We’re leaving on a jet plane… don’t know when we’ll be back again. That’s right… we’re departing our beloved Sydney for a move back to the US. It all happened way too fast and a lot sooner than we thought but that’s life for you. In a way, it's sort of sad yet good at the same time.
We love Sydney, we love Australia, and we will surely miss all of it dearly. The quality of life is amazing, the lifestyle is superb and really, in some aspects, life in the US just can’t compete with what Australia has going for it. Yes, Australia has its draw backs and it isn’t quite up on the latest technologies and all the modern conveniences, but in a way some of that is part of the charm. Sydney has just so much green space for being a major urban city and we have found that living in Australia, there's plenty of time to enjoy the little things and always time to travel. Life is just more relaxed and carefree and I love having four weeks of annual leave from work! I call it the no worries mentality, if you will.
Moving back to the US, Paul and I have sworn that we will not get back in to the same rat race we were in before moving overseas. We’re all about adjusting our lives to be fairly on par with how we have lived in Sydney. We pledge to use ALL of our leave time from work, try to live relatively stress-free, be more active and involved, enjoy our days and weekends, explore our surroundings, and really travel our own country. Not that we didn’t do those things before, it's just that we now have a different perspective about everything. I know there are places in the US that are similar to Australia and the US has its own beauty and a lot to offer... we just have to seek it out. It’s pretty obvious that LA isn’t going to cut it.
So yes, we’ll get back in to the American way of life, but we hope to live it up with a bit of an Aussie flare. We look forward to what's in store for us back in the US and of course we're thrilled to be reunited with our families and friends. Hopefully we'll at least return to Australia for a few trips here and there so stay tuned for more. I'll write a few more posts about our upcoming adventures. xx
Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Home
I am happy to report that I am back in Sydney and happily reunited with the hubs. We're a good team and so it's nice to be back in action together.
It's weird, whenever I'm gearing up to leave the US, I get this achy homesick feeling before I even leave US soil. I think to myself, "I love the US and Australia is this horrible, far away place with nothing going for it. Why am I leaving?" Then, the tide changes and once I land in Sydney I'm absolutely in love with OZ all over again and start thinking, "Who would want to live in the US when you can live in Sydney! This place is amazing." Why the flip flop? I don't know, could it be because our trips to the US aren't very often so leaving is always hard especially when you don't know when you'll return? Maybe it's just a case of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, (or in my case, ...other side of the world!) or, maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me? My guess... I'm torn between our two "homes." Although the US will always be our main home, we've made a life and a home together in Sydney and so it's true what they say, "home is where the heart is," and I guess for me, my heart is in two places at once.
As expected, leaving the US was unfortunately terribly hard. You would think after going back and forth for three years, now, that saying goodbye would get easier, but it doesn't. It just doesn't. It didn't help that Dad was doing poorly so that made leaving even that much harder and stressful. If I could have changed all my flights without paying heaps of money, I would have and now with Dad back in the hospital today... I wish I had. I feel so bad for my mom having to go it alone. It's been extremely tough lately and she is so strong and brave for dealing with everything that has happened, but one person can only deal with so much before needing a shoulder to cry on, a loving embrace or just knowing that there's someone else there to help. I know she could do with having immediate support and love around her to get through all of this... and I wish that person was me and that I wasn't half way around the world. It's really difficult to have a sick family member when you're so far away- you feel so helpless and a bit guilty for not being there to help. So, anyone reading this, please say a little prayer for my family or keep us in your thoughts.
On top of leaving at such a crappy time, my flight back to Sydney was a disaster. After a whirlwind of emotions and trying to stay strong while I said goodbye to the family, I soon ran out of time. My mom was no longer able to take me to the airport and I quickly scrambled to hire a car and drove myself an hour and a half to the airport. I ended up missing my first of three flights. Luckily there was another flight an hour later and I made it to Oakland on standby where I ran as fast as I could through two different terminals to catch my connecting flight to Hawaii. Finally, I arrived safely in Honolulu, however, I cannot say the same for my luggage. Turns out, it was still in Oakland and it wouldn't be able to make it to Hawaii in time for me to catch my morning flight to Sydney. So, sans luggage, I boarded my flight to Sydney, after having a 6 hour layover, and finally made it home. Now I have the pleasure of trying to get my luggage to Sydney when the airline who initially lost it only flies domestically in the US... fun times.
It's weird, whenever I'm gearing up to leave the US, I get this achy homesick feeling before I even leave US soil. I think to myself, "I love the US and Australia is this horrible, far away place with nothing going for it. Why am I leaving?" Then, the tide changes and once I land in Sydney I'm absolutely in love with OZ all over again and start thinking, "Who would want to live in the US when you can live in Sydney! This place is amazing." Why the flip flop? I don't know, could it be because our trips to the US aren't very often so leaving is always hard especially when you don't know when you'll return? Maybe it's just a case of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, (or in my case, ...other side of the world!) or, maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me? My guess... I'm torn between our two "homes." Although the US will always be our main home, we've made a life and a home together in Sydney and so it's true what they say, "home is where the heart is," and I guess for me, my heart is in two places at once.
As expected, leaving the US was unfortunately terribly hard. You would think after going back and forth for three years, now, that saying goodbye would get easier, but it doesn't. It just doesn't. It didn't help that Dad was doing poorly so that made leaving even that much harder and stressful. If I could have changed all my flights without paying heaps of money, I would have and now with Dad back in the hospital today... I wish I had. I feel so bad for my mom having to go it alone. It's been extremely tough lately and she is so strong and brave for dealing with everything that has happened, but one person can only deal with so much before needing a shoulder to cry on, a loving embrace or just knowing that there's someone else there to help. I know she could do with having immediate support and love around her to get through all of this... and I wish that person was me and that I wasn't half way around the world. It's really difficult to have a sick family member when you're so far away- you feel so helpless and a bit guilty for not being there to help. So, anyone reading this, please say a little prayer for my family or keep us in your thoughts.
On top of leaving at such a crappy time, my flight back to Sydney was a disaster. After a whirlwind of emotions and trying to stay strong while I said goodbye to the family, I soon ran out of time. My mom was no longer able to take me to the airport and I quickly scrambled to hire a car and drove myself an hour and a half to the airport. I ended up missing my first of three flights. Luckily there was another flight an hour later and I made it to Oakland on standby where I ran as fast as I could through two different terminals to catch my connecting flight to Hawaii. Finally, I arrived safely in Honolulu, however, I cannot say the same for my luggage. Turns out, it was still in Oakland and it wouldn't be able to make it to Hawaii in time for me to catch my morning flight to Sydney. So, sans luggage, I boarded my flight to Sydney, after having a 6 hour layover, and finally made it home. Now I have the pleasure of trying to get my luggage to Sydney when the airline who initially lost it only flies domestically in the US... fun times.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
