Where I Come From

Back again for another month-long blogging challenge with Jenni at Story of My Life!  I participated with her last challenge, "Blog Every Day In May," and I really enjoyed it!  So I'm looking forward to this month's challenge!   

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Gosh, this prompt could go so many different directions.  In quick summary style, I'll take a stab at answering each item...
...Where I came from: I'm a desert rate for sure- born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.
...What I came from: A loving, hard-working family.
...The people I came from: My amazing parents, an older sister, and a younger brother.  Plus a slew of extended family spread across the U.S.
...The places that have influenced me: Phoenix, AZ; Spokane, WA; Granada, Spain; Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; and now Gladstone, Australia.
...The factors that make me, me: I'm a middle child, a former ballet dancer (15+ years), a special education teacher, a (very rusty) Spanish-speaker, a travel-lover, and an expat.

I could write for days about any of the items in this prompt.  However, I thought I'd focus on the places that I've come from and that have influenced me. 

I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.  I lived in the same home for the first 18 years of my life.  Phoenix will always be "home" for me.  My 18 years here made me a true desert rat who loves warm weather and would bet big money that no sunsets are prettier than Phoenix sunsets.  Phoenix is also where my husband and I were married almost three years ago. 

Can't beat a gorgeous desert landscape!

I moved away for the first time when I began college.  At the age of 18, Spokane, WA became my home, and I became a proud Gonzaga bulldog!  I made some of my best friends and best memories here. 

During my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Granada, Spain.  This was my first experience living abroad, and it was such an incredible experience.  It is here is where I probably got the travel bug that I still get bitten by even today :-) 

Can't believe I lived in a place where La Alhambra was practically in my backyard

After graduating college, I moved to Los Angeles, California where I became a Special Education teacher with Teach for America.  Living in Los Angeles made a lover of many things including: a good beach, big city life, and teaching in high-need communities.

L.A. skyline (on a shockingly clear day)

The view from the street I lived on.  Gosh, I miss it! 

I tore myself away from my beloved beach home in order to follow my heart to Houston, Texas.  After nearly a year and a half of long-distance, it was time for my now-husband and I to live in the same place- so Houston it was!  I was skeptical at first, but now I am a huge fan of Houston... and I miss it dearly. 

Our first home!

And now here I am in the little town of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.  It's been one year now (you can read about my Aussie-versary here).  We will most likely be here for a while still... but I know that whenever we leave here, I will realize how formative my time here has been.  Just like each of the other places I've lived thus far have really and truly made me who I am.   

Tannum Sands- Our local beach

David and I on the Great Barrier Reef - a true Australian experience!

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

 

8K Pride

This past weekend, I ran in Gladstone's own "Botanic to Bridge" 8K race. 

I should emphasize that I am not, by any means, a runner.  Some people enjoy running- saying that they love the "runner's high" and that it clears their minds.  I am not one of those people.  I've never experienced this so-called "runner's-high," and you better believe that my head is not clear when I run.  In fact, it's pretty much just the opposite- I am hyper aware the entire time I am running that I am indeed running, that it hurts, and basically reasoning with myself the entire time not to stop.  However, all that aside, I know what a great workout running is, so I'd been trying to run just once a week over the past few months and ever so gradually increasing my mileage. 

I've known about this race for several months and had the idea in the back of my head that it really would be fun to participate.  There isn't really much in the way of community events like this in Gladstone, so I really thought it would be a good experience.  However, as much as I hate to admit it, I didn't sign up until the last minute or even mention it to anyone, basically because I wanted a way out.  Isn't that terrible? 

At any rate, I signed up exactly one week before the race, and off I went on Sunday morning.  I was pretty nervous, as the furthest I had ever run was 4 miles... once... ever.  And the 8K race is approximately 5 miles.  I had just two goals for the race:
1.) No walking
2.) Finish under one hour

Sunday morning I met up with my friend, Jackie, and her husband.  It was fun to have someone to participate with even though we all ran separately at our own paces. 

How cruel is it to start a race with a giant hill?!

Jackie and I: BEFORE

 

 

Sea of blue

Aside from the giant hill to start off the race, and a couple other pretty steep hills, the race went surprisingly well!  I met my two goals (!), and I was so proud of that!  And of course, I'm really glad I decided to run the race.  It's crazy to think that I ran the farthest I had ever run before! 

Not that I was counting down or anything...

Pounding pavement

8K Finisher!

Jackie and I: AFTER - We did it!

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!

 

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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.