIGN students have begun to pull out of Australia, in what could be the first sign of a softening in the $14.2 billion-a-year overseas student industry.

Universities and other educators contacted by The Australian reported an increase in deferrals while forecasting a decline in lucrative international enrolments as prospective students struggle to finance overseas education.

The contraction of Australia's third-biggest export industry, education, has the potential to cost jobs within the sector and hurt the housing market.

As universities brace for the fall-off, there is growing concern it will trigger a slump in unit sales as the parents of overseas students stop buying apartments for their children.

Global Campus management chairman, and founder of the Unilodge group, Mark Skinner said the global financial crisis "would certainly be affecting the purchase of apartments for students as residential accommodation".

It has been common practice for the parents of international students to purchase apartments in Sydney and Melbourne, in particular, and Brisbane while their children study in those cities, Mr Skinner said.

While there was no evidence this early in the year that the slowdown was hurting the rental market, Housing Industry Association senior economist Harley Dale said a slump in the number of international students could cause rental growth to slow.

"Immigration has been playing a major role in demand for housing over the last few years and there has been a fairly large student component to that," Mr Dale said. "If proportionally more of those students are not coming to Australia, or not staying for as long, then that means there will be a little bit less demand on the stretched amount of housing stock."

Mr Dale said any slump in foreign student enrolments could further exacerbate the downturn in house and apartment prices. "Some foreign students, if they come from wealthy Asian families, for example, buy homes to live in while they are studying," Mr Dale said. "If we see a trend (of fewer international students) sustained over the next year or two, that could flow on to the sales market."

UTS International, which processes international student applications for the University of Technology Sydney, said it was experiencing a higher than usual number of deferrals from Asian students.

Director Tzeay Chuah said the next two weeks could show a dramatic drop in numbers. "In another two weeks so many things could happen," she said.

Australian Council of Educational Research research director Phillip McKenzie has warned of a downturn. "The current economic crisis has the potential to reverse, or at least slow down, the growth of international student numbers in Australia," he said. Dr McKenzie noted that international enrolments continued to grow during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. But, he said, "I sense that we are in quite uncharted waters here."

The marketing director of English language school Global Village Sydney, Miles Mackenzie, said any fallout from the financial crisis would most likely be felt by school operators within three months. "Most operators are holding their breath," he said.

"Some people call education recession-free or recession-proof, but that's possibly wishful thinking."

Mr Mackenzie said short-term visitors learning English - rather than foreigners completing local university degrees - were more likely to abandon education in the face of the financial upheaval. "Many people who have made long-term plans for their children to be educated overseas have saved up the money and it's an important part of their future plans for their family," he said.

Seamus Fagan - the head of the national peak body for English language colleges, English Australia - confirmed a decline in enrolments from Asian markets, with Japanese and Korean numbers leading the fall.

"No one is panicking ... however, there has been some softening in the Japanese and Korean markets," he said. "Some projections from Japan indicate a slowdown in the mid-year. At the moment it seems to be holding, but we don't know over the longer term."

While the families of international students may be feeling the pinch at home, their children's living costs have reduced with the fall in the Australian dollar. Chinese student Lina Piao, 19, said the global financial crisis had put pressure on her father in Beijing, but her study prospects had been buoyed by the weakened dollar.

"Before I had to work every day, but now I can concentrate on my studies," Ms Piao said. The student, who studies at Taylor's College in Sydney, aims to study hotel management at university next year. She said the impact of the crisis had so far not been as bad in China as in countries such as the US, but predicted a greater crunch next year.

University of NSW student Xing Hao Wang, also from China, agreed the falling dollar had softened the blow for Chinese students coming to Australia. But Harrison Ko, a 19-year-old Australian engineering student at the University of NSW, said many of his international student friends had been told by their families to cut back on their living expenses. "They are changing their lifestyles, what they eat, where they live," Mr Ko said. "The exchange rate is good, but there is still the pressure on the families to pay the fees."

Taeho Seol, 23, from Korea, studying English at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said: "Australia is a little bit expensive for me, like it is for most Asian people."

His friend, 22-year-old Dahee Park, also from Korea, wants to study English in Australia as well.

But the cost is a stumbling block. "In Korea, studying English is cheaper than it is here," Ms Park said. "In Korea, it could be $100 a month, but here, it's $100 a week. Most Koreans feel studying in Australia is expensive as do people from Taiwan and China."

Pearl restaurant

this place is abso-freakin-lutely delish!!! yum yum yum. 8/10 for moi!

Sukiyaki of pearl meat with tofu, shiitake, enoki and daikon, shiso and chrysanthemum shoots, dashi broth added at the table

dashi broth being added...

