Nettji Thereciana was unprepared for the cold when she arrived in Cooma from Indonesia in July 1994 with her then-fiancé who was working for an engineering company attached to the scheme.
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"I didn't have enough warm clothes, I just wore my miniskirts and my stockings were very thin because I don't have cold weather in my country," she said.
But when the couple married in Cooma a month later, it instantly felt like home for Ms Thereciana.
So much so Ms Thereciana chose to return to Cooma when the pair separated in 2001 after several years travelling abroad for her husband's work in Indonesia, Africa and Cambodia.
"I came to Cooma because I feel like it's my hometown and it's good for raising children," she said.
"My two children were quite smart and Indonesia for continuing study and speaking English is really hard, you have to be in a big city far away from home."
Returning after the marriage break-up was initially difficult, Ms Thereciana struggled to support herself and her two young children and felt alienated.
"Cooma is good for me now, I can speak English with people so I feel OK, but at that time when I was just arriving in 2001 I was really depressed because I couldn't speak English," she said.
"Luckily there were some friends from my own country here, but they had husbands and families to look after and I was by myself and I was a little bit uncomfortable at that time.
"Now they're welcoming but in 2001 it was still kind of racist."
Studying English and computers at TAFE and joining Cooma's Multicultural Activity Group became outlets where she met new people and felt supported by the community.
She now loves Cooma for its country-town feel and proximity to Canberra, Sydney and the coast.
"It's easy to get a parking space," she said.
"Here at night you feel peaceful and it's quiet and very nice."
And 20 years on since she first arrived she's finally acclimatised to the cold.
"Even when it's snowing, I'm like 'it's cold now so what'," she laughs.
"Sometimes they have four different weathers in one day… from hot it becomes cold, then windy, then rain.
"It's quite amazing."
When Ms Thereciana lived in Indonesia she regularly sung for government events, but starring in Ghosts in the Scheme will be a chance for her to return to the stage.
