Groundhog Day

**I wrote this post over a week ago, when I was in a bit of an expat funk.  It's crazy how much can change in just a week... attitudes, circumstances, future plans, etc.  At any rate, I'm feeling a lot better about things since the time that I wrote this post.  I've managed to shake that "trapped" feeling, and am no longer wishing time away... in fact, I'm now wishing time would slow down a bit.  But I still wanted to publish this post so that I can look back on and remember the lows of this adventure along with the highs. 

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Another beautiful Aussie sky

Let me begin with a little bit of a disclaimer:  Having this opportunity to live abroad is a truly amazing experience for which I am very grateful.  I have absolutely loved all the wonderful places we've visited and experiences we've had that we probably never would have had the opportunity for before.  The people that we've met here (both Australians and Americans) have been incredibly welcoming and kind.  Now that that's out of the way...

This experience isn't without its challenges and frustrations.  Not everyday is a vacation or adventure.  Most of our days here are just normal "real life."  We wake up early, work, do chores, get annoyed by our neighbor's barking dog, eat dinner... repeat.  Nothing glamorous or exciting most of the time. 

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I know we're going "home" for a visit soon.  And being in countdown/escape mode makes it difficult to enjoy where you are and what you're doing presently.  So, to be completely honest- lately, I am just so over it.  The other day while driving home from work, I had one of those, "What the hell am I doing in this place?!" moments.  Don't get me wrong- this little town has been good to us, and I know I will always look back on our time here positively.  But that doesn't change the fact that sometimes I would just rather be anywhere but here.  One of the lessons I've learned here is that I am a city girl.  I'm glad that I get to experience small town life for a few years.  But what I'm even more glad about is that this small town experience has an end date.  Something about me needs traffic, tall buildings, sidewalks, crowds, freeways, etc. 

An American friend of mine here described it quite well.  She said that living here is like Groundhog Day- "same s***, different day."  Sometimes I just feel so trapped, isolated, and stifled here.  Very little ever seems to change here.  For example, even if I wanted to get crazy and spice things up by changing my route to work, I couldn't really.  There really and truly is not another option or "back road" I could take.  Even something as simple as that can't be changed up.  Yes, I've lived here for over a year now, but a lot of things still feel very foreign to me.  I still everyday feel very aware of the fact that I am an outsider... and that can be exhausting.  I have another friend whose husband always says (half jokingly, half seriously... depending on the type of day he's having here), "Welp, at least someone is getting the hell out of here" whenever he hears a plane taking off from our very small airport.  I know how terrible that sounds, but sometimes it's true.  I think that trapped feeling is somewhat common here every once in a while. 

I'm sure the fact that our trip home is approaching is amplifying these feelings.  Having that "end date" totally helps, but it also seems to just make me more frustrated with the time in between now and then.  I hate to be in a position where I am wishing time away.  But that's kind of just where I am right now.  I'm just ready for a break!  And I know that when we return, I will feel refreshed and have a much better attitude :-) 

Melbourne with My Parents

July 4-8, 2013

I can't believe it has taken me so long to finish blogging about my parents' visit to Australia.  They visited in July.  JULY!  I'm so behind!  At any rate, here's where I last left off:

G'Day Grants!
Sights & Sounds From Oz
1770
Beaches & Boats - 1770
Evolution of a Sunset - 1770
Kangaroos, Koalas, & Crocodiles.. Oh My!
Heron Island
Boomerangs, Didgeridoos, and Caves
Tondoon Botanic Gardens

I was really excited that my parents had chosen Melbourne as the big Australian city that they wanted to visit while in Australia.  Melbourne has been one of my favorite cities that we've visited in Australia, so I was glad to have an excuse to go back!  HERE is a link to my first Melbourne trip back in January. 

David and I had such a great time in Melbourne when we visited and loved everything we did and saw, so I decided to pretty much do most of the same things with my parents on their visit.  Why mess with success, right?   We spent one full day exploring the city, one day on a tour of The Great Ocean Road, and one day visiting Phillip Island and the Penguin Parade. 

