Meeting Jenna {Snail Mail Collective}

Last month ago, I signed up for a blogger exchange called "The Snail Mail Collective."  This exchange was created by two great expat bloggers- Melyssa at The Nectar Collective and Chelsea over at Lost In Travels.  You can read more specifics about the exchange here.  But, the basics of the exchange are: you are paired with another participating blogger from a different part of the world, you spend a few weeks getting to know each other through emails and getting to know that person's blog, and then at the end of it, you exchange a $5 or under gift from your country that centers around the specified theme for that month. 

I was paired with Jenna from Hayya Bina (which is Arabic for "Let's Go!").  And I am SO glad that we were paired together and had the chance to get to know one another.  I really feel like I was able to learn a lot about her life and expat experience, and I'm happy to say that I really feel like I have a great new blogger friend :-)  Let me tell you a little bit about her! 

Jenna and her husband are from the US, but they moved to the United Arab Emirates about a year ago to work as teachers.  Right off the bat, I was so excited that I was paired with a fellow teacher.  Not to mention, that the UAE is a part of the world that has always intrigued me.  I loved learning more about the Emirati culture, people, and other aspects of Jenna's experiences there.  Take a look for yourself at some of my favorite posts of hers:

-I always love stalking other people's weddings, so I loved this little bit of wedding reminiscing on Jenna and her husband's third anniversary.  http://jennainabudhabi.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/three-wonderful-years/

-I found myself nodding my head in agreement during much of this post.  Jenna shares some great reflections on a favorite expat topic: the ever-elusive and changing concept of "home."
http://jennainabudhabi.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/going-home-and-leaving-home/

-While sometimes I feel like Australians do speak another language, I totally admire Jenna's experience with living in a non-English speaking country.  I'm super impressed by her efforts to learn as much Arabic as she can!  You can see a few funny language "mishaps" here:
http://jennainabudhabi.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/language-laughs/

-Jenna and her husband got to visit NEPAL!  So jealous!  Totally adding Nepal to my travel bucket list now.  Check out some of her awesome photos from their trip:
http://jennainabudhabi.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/kathmandu-my-final-post-on-nepal/

The final part of the Snail Mail Collective was to exchange small gifts from our respective countries.  Now, unfortunately, Jenna's package was a victim of how seriously SLOW the Australia Post can sometimes be.  Jenna sent her package on July 22, and I received it on August 16.  At the rate it takes mail (especially packages) to arrive sometimes, if I didn't know better I would really think that koalas were responsible for delivering mail.  No matter though, her package arrived and I was so excited when I opened it to find the sweetest letter from Jenna and the most beautiful scarf all the way from the UAE!

Jenna explained in her letter that the scarf is called a "shayla" and that it is something that women wear in the UAE to cover their hair and sometimes their face as well.  I loved that Jenna chose a black shayla to send since she mentioned that this particular color of shayla really identifies the gulf region. 

 


Love the details along the border!

I can't wait to continue to follow along with Jenna's adventures in the UAE, and I'm looking forward to wearing my beautiful shayla :-) 

*You can read about my snail mail gift to Jenna here!

Expat to Expat Q & A {August Questions}

Linking up with Belinda and Bailie for this month's Expat to Expat Q & A!

1. What is your favorite food store in your city and why?
Well, to be quite honest, there aren't a whole lot of options.  However, I am pretty loyal to one food/grocery store here in Australia, and that is Woolworth's.  And since it's Australia and everything here is required to be abbreviated, I meant to say "Woolie's."  When I first moved, I was actually kind of nervous about what grocery shopping in another country would be like.  The first couple times, were a little overwhelming and did take like 2 hours, but I've since found that this store does for the most part have most things I need.  Don't get me started on Mexican food ingredients though...

Looks mostly the same as grocery stores in the US...

Except, I'm still getting used to seeing items like this:

 

2. For your answer to number 1 is it ok to buy the store brand items or do you pay extra for a name brand?

I've never been finicky about brand name versus generic.  I pretty much always just buy what is cheaper... and sometimes that is surprisingly the brand name.   

 

3. What do you think is the best way to get about your city? i.e. bus, bike, car, etc.
 

For being a small town, you would think getting around by foot or bike would be a good option here.  Unfortunately, this isn't the case.  Although it is a small town, things are pretty spread out, making a car absolutely necessary.  A bike could be useful in some instances, however, from about September through November, bike riding can be somewhat of a dangerous adventure.  You see, during that time of year, a native bird here- the magpie- is in the middle of its mating and nesting season.  These birds are extremely territorial during that time, and are known to literally stalk and even sometimes become aggressive to people on bikes or those walking/running.  It sounds made up, but it's true!  People brave enough to ride bikes during this time don't do so without ridiculous-looking zip ties poking out of their helmets as a magpie deterrent.  This is no joke, people!

 

via

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 4.. Which store do you turn to for basics like toilet paper or cleaning supplies?

 There's not really anything similar to Target or Walmart here, which is where I bought those items in the States.  Here, I usually buy basics like TP or cleaning supplies at the grocery store, or sometimes even the pharmacy (which they actually call "the chemist" here).   

 

5. Where do you think is the best place in your city to get a cup of coffee (or beverage you prefer) and catch up with friends?
 

Since Australia has a lot of British influence, morning and afternoon tea/coffee are a pretty big part of daily life here.  So for a small town, there are a surprising number of coffee shops to choose from.  I myself don't like coffee, but I've become quite a chai tea latte aficionado since being here.  My favorite coffee place is probably "The Hungry Cow."  I love this place because it has tons of outdoor seating, and their chai lattes are great.  They also have a really great lunch and dinner menu as well. 

David sitting on one of the many cow seats you can actually sit on at the Hungry Cow

 

Plus these questions from Emma, at Adventures of a London Kiwi:

• What was your “eureka, I’m practically a native” moment?

Truthfully, I don't think I've actually had one of these "eureka" moments yet, in fact, someone jokingly called me "fresh off the boat" just the other day.  I do still feel like a fish out of water most of the time.  Although when I do meet someone from the US who has just moved here, then I do feel pretty "native" in some ways. 

• Does your real accent get in the way?

Yes! I notice this mostly at work.  Although, it's not so much the "accent" that gets in the way, but more the difference in American English vs. Australian English.  There are SO many words and phrases that differ in these supposed "same" languages.  I can't tell you how many "stupid moments" I've had at work when someone asks me something or asks me to do something for them and I have no idea what they're talking about.  Same goes for when I'm communicating with students.  If I tell them to throw something away, go to the restroom, use an eraser, write the letter z or h, or share markers- I get blank stares.  I'm still learning to instead say: put your rubbish in the bin, go to the toilet, use a rubber, write the letter "haych" or "zed," share your textas. 

Big Skies

Recently, I've noticed how extremely beautiful the skies here in Australia can be.  And now, I'm a little obsessed with trying to capture it with photos.  I don't know what it is, but I feel like in other places I've lived, I've never really noticed the sky like I seem to be noticing (and appreciating!) it here lately.  Maybe it's just that this is the smallest town I've even lived in, so the skies are definitely a lot clearer and less smoggy (although smog/sand in the sky does actually make for some incredible sunsets).  Not really sure what it is, but I just now seem to be a lot more aware of the beautiful sunrises, sunsets, blue skies, and amazing clouds. 

Looking at the skies also seems to make me get all reflective.  At times, it makes me feel so tiny and so truly far away from my home and my loved ones.  But other times, it can be comforting when I think about how it really is the same big sky.  It's fun to watch the sunset here and think about that same sun rising (and beginning the very day that I just ended) just a couple hours later in the US.  It's fun to live in the"future." :-)
*All photos un-edited and taken with my i-Phone.

This is actually a sunrise. I was particularly grumpy one morning, until I opened the shade above our bed and saw this.  I guess being up early enough to watch the sunrise isn't that bad.

 

Loved the two lines of wispy clouds this day.

 

Can't get over how BLUE the skies always are!

 

This is my favorite! 

 

This is the same sky as the photo above, just a couple hours later.

 

A particularly fiery sunset.  I loved that I could see the moon above Mt. Larcom at the same time. 

Expat to Expat Q & A - Travel

I guess after blogging everyday (minus two) in May, I needed a half month off!  So much for the blogging momentum I thought I had built :-)  Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things now by joining the "Expat to Expat Q&A" linkup.  This month's topic is about travel.   

1. Which airport would you like to never see again?
I haven't really had a terrible airport experience (knock on wood), but I can think of a train station I would never like to see again- the Venice train station!  While studying abroad in Spain during college, I traveled to Italy with a group of girls from my program.  We planned to stop through Venice for one day and night on our way to Florence.  Well, our plane to Venice was extremely late... so much so that we had lost the entire day to explore Venice, and the hostel we had made a booking at was already closed by the time we got there.  We didn't know what else to do until our train left the next morning, so we ended up having to spend the night in the Venice train station.  It was sketchy as hell- to put it lightly.  Not to mention that it was fuh-reezing cold.  Needless to stay, not one of us slept a wink. 

These smiles didn't last long.

2. What is your travel nightmare?
I'm always paranoid about forgetting my passport.  I check about a million times before leaving to make sure that I have it.  Also, I don't really mind getting stuck in an airport, BUT my idea of a nightmare is getting in one of those situations where you're stuck on the plane on the tarmac for hours on end.  I hope I never find myself in that situation!

3. Would your rather stay in a fancy hotel and do less activities or stay in a hostel and do more activities?
Somewhere in between.  I definitely prioritize activities/sights/events while traveling, but as I get older (and further away from my student traveling days), I am a little more particular about where we stay.  It's hard to really enjoy and get the most out of a place when you are uncomfortable and not well-rested. 

4. Do you have any pre-travel rituals?
I always have to have a magazine to read during flight- preferably of the gossip magazine genre.  I also almost always have to have a diet soda for the flight... even though I know I should drink water. 

5. What is your favorite airline to fly with?
In the U.S., I love love LOVE flying Southwest.  You can't beat their prices, and the employees and crew members are always so friendly (and sometimes even entertaining while on board).  In Australia, I love to fly Qantas.  They're a little more on the pricey side, but unfortunately there aren't really many other options... especially when flying in/out of our town's little airport.  I love that they serve free booze even in economy, and they have great in-flight entertainment options on the longer flights. 

6. If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
For some reason, ever since I can remember, I have always dreamed about going to Bora Bora.  Or anywhere where I can stay in a hut over water, really.  I'd also really love to go to Greece someday. 

7.  How do survive long haul flights?
Tylenol PM.  Seriously.  There is no way I could have survived my 16 hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane, AUS without it. 

8. What is your favorite stamp in your passport and why?
Well, my Spanish Visa was my favorite for a long time.  It was this really fancy, and actually quite pretty, sticker that got its very own page in my old passport.  Now that I have a new passport, my favorite stamp is the one I got when I first arrived in Australia.  I remember that feeling very momentous and exciting!

Closing the Door One Last Time

Day 31, Friday: A vivid memory

First of all- wahoo!  The last day of the challenge!  I am pretty proud of myself for sticking with it for an entire month.  Sure, I missed two days, but I still consider my run with this challenge pretty darn successful.  While this was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be when I first began, it was also more enjoyable than I thought it would be.  As a fairly new blogger, I think this was a good exercise for me to get into more of a writing/blogging groove here.  I will definitely need a bit of a break, but in general, I think I've gained a lot of momentum and motivation to keep on with this little blog baby of mine. 

Now... for a vivid memory...

When I first began thinking about my response, I immediately shuffled through childhood memories.  But since I kind of already did that here, I thought I would do a more recent memory.  Does it count if this memory is even less than a year old?  The moment that I'm thinking of is something that is still very fresh in my memory, but it is a something that I always want to remember.  In fact, during the time this event was actually happening, I remember thinking how important this time and this memory would be.  The memory I'm referring to is the memory of my last day in Houston before my big move to Australia. 

It was August 29, 2012.  David had already made the move to Australia mid-July.  We had decided that I would stay behind for a while to take care of some things with selling our house and cars and also to have some time to visit my family and friends before the move.  My amazing mom had been in town since August 25 helping me manage packing the house, packing my bags, dealing with movers, helping keep me sane, and just being the best company I could ask for during this very stressful and emotional time.  However, my mom had left the day before (at my request).  For some reason, I felt like I would be a lot sadder to have my mom there on the day that I was actually leaving.  So I spent my last night alone in a hotel, since our house had been packed the day before and was now completely empty. 

It was a strange feeling to wake up that morning knowing how momentous (at least in my mind) the day ahead would be.  At that point, part of me was just ready to stop thinking about moving to the other side of the world and just go already and be done with the anticipation and nerves.  I was also more than ready to be reunited with my husband and begin this next chapter of our lives.  But the other part of me, of course, was scared, sad, nervous, and sentimental.  For some reason, I thought my time that morning would be well spent getting a manicure and a pedicure, but after I did that I really was beginning the countdown of my last few hours in Houston. 

I returned the rental car, since Hans, my VW Passat had been sold a few weeks prior. 

I rode in silence as the rental company representative drove me back to our house where I had left my luggage earlier that morning. 

I opened the little black gate to our front yard. 

I walked through the front door of our very first home for the very last time.

And that's where I sat for the next 2 hours.

My view from my seat on the floor. 

I probably could have made this whole "last day experience" a lot less emotional for myself by avoiding this whole part, but for some reason I made myself do this. 

I walked slowly through our home, stopping in each room to take a few last photos and to think about all the memories made in each space during our short 1.5 years there. 

I finally settled onto the floor (every last piece of furniture was gone), sitting in the sun in the bay window at the front of our house. 

Alone.  With just my thoughts. 

This was the time I was referring to before.  The time when I thought to myself that this would probably be one of those moments that would always be a really important memory for me.

Time passed quickly and before I knew it, my taxi was honking from outside, waiting to take me to the airport. 

I quickly lugged my bags outside the door, waved to the taxi driver, and signaled to him that I would be just a moment more. 

I turned and went back in the house... one... last... time. 

I could feel my eyes starting to burn with tears, so I said a little goodbye, took a deep breath, stepped outside, then finally shut and locked the door one last time. 

I was supposed to have the taxi driver stop by my aunt's house to drop the key in her mailbox so she could give it to our realtor.  But I changed my mind and had him just head straight to the airport.  By that point, I was just done with goodbyes.  And aside from that, I had decided that I wanted to keep that key as a memory of that moment and of our first home. 

I took one last look back at the house, then turned around as I could physically feel a very distinct time of my life ending and another new, scary, but exciting part of my life beginning. 

I don't think I've ever had a moment so symbolic of the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Catch up with my "Blog Every Day in May" challenge here:
Day 1

Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (Oops! :-/ I did blog on day 5, just not following the prompt...)
Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20 (I broke my streak- I missed this day...)

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27 (So mad that I missed another one... and SO close to the end)

Day 28

Day 29

Day 30

Lonesome

Day 16, Thursday: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it

Another tough question to answer.  I honestly feel like I am in a pretty good place in life right now, and I know how very fortunate I am.  I can think of a few things that are sometimes difficult about my "lot in life," but when I compare these things to some of the things other people deal with on a daily basis, they seem trivial and hardly worth mentioning.  So I almost feel like I can't/shouldn't even write on this topic without risking it sounding trivial or superficial.  But, for the sake of my goal of completing this "Blog Every Day in May" challenge, I must :-)  So, that being said, here is something that is "difficult about my lot in life" right now- with complete knowledge of how lucky I am that when it comes down to it, this is truly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. 

Feeling Lonely - I don't feel this way all the time, but lately Australia has been feeling a bit more lonely that usual.  I think it partly has to do with the fact that one of my best friends just visited recently (how dare she leave!), and also the fact that one of the girl's I've become good friends with here has just found out that she will be moving back to the US at the end of June.  I realized pretty soon after graduating college, that it is hard to make friends as an adult post-college.  And that's usually been somewhat bearable for me, because I am obsessed with the amazing friends that I already do have.  Even when I lived in the US, most of my closest friends lived in other states, but I loved having an excuse to travel somewhere to visit them.  However, now that dealing with this "lot" is not as easy, the issue seems to be magnified.  I miss my friends.  Not only do I miss my friends, I kind of just miss having friends here period.  I have found it pretty difficult to meet people here.  Don't get me wrong, I've met a ton of people here, and I have plenty of aquaintances, but not many that I've really connected with on a deeper level beyond that.  Most of the time, this hardly bothers me at all, but sometimes this bothers me a lot. 

What am I doing to overcome this?  I love that today's prompt included this follow-up question, because it forces me to remember that with most problems it's important to remember that you can in fact do something to better a situation.  And if I'm completely honest, I have to admit that I'm not being as proactive about this as I could be.  Something I really do try to work at is: making an effort to maintain the amazing friendships that I do have and taking the time to stay in touch through phone calls, emails, text messages, mail, etc.  However, I know that I need to put more effort into doing something to improve the "friend situation" here.  Some of the opportunities I have to do this (organized coffee dates, monthly welcome meetings, etc.) are somewhat limited now that I'm working again and these events are unfortunately always during the day on weekdays.  But I can't let that be an excuse to not do anything at all.  I guess what this post has made me realize is that I'm not doing enough to overcome this supposed "lot."  I need to make a more concerted effort to find some opportunities to meet new people and make connections. 

Mah girls

  Catch up with my "Blog Every Day in May" challenge here:

Day 1

Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (Oops! :-/ I did blog on day 5, just not following the prompt...)
Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14

Day 15

A Day In the Life

Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life (include photos from throughout your typical day - this could be "a photo an hour" if you'd like)

I've seen plenty of these "day in the life" posts, and I've always liked the concept.  I love that they capture simple moments in an ordinary day.  So, I was excited to see this prompt for today's post.  However, I didn't realize how difficult this would be.  I kept forgetting to take pictures, and I had no idea how long it would actually take to put together this post.  Also, I almost feel a little embarrassed at how uneventful this day seems.  But, nonetheless, I am glad I finally had a good reason to complete my own "a day in the life" post.  I'm sure it will be fun to look back on in the future!  Here goes...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

4:40 AM: The dreaded sounding of the alarm.  My husband's alarm went off at 4:25 though, so I'm kind of already awake. 

 

4:54 AM: I don't remember pressing snooze, but apparently I did.  Now I literally have to sprint to get out of bed and throw on clothes since we have to be out the door by 5:05 AM. 

 

5:05 AM: Out the door to take David to work.  Luckily, the drop off spot has recently been changed and it's only a 5 minute drive (it was previously 10-15 minutes).  I get the easy part of this commute.  Poor hubby gets his car ride with me, then rides this bus for 20 minutes to the ferry, 30 minute ferry ride to the island, and then one more bus ride to the office.  Gross. 



 

5:15-6:00 AM: During this time, I am usually SO tempted to get back in bed (and sometimes I do).  However, I've been trying to force myself to stay up after dropping David off so I can work out before getting ready for work. Today I was successful!  To let myself completely wake up, I usually turn on the morning news, and check my email/read blogs for a while. 

6:00 AM: Workout - For the past couple years, I've turned into quite the home workout addict. I've used various workout DVDs/programs, but right now I'm working through the Brazil Butt Lift DVDs.  Not my favorite, but it gets the job done. 

7:20-8:10 AM: Shower, make bed, etc. to get ready for work.

8:10 AM: Out the door by 8:10 at the latest or I'll be late to work.  I took the photo of what is considered "traffic" in this small town.  This was a line of about 10-12 cars MAX waiting to get through a roundabout.  I waited no longer than 3 minutes.  Having lived in and survived the traffic of both Los Angeles and Houston, this is laughable to me. 

8:30 AM: Start my work day.  I work at a school for students with special needs, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days working with the students in the very high needs class.  Most of the students are wheelchair-bound and non-verbal.  While at first intimidated, I now LOVE working with this group.  My day here involves lots of sensory play, intensive interaction, lots of lifting/transferring (sometimes it feels like a second workout for the day), feeding, toileting, etc.  I wish I could include more photos of this part of my day, but unfortunately (for obvious reasons) I can't.  Here are a few peeks though...


Confession: I cheated, this schedule was actually from the day before, but today was very similar

 

 


Lunch time for the kiddos!

Lunch/recess duty for me. Bleh!

1:30 PM: Today was just a half day of work.  I had plans to run some errands before heading home, but I get a text message from a friend right as I'm leaving work asking if I can give her a ride to pick up her car from being serviced. 

3:00 PM (ish): Home.  I didn't get to eat all of my lunch at work (it was a crazy day), so I sit down to finish my lunch while catching up on Dancing With the Stars. 

3:30 PM: Feeling exhausted from work today.  Unfortunately, today was one of the toughest days I've had there since I started.  One of the kiddos was having some really severe medical issues (seizures) off and on for nearly two hours.  And of course, it was a day we were down a teacher aide- so it was pretty chaotic.  And draining.  Usually around this time I try and get some cleaning or errands done, but today I'm beat.  I veg out on the couch finishing DWTS and begin drafting this post.  Days like this can really take a toll, so I definitely needed this break.   

 

4:00 PM: Get side-tracked by a video that a friend sends me of this cutie singing Bruno Mars on the Ellen Show and then end up watching way too many Ellen clips (ADD much?).  You must watch this adorable video.  I dare you not to smile/laugh/cry.

 



4:30 PM: Time to start getting dinner ready.  On the menu tonight: Ginger Sesame Chicken with Broccoli. 

 



5:45 PM: Leave to pick up David from work.  Dark when I drop him off, dark when I pick him up.  No daylight hours together.  Boo :-(



 

6:15 PM: Dinner and catching up on our days.  Followed by throwing our lunches together for the next day. 

 

7:00 PM: Usually around this time, David is exhausted and wants to just veg out in front of the TV.  We usually watch Friends and The Big Bang Theory (two of the few American shows they play here).  Watching the Big Bang Theory with my husband could have been #11 on yesterday's, "What Makes Me Happy" post.  This show cracks him up, and I love when I look over and catch him looking ridiculously happy, like this:

 

9:00 PM on: Between being "old and boring" and our early mornings, this is kind of the beginning of the end of the night for us.  Getting stuff ready for work the next day, getting ready for bed, etc.  Every once in a while, David has to do more work at home in the evenings.  Thankfully, tonight was not one of those nights. 

 

10:00-10:30 PM: Good night!  

 

Catch up with my "Blog Every Day in May" challenge here:

Day 1

Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (Oops! :-/ I did blog on day 5, just not following the prompt...)
Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14