Until We Meet Again

Our time in Australia has come to an end. After three years abroad, we decided to pack up everything and move back to the US. Unfortunately, Dad is ill and my family needs help. It's really hard to care for an ailing parent from so far away, never mind from another country. So, Paul and I have decided the right thing to do is to move home.

I know despite the illness, my parents would want us to live our lives and not worry about anything. In fact, Mom being mom has still tried to shelter her kids from the harsh reality of dad's illness. But after three years, we've had a good run in Sydney. We had fun and will always look back at our time abroad with fond memories. Although our lives were really good in Australia, it just wasn't right to being living the high life while things are not going well on the home front. At the end of the day, life isn't all good if your loved ones are struggling. Dad's illness seems to be finally confirmed by his doctor and at least now we know what we're facing. Paul and I need to be there for our family... we don't want to miss anymore time.

Luckily, Paul's work has been extremely understanding and offered him to work from the US for the same Sydney company. He's telecommuting and will hopefully be making a few trips a year back to OZ. So, in a way, it's not a final goodbye to Sydney. I'm confident we will be back... even if it's just for a few visits here and there.

We had some really amazing experiences while living abroad. We travelled heaps, experienced different cultures, learned much and have come away with a different perspective on life and our lives. I am so thankful and feel so fortunate to have had this experience and look forward to perhaps living abroad again in the future. I honestly think if one has the chance to live overseas, they should. I know it's a big change and there's a lot involved in uprooting one's life but the experience is so rewarding in so many way- too many to really communicate. You get out of it what you put in to it and I think we really gave it our all, which is why we loved it so much. Don't get me wrong, living overseas can be difficult in many ways, but you just have to keep things in perspective, give it a chance and be willing to make compromises and sacrifices. In the end, the benefits and the experience, at least for us, out way any obstacles.

We will miss Sydney and will always think of it as our second home. It's a beautiful city with just about everything you could want- beautiful beaches, scenic harbours and views, green park lands, mountains, wine valleys, culture, arts, business, fine cuisine and on and on. I know I'm a bit partial since we've called Sydney home for three years, but I really do think it's one of the best cities in the world.

I'm not going to say goodbye to Australia because I know we will be back so here's a short re-cap in pictures of some of our good times living and travelling in Australia.

The Final Countdown

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

Our Crazy Australian Easter Extravaganza

Over the Easter break, Paul and I decided to pack in as much travelling around Australia as we possibly could in to six days. Since Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays in Australia, Paul and I also took Thursday and Tuesday to stretch out the break. Now, being that Australia is so massive many thought our travel itinerary was a bit of a crazy undertaking but we would not be deterred from our plans!

We left Sydney very early Thursday morning and flew to Brisbane, Queensland, where we met up with our friend, Dana. We then travelled south to Byron Bay, New South Wales, where we chilled all day at the Blues and Roots Festival, which is a five day music festival that happens every Easter in Byron. Thursday had acts such as Keb Mo’, Xavier Rudd, Keith Urban and John Butler. All of them were outstanding.







On Friday, we checked out Byron Bay seeing as though it was our first time visiting the area. We went to the beach, did some shopping and checked out the famous lighthouse. Byron is such a great cruisey, hippy-chic beach town. It was a really lovely charming little town and such a nice place to skip away to for a weekend.







Friday night we drove back to Brisbane and boarded a plane to Darwin, Northern Territory… next up: Kakadu National Park. Kakadu is a world heritage listed park for it Aboriginal culture and its environment. The park covers an area of almost 4.9 million acres of land… it’s just so massive and so unusual… I don’t think there’s anything else quite like it. The name Kakadu comes from the mispronunciation of ‘Gagudju’ which is the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the northern part of the Park. The Aboriginal people, which are the traditional land owners, have occupied Kakadu for at least 40,000 years and the park is chockers full of Aboriginal culture, ancient drawing sites, natural wonders and of course, those beastly crocs! We went on a 2 day camping safari during the ‘wet season’ which means most of Kakadu is flooded and the usual site like Ubirr and Twin Fall and Jim Jim Falls are in accessible. I saw them all before with my sister so it was actually quite nice to see Kakdu during the wet season b/c I was able to see different areas of the park that aren’t normally the main attractions. We did visit the cultural centers, Nourlangie Rock, Gunlom falls and went for a dip in one of the swimming pools. At night we camped in a permanent tent so we weren’t exactly roughing it but it was still an adventure. We got serenaded all night by dingos in our camp. There was also a massive, vibrant thunderstorm at night which was quite cool but we also managed to get wet through our tent… all part of the fun.