On our day exploring the city, I was excited to show my parents everything I had loved so much about Melbourne the last time I was there.  We started off at the Queen Victoria Market.  This market is totally overwhelming, but totally awesome at the same time.  There is produce, meat, cheese, souvenirs, etc. as far as the eye can see! 

 

 

Lollies, lollies, and more lollies!

 We also spent some time walking through Chinatown and doing some shopping in The Block Arcade. 

Next up was the Federation Square area.  Fed Square is where David and I celebrated NYE 2013 last year.  It is right near the river and has some great views of the city.  There always seems to be something going on in this part of the city- while we were there, the square was home to a really neat sculpture exhibit.  While I noticed the beautiful church across the street from Fed Square the last time I visited, my parents were smart enough to have the idea to actually check it out.  St. Paul's Cathedral was so pretty inside, and I'm glad I didn't miss out on this for a second time!

 

And of course, we had to spend some time wandering the alley ways that are famous for their street art.  We were even lucky enough to see some street artists at work!

 

 

 

 

 

I love you Melbourne!  I hope I get a chance to visit this beautiful city again while we're still here! 

Return to the Motherland

I've been meaning to post about this since the day our trip was finalized and in the books...

It's official (and long overdue), we will be home for Christmas!!!!!!!! 

Through David's company, we are eligible for a home leave trip (on their tab) once per year.  We were technically eligible for our leave in July, since that marked one year since David moved here.  Well, that time of year was a pretty busy time on the project for David, plus my parents were visiting around that time... so we decided to push our leave back to December so that we could be home for the holidays.  At the time that we made the decision to postpone our leave, I was a little doubtful that I would last nearly a year and a half here without visiting home even once.  However, being here for the holidays last year was really hard, so I knew it would be worth it! 

Once we had confirmation from David's company that our flights were booked, the excitement began.  I immediately installed a countdown app on my phone.  And since then, I've been in countdown mode.  When I first started my countdown, it looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

 

 

Time is seriously flying by- I can't even wrap my mind around it.  We will be back in the motherland- on sweet American soil before I know it!  Family and friends- prepare the Diet Dr. Pepper and Mexican food- here we come! 

You've Been Boo'ed

Even though Halloween isn't really a thing here in Australia, I still like to try and spread a little Halloween cheer.  So this year, I decided to repeat a fun little activity that I also did here last year called "Boo-ing."  Basically, you put together a little Halloween-themed goody bag and leave it on the doorsteps of a few unsuspecting neighbors or friends.  I also attached instructions and a "We've Been Boo'ed" sign so that hopefully the recipient can continue the chain and boo someone else!  The instructions and sign were found HERE. 

This year I had a much easier time finding Halloween items in the stores as compared to last year.  I guess as more and more Americans are coming to this small town, our Halloween traditions are rubbing off a little bit.  I was feeling extra generous this year and decide to do four Boo's.  In each pumpkin basket I included:

-Pumpkin Pecan Muffins
-Halloween Candy
-A Glitter Skeleton Ornament thingy
-Halloween Balloons

 

 

I'm pretty sure that by the time the people got their gifts, the chocolate candy was just a bag of melted mush, but oh well.  That's what happens when you live in the Southern Hemisphere and everything is backwards (and hot all. the. time). 

Happy Halloween!

Easy Postcard Project For Travel Memories

I'm not very crafty, creative, or otherwise talented in the DIY arena most of the time.  I get easily intimidated by crafts and creative projects.  However, one thing I do love (and I like to think I excel at) is being a pen-pal... and anything else related to stationery and cards.  I have always loved to write and send letters, cards and postcards, and for as long as I can remember, I've been in the habit of sending at least a few postcards whenever I travel somewhere.  So when we moved to Australia, I wanted to make sure I kept that habit.  Something I also really wanted to prioritize during our time here was keeping track of all the places we've seen and all the memories made in those places. 

