Well we’ve been here for one month and 10 days. So far so good. Although it has been a transition – and we’ve had our moments where we miss our friends and family terribly…we are enjoying our life here in Melbourne. I finally uploaded some pictures from when we first arrived – tons of luggage in tow and greasy from our LONG flight. Now we are thankfully TANNER and cleaner than we were on January 6th! We still don’t have any of our stuff and have become pretty accustomed to the Zen / Minimalist lifestyle. To give you a basic overview – our furniture consists of a $50 table and chair dining set from IKEA, 2 cushioned indoor/outdoor chairs (also from IKEA), and an air mattress. I am not joking. Actually one of our favorite things to do is pull the air mattress into the living room and watch movies. If I was being totally honest, I would also admit that we usually leave it there for several days at a time. I’m sure our neighbors think we are total rednecks.
In addition to our lack of furniture, we have also been wearing the same clothes over and over for approximately 2 ½ months now. With that being said – I CAN NOT WAIT for all of our stuff to arrive. We just received confirmation that it should be here on March 2nd. I am convinced that they were transporting our container via paddleboat considering how long it took.
Overall, the past several weeks have been an exciting and humbling experience at the same time. Our weekends are now lower key with out all of our friends around to fill our social calendars. Instead of catching up with friends on our way to and from work – we keep Skype loaded at all times and check our email non-stop. Although we’ve already had some amazing experiences in the short time that we’ve been here – we still jump at the chance to embrace something that seems familiar. For example…Over the weekend, I had a huge craving for a fountain Diet Coke. Typically you can only get DC in a can or plastic bottle. John Paul and I had been on an all day car shopping excursion when….over the horizon….I saw the Golden Arches. You would have thought I had won a year subscription of US Weekly. Once we arrived at the McDonalds, it seemed silly to just get a fountain drink – why not get a value meal? I buried away the memory of my “Eat This, Not That” book as we ate double cheeseburgers, fries, and a hot fudge sundae (for me). As weird as it sounds, it was SO NICE to eat something that tastes exactly the same as how you remembered it.
So, aside from lusting over fast food – I have recognized that this is an experience that will change us forever (hopefully for the better). Coming to Australia has made me realize how big the world is and how little I’ve seen. I’ve learned that there IS a language barrier when it comes to the English language. Each day that I am here, I appreciate the beautiful place that I live and have a growing respect for other cultures I am exposed to….but at the end of each day, I am also very proud to be an American!
In addition to our lack of furniture, we have also been wearing the same clothes over and over for approximately 2 ½ months now. With that being said – I CAN NOT WAIT for all of our stuff to arrive. We just received confirmation that it should be here on March 2nd. I am convinced that they were transporting our container via paddleboat considering how long it took.
Overall, the past several weeks have been an exciting and humbling experience at the same time. Our weekends are now lower key with out all of our friends around to fill our social calendars. Instead of catching up with friends on our way to and from work – we keep Skype loaded at all times and check our email non-stop. Although we’ve already had some amazing experiences in the short time that we’ve been here – we still jump at the chance to embrace something that seems familiar. For example…Over the weekend, I had a huge craving for a fountain Diet Coke. Typically you can only get DC in a can or plastic bottle. John Paul and I had been on an all day car shopping excursion when….over the horizon….I saw the Golden Arches. You would have thought I had won a year subscription of US Weekly. Once we arrived at the McDonalds, it seemed silly to just get a fountain drink – why not get a value meal? I buried away the memory of my “Eat This, Not That” book as we ate double cheeseburgers, fries, and a hot fudge sundae (for me). As weird as it sounds, it was SO NICE to eat something that tastes exactly the same as how you remembered it.
So, aside from lusting over fast food – I have recognized that this is an experience that will change us forever (hopefully for the better). Coming to Australia has made me realize how big the world is and how little I’ve seen. I’ve learned that there IS a language barrier when it comes to the English language. Each day that I am here, I appreciate the beautiful place that I live and have a growing respect for other cultures I am exposed to….but at the end of each day, I am also very proud to be an American!
No comments:
Post a Comment