Where Did We Move To?

Hi, folks!

The previous post about packing up our first home finished on the ultimate cliff-hanger ...

Where did we move to?

Many people asked for Part Two of the series, so without further ado, let's "spill the beans". We have moved across the other side of the world again, this time to ...

The Land Down Under!

G'Day from Queensland, Australia
Photo taken by Gregory Richardson (drone photography).

Although Australia is my home country, it will take some time to adjust. After living in America for 6 years, the first few weeks back in Australia felt like a foreign country.

Initial musings about moving back to my homeland:

- Everyone has an accent, and it sounds really bogan! During our first week back, we were in a restaurant in Brisbane and I made a quiet comment about the two blokes sitting at the table next to us: “Hey, I think they’re from Australia ...”, forgetting that we were no longer in America. 

- My accent is a hybrid. It sounds really confused! For those new to the blog, I work as a Speech Language Pathologist, and part of my job is to help children articulate their speech sounds correctly. Thus, while living in America, I had been consciously trying to make my “R’s” strong and my vowels long. Now I have to retrain my own articulation skills to sound Aussie again!

- Jacaranda trees are stunning! I’ve never truly appreciated them until now. For my international friends, Jacaranda’s are large trees that bloom gorgeous, purple flowers in October/November; Springtime in the Southern Hemisphere.

Jacaranda Trees
Photo taken by Gregory Richardson.

- Upon starting a new job in Australia, I’m steadily learning about the changes in the healthcare system over the past few years, including the nationwide roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Understanding healthcare systems in two countries can be overwhelming.

- You know how foreigners suppose that Australian animals are out to kill ya? Now I understand their point of view - our spiders are huge! A couple of weeks ago, we visited the local Botanic Gardens and were greeted with a nightmarish mass of entangled webs and spiders the size of an outstretched hand. There are memes made of this stuff!

- Never had I ever been stung by a blue bottle until, you guessed it ... now. Last weekend the little blighter wrapped its tentacle around my ankle and hung on for all it was worth. Ouch!

- Cricket is a strange sport. With field positions like "Silly Mid Off" and "Short Leg", and test matches that last up to 5 days, no wonder why Robin Williams said: "Cricket is basically Baseball on Valium". I took Greg to his first ever live cricket match and he enjoyed tolerated it for 3 hours. We agreed this was a pretty good innings for his first experience. 

Greg's First Cricket Match
Photo taken by random crowd member.

- Aussie sangas (sausages) are amazing! So are plain mince pies with tomato sauce (ketchup). 

- I have complained about Australia’s high income tax rates. Goodbye, pay check!

- It’s easy to find vacant beaches all to yourself with sand that stretches as far as the eye can see.

To our friends and family:  if you’re up Queensland way or fancy taking that bucket list trip to The Land Down Under, feel free to drop in! As Paul Hogan once said, we might even "slip an extra shrimp on the barbie" for ya.

Cheers!


Maree