So when I stumbled on this simple travel postcard project idea from my all time favorite blog Young House Love just a few weeks before our move, I knew it was a craft/DIY project I could definitely handle!  It's so easy for me, because it involves something I do anyway.  When I'm picking out postcards to send to a few friends/family during a trip, I just make sure I remember to pick out one extra for us!  Then, all you do is write a postcard to yourself describing what you saw, did, loved, favorite places, funny travel mishaps, etc. on your trip.  Then I just bring it home with us, and toss it in this dish on our coffee table.  It's fun to look through them from time to time and it's a great conversation starter- PLUS it looks pretty!

Our collection so far- 19 and counting...



A few of our recent postcards







Postcard project on our coffee table (among the few Fall decorations I have)


Here's the link to the original project idea found on YHL:
http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/08/post-haste/

Snail Mail Collective {September}

A fun surprise all the way from South Korea arrived in the mail for me today!  My partner for the September Snail Mail Collective was Amber from "The English Travelers," and the theme for this month was "Back To School."  I had a great time getting to know Amber through the emails we exchanged and through her blog.  Amber and her husband are American expats currently living and teaching in South Korea.  They've had some amazing adventures so far- I loved looking through their travel photos! 

Amber did a great job finding fun gifts from her country that fit with the theme.  As a teacher, I always LOVE stationery and office/school supplies, so everything in this package was a hit with me- especially the panda notebook and the cute socks!  I also love that everything was so unique and different than anything I would be able to find here- or anywhere else I've ever visited. 

 

Thanks so much, Amber, for all the fun "Back To School" loot!  I love it all! 

Expat to Expat Q & A ~ Perceptions of Our Expat Life

Linking up with Found Love, Now What & The Hemborg Wife

 

Question #1: How do your family and friends back home perceive your new life, and is it accurate?

I actually think my family and close friends do have a pretty accurate perception of our life here in Australia.  Because I talk to these people pretty frequently, they are able to hear about both the positives and the negatives of living here.  However I'd say that my parents and my friend Jen (shout out to her new expat blog, "Lady, Relocated") probably have the best idea of what it's like to live here since we were lucky enough to have them visit already. It's one thing to tell people about the place you live and the experiences you're having, but it's another to actually be able to show them those places and let them experience the place for themselves. 

If I'm being honest, I guess it's probably safe to say that the friends I don't talk to regularly or other acquaintances from back home probably have a pretty distorted perception of what our life here is like.  And that is mostly because these are the people who only get to see the occasional Facebook travel photo updates.  By simply only considering what people see on social media, life probably looks pretty glamorous here.  Of course that is true sometimes- we are so lucky to be here and to get to do so much travelling, but those people don't get to see the other side of things: the challenges of living so far away, culture shock on a daily basis, dealing with my husband's ridiculously long work hours, etc.  During the time between the travelling (which is the majority of our time here), life here truly is pretty normal. 

Question #2: Do you find the need to edit your life from friends and family? 

I really try not to do this.  I try to be pretty open and honest about what life is like here- both the positives and the negatives.  However, I guess every once in a while, I have found myself "toning things down" a bit- this applies to both the highs and the lows.  By this I mean, I try to be careful not to come off as "brag-y" during the times that we do get to travel and see amazing places.  I want to share my photos and stories from these times so that my family and close friends can feel like they somehow shared in that experience with us, but not come off as obnoxious or boastful at the same time.  And on the other end of the spectrum, I sometimes also tend to "tone down" the lows as well.  By this I mean that if I'm having a really low or homesick day, I often try and minimize that to a certain extent when talking to family or close friends.  Not because I don't want to talk about it, but more because sometimes talking about it makes me really dwell on it more and sometimes end up feeling worse. 

 

The Glamorous Side of Our Aussie Life:

 

The Not-so-glamorous Side of Our Aussie Life: