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:

 

 

Life Lately / Currently

  

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. 

 

I'm going to approach today's prompt in the form of a "currently" post, since I'm feeling the need for a little structure I guess :-)

 

Currently...

 

Enjoying: Day 2 of my two week school break!  The schools here have a two week break between each quarter.  I'm loving being a "lady of leisure" so far, but I am really trying to be at least somewhat productive.  This is the first school break I've had here that we don't have big travel plans, so I'm actually looking forward to some time to rest, relax, and cross things off the old "to do" list. 

 

Reading: Well, I should say, "about to start reading" The Book Thief.  A few friends started up a little book club, and this is our first book.  I've heard great things about it, and I'm excited because it is also going to be coming out as a movie soon!

 

(Source)

Watching: You know me- always some form of reality television.  Right now, I'm pumped about the first ever Bachelor Australia.  I'm also excited about the new season of Dancing With the Stars (I think I may be the only person that watches this anymore) and The Voice. 

 

The Australian Bachelor- Pretty dreamy, right? (Source)

Looking Forward To: A weekend getaway to Hervey Bay for whale watching!  This is supposed to be some of the best humpback whale watching in the world- can't wait! 



I'm going to be singing Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There" every time I see a whale (Source)



Sewing: Yes, sewing.  I went to a little sewing class last night after much convincing from two friends, and I'd say it was a success.  It was really low pressure, and I actually really enjoyed it. I made a pin cushion as my starter project.

 

 

Feeling Grateful: to finally feel like I have a little group of friends here, and thus some semblance of a social life.  It was really just a couple months ago that I started connecting with some great girls here (fellow expats), and I am so happy to finally have girlfriends here.  It took nearly a year, but I'm so glad this part of my life here is finally falling into place. 

 

A Self Portrait In Sydney

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

 

 

If nothing else, the prompt for today's post made me realize that I need be better about making sure that I actually get IN more of the photos that I take on our travels. 

 

I chose this photo, because it seems very Australia to me- if only my big ol' head wasn't blocking so much of the Opera House :-)  This photo was taken at the lookout point on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the iconic Sydney Opera house in the background. 

 

Australia Bucket List

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do?

 

When thinking of what I would do if I could do anything in the world, the first thing that comes to mind is travel.  Hands down. 

 

Truthfully, I actually already kind of feel like I'm getting to take an extended period of time off from "real life" to do and see some pretty amazing things.  While there are admittedly more things than I'd like to admit that I can find to complain about living here, about the challenging aspects of being an expat, and about living so far away from home, I do realize how lucky I am to be here and to have this opportunity of living and travelling abroad.  The pros absolutely outweigh the cons, and when I really get to thinking about it, I can't believe how blessed I am to, in a lot of ways, be practically living the life/situation described in the prompt. 

 

So I guess if I could take three months off from our life here, I would continue to do what we've been able to do so much of already this past year.  Travel!  Of course, this would be three work-free, budget-free months of travel :-)  I always have a running list in my head of places I'd love to see in the world... Egypt, South America, Greece, visit all seven continents, and on and on.  But lately, I've been thinking a lot about how much more there still is to see and do right here in Australia.  As much as I hate to admit it, the truth is that once David and I leave here, the chances of us returning to Australia are pretty slim.  Because of that, I really want to make the most of our time here and experience as much of Oz as we can!  So without further ado, here is my always growing "Australia Bucket List."

 

~The Whitsunday Islands~

...Whitehaven Beach, Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach, Hayman Island, Daydream Island...

http://pinterest.com/pin/567735096746706885/

~Humpback Whale Watching - Hervey Bay~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/36451078204697314/

 

~Cairns~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/182888434837616273/

  

~Swimming With Whale Sharks~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/5277724536937863/

 

~Take A Surfing Lesson~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/104779128803498092/

 

~Great Keppel Island~

...Sailboat from Yeppoon...

http://pinterest.com/pin/36451078206644448/

 

 ~Port Douglas and the Daintree Rainforest~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/420171840204940342/

 

~Tasmania~



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~Uluru and Ayer's Rock~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/74872412528357737/ 

 

~Blue Mountains~

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/169799848420970312/

 

 

Tondoon Botanic Gardens {Gladstone}

One thing that really impresses me about Australia is that nearly every town and city has a huge number of parks and/or botanical gardens (here they say botanic gardens), and in my experience so far, these parks and gardens are always extremely well-kept.  For a small town, Gladstone actually has a pretty impressive botanic garden.  So when my parents were in town, I wanted to make sure they got a chance to visit Tondoon Botanic Garden.  The gardens do a really great job of showing the types of plants and trees that grow in all of the different regions of the country.  Since it is so dry and dominated by mostly browns/yellows/light greens here, I wanted to show my parents what the greener regions of Australia look like. 

 

 

 

I love these trees in the two photos below.  They're everywhere in Australia, but I'm not sure what they are called.  The roots that grow down from the branches are so neat.

 

 

 
The next two photos are from the "eucalyptus forest" in the garden.  I love these trees.. .they're so typically Australian!  The day we were here was quite windy, and the sound the wind was making blowing through the eucalyptus leaves was so beautiful.  If only there would have been a koala up there :-)
 

 

 

 

My One Year "Aussie-versary"

It has officially been one year since I moved to Australia... one year since I changed countries, continents, hemispheres, and multiple time zones.  I cannot believe my one year "anniversary" of living in Oz land is here.  It seems like yesterday and a million years ago at the same time...

Welcome gift from David: Australian wine, flowers, chocolates, and keys to our new car!

...I remember so clearly how I felt leaving Houston and saying goodbye to our home, which I wrote about here. 
...I even remember the taxi driver who picked me up and the conversation we had on the way to the airport.  I was fighting back tears most of the ride there, so I told him I was just going to visit a friend, as to avoid having to talk about the big step I was about to make.  I'm sure he was curious about my ridiculous amount of luggage though. 
...I remember very specifically when the pilot made the announcement that the plane doors were closed and we were ready for take off.  No turning back now.  Not that I ever would have. 
...I remember (luckily) very little of the actual 16 hour flight.
...I remember touching down in Gladstone- what would become my new home.
...And most importantly, I remember spotting my husband (who I hadn't seen in over two months) in the airport waiting to pick me up.  Up to that point, I had been very nervous and uneasy about this enormous change (I've always hated change- have I ever mentioned that?).  However, when I saw him and finally got to hug him again, I immediately felt at ease.  We were in this new place together.  And from that moment on, it was a very "us against the world/Australia" mentality. 

All of these memories that I remember so vividly, really make it seem impossible that one whole year has passed.  However, when I think about all that has happened in this one year, it really makes my move seem like it might as well have been a million years ago.  In one year SO much has happened...

...We have traveled to: Brisbane, Heron Island/ The Great Barrier Reef (twice), Melbourne, New Zealand, Sydney, Perth, and the Margaret River region. 
...We've gotten up close and personal with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, dingoes, spiders the size of your hand, laughing kookaburras., sharks, and sea turtles. 
...We survived a freakish storm during the "rainy season" that resulted in empty grocery store shelves for close to a week. 
...We learned to drive on the wrong side of the road... with minimal slip-ups. 
...We clocked countless hours on Facetime trying our best to keep in touch with friends and family.
...We managed to make the most of Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. away from loved ones. 
...We've seen more sunrises and pulled ourselves through more 4:30 AM wakeups than either of us would ever like to acknowledge. 
...But most importantly, we've managed to make a home here.  We've managed to become a team that I'm really proud of. 

What a difference a year makes, right?  One year ago I never could have imagined all that unfolded this past year.  That alone makes me really excited to see what the next year in Australia holds! 

Year two- go!

Boomerangs, Didgeridoos, and Caves

It doesn't take long to wear out the (incredibly short) list of things to do and places to see here in Gladstone.  Unfortunately, after you accomplish those things, you have to drive about an hour and half up to Rockhampton to access a wider range of sights and tourist activities.  So my parents and I made the drive up to Rocky for the second time during their trip.  This time on our agenda?  Aboriginal Dreamtime Culture Centre and the Capricorn Caves.

The Aboriginal Dreamtime Culture Centre is an indoor/outdoor museum of sorts, that has multiple exhibits focused on aboriginal history and culture in Australia.  It was really quite interesting, and aboriginal history is something I'd really like to learn more about while we're here.  We even got to hear a live didgeridoo demonstration and try out our skills at throwing real boomerangs!

 

 

Dad was a natural, of course

 

This trip to the Capricorn Caves made for my third time on this tour.  However, I really do like these caves, and it's a great place to bring visitors.  Plus, each time I've been on the tour, I've learned lots of new things.  My favorite part of this cave system is the "cathedral."  This is a part of the caves that really does resemble an actual cathedral.  In more recent years, they've even added things like pews, an altar, and steps for a choir to stand.  Because of this, the caves have become a popular destination for weddings AND because of the amazing acoustics, they hold opera and choir performances here as well.  Some people even say that the acoustics in this part of the caves are better than the acoustics in the Sydney Opera House.  Pretty neat!



Some of the massive fig tree roots that extend hundreds of meters into the caves and below the earth



Supposedly a very rare and endangered type of fern

Part of the cave that has a similar form as the continent of Australia

 

 

 

The way out of the caves