 

Coddled egg toasty with hervey bey scallops and yarra valley salmon caviar, snipped chives and whole egg mayonnaise 

 

this was definitely the highlight of the night. superbly, awesomely (for lack of a better word) YUMMY. *rubs tummy* 

it is seriously tasty and absolutely unique. we were sooo tempted to order a second serve. hehe

us attacking the egg.. you can see the egg yolk drizzling out..

 

One side only seared yellowfin tuna, sweet smoked fish salad with galangal and kaffir lime 

[vincent's main]

this dish was very nicely done. tangy from the lime with the flesh of the tuna nicely seared. and the salad tt came with it was really yummy as well.

Roast rack of lamb, baby spinach, broad beans, mint and a cauliflower cream

[my main]

lamb was nicely done. not too cooked and still had a bit of reddish-ness. and the cauliflower cream was oh so yummy.

Crisp skinned murray cod, with stir fried lettuce and ginger, a pickled abalone with oyster mushrooms, wakami and watercress

[wei's main]

 

the fish was really fresh and was not overpowered by the sauce. could taste the sweetness of the fish. YUM!

 

 the very generous vincent who always takes us to dinner.

 

dear housemate who graced us with her presence!

there was a roast duck red curry dish that was apparently one of the popular dishes and we saw practically every other table ordering it. and it looked too yummy! must try the next time we head there.

Holy goats’ curd cheese cake with apricots caramelised with pineapple and violet essence sorbet

 

yummy yummy as well. the goat's cheese did not smell too pungent and the cheesecake was nice and light!

Passionfruit souffle, a flourless tangelo cake, blood orange salad and a creme fraiche sorbet

   

  

souffle was really good as well. a tad watery but still good nonetheless. the sourness from the passionfruit blended really well with the sweetness of the souffle.   

verdict? DIE DIE MUST GO TRY!

http://www.pearlrestaurant.com.au/

picture me, picture you, picture us

photos from last year, ranging from bday pix, to PJ party.

surprise from monny, bang, wei and matt.

 

 gucci pressie from them. hehe

  

  

bang's bday 'surprise'.

not that much of a surprise since they already did it for me. hahaha

 

  

  

and then we went clubbing to celebrate the three bdays.

 

   

 which was followed by dinner at Matteo's

  

  

  

  

 and mischy came down for a visit as well.

and as you can see we got into a little "girlie" situation.

  

  

  

and before monny left for KL, we had a PJ Party at our place!

and miss wei prepared her very yummy seafood marinara.

  

  

  

 

  

  

back to burp

so yes, i decided to go back to the original addy. after tossing up several new addys and trying a new one, it seems that the old one was still the best and irreplacable despite what I thought initially. Something old, something new? hopefully brings about something nice!

and speaking of something old, I re-listened to a song that I have always liked and just realised how much the lyrics resonated. it is such a beautiful song and i guess charts the path i should take.

I've been learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning them again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore




i wish in the new year that everyone finds what they are looking for, gets what they hope for and is surrounded by lotsa love and blessings.

bachelorised

i am finally a bachelor.

thanks mum n dad for spending all tt money on me and giving me the opportunity to undertake this awesome experience.

birthday spoils

this year's birthday was very memorable. I had the blessed company of great friends and there were not one, not two but THREE birthday stars in a week!
my bday was on tuesday, bang's on thurs (27/11) and my hsemate's on sat (29/11)!

had dinner at Matteo's. preview of pix. more to come!

 

  

and next, for the very very exciting and although not a must but still greatly appreciated part of bdays.

PRESENTS! wootsss!

very nicey and surprisey gucci gifts! hehehe.

 

  

  

 gucci gift voucher from monny, bang and matty!

<3<3<3 them!

 Lovely bettina liano dress from dear ol god-daddy! 

  

 The dress during the BL runway show.

 

and just when i thought it was all over..........

happiness does come in twos! :P

dear twinnie honeymischy bought me a bday pressie as well!

so I got not only one, but TWO gucci gifts! wahahaha.

here's what she got me.

 

heart shaped coin purse in white guccissima leather

and that was it for bday gifts. next up, bday splurges!

*cringe. hehe

011208

How time flies. In a blink of an eye, we're approaching the end of 2008. For the past two years, i would be on a plane at this time. Heading home towards sunny singapore. I would also be on that plane, not just going home but having someone in my heart. This year, that person strangely is still in my heart, but under different circumstances. Perhaps - and rightly so - with different feelings as well, but i can't quite tell. One thing for sure, is that circumstances have most definitely changed on the other side.

It was definitely one of my most cherished memories. How everything fell into place so effortlessly. the connection, not just attraction. The way we clicked, the things we spoke about, the goals we had.

Maybe it was just something that was meant to become a memory, maybe it was never meant to be. maybe i should have seen it coming. maybe.

Nevertheless, i thank God above for giving me that memory. And hope that one day, I have the chance to experience something like that again. And hope that everything goes well for him, in everything he does and for all those around him.

push the button, *smiles.