Sunday night we returned to Darwin, checked out a few of the bars and restaurants, and caught our flight back to Brisbane. Monday we traveled yet again to Byron Bay to take in the musical festival. Acts such as Rodrigo Y Gabriela, KT Tunstall, the Black Crows, and John Fogerty rocked out on stage all night. It was such a great festival… good music, great new and old talent and a really chill, groovin’ atmosphere.









The next day, we drove back up to Brisbane and spent the day on Stradbroke Island. What a gorgeous place- so much natural wild life. We saw dolphins having a bit of a surf, and heaps of sea turtles and manta rays just cruising along the seas.





Tuesday night we boarded our flight to Sydney and arrived home absolutely exhausted. On our trip our sleep was very minimal, and with so much travelling and our sore, sunburned bodies we just crashed when we got home. Looking back on our trip, yes, we were crazy for squeezing in basically half of Australia in to just a few days. Even the Qantas attendants and check-in crew thought we were absolutely mad and couldn’t fathom how we thought doing all of that traveling was a good idea, but in the end, it was definitely worth it to us and we’d do it all over again in a heart beat!

Our Three Year Love Affair With a Sunburned Country

Like most things in life, things don’t always go to plan. Originally, our great Australian adventure was only going to last for a year; however, one year quickly turned in to two and today we are celebrating three years living down under. It’s strange yet wonderful how life works out, and just how quickly time flies.

While living abroad has its disadvantages- for example, the huge ocean that stands in between us and our family and friends, the time difference, the expensive flights, etc., overall, I would have to say our time in Sydney has been absolutely fun-filled and amazing. Our quality of life is excellent, our lives are relatively stress-free, and we’ve been able to travel heaps. We definitely have a different perspective on life thanks to our time in Australia.

Sydney obviously keeps us coming back for more and while we do realize there will soon be a time when we have to pack it up, for now we’re very happy to continue making our home here.

To celebrate our "three year aussie anniversary" we decided to re-discover Sydney over the weekend. It was finally a gorgeous, hot and sunny weekend so we had to take advantage of it!

It was a very busy and electric weekend in Sydney. There were heaps of people out due to the fabulous weather; the Australia v. India cricket match and the Hyundai A-league finals (football) were going on; it's (gay) mardi gras party time; and there was the royal rendezvous of the Queen Victoria (on its first tour) and the QE2 (on its last tour).

Saturday we caught a ferry to Circular Quay where we dined and drank it up in Aussie fashion at the stylish, harbour-side Opera Bar. After a lovely dinner, we engaged in a bit of culture at the Opera House and enjoyed the comedic production of Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Sunday we went on a walking tour of Sydney. We started in our neighbourhood, walked over the Harbour Bridge, through the Rocks and their outdoor markets, and on to Circular Quay. We had a beautiful seafood lunch and a few wines at a lovely restaurant on the harbour. After lunch, it was more walking all throughout the Botanical Gardens.

We had a wonderful weekend and as we move on in to our third year living on this giant island, we look forward to what lies ahead for us.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

Today is Australia day. It's the day that Australians come together and celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. For history's sake, January 26th commemorates the establishment of European settlement in Australia. For those not familiar, I would say the equivalent would be something similar to Independence Day in the US.

For Aboriginal Australians, January 26th often marks "survival day"- celebrating the fact that the indigenous people and their culture have not been wiped out. Australia still has a long way to go with reconciliation, however, I hope with every year, Australians will consider where they've come from, where they want to go and how they can work together, as one, to forward this great country. The Aborigines are such a vital part of this country and it would be such a tragedy if their rights, land and culture were to disappear. And for those reading thinking I'm like the kettle calling the pot black, well no, I know the US and Native American relationship is similar to Australia and the Aborigines, and yes, the US, too, has a long way to go with making things right with the Native Americans. However, this blog entry is about Australia day, so I'll keep on point... OK, getting off my soapbox now.

Most Aussies celebrate the day by gathering with friends and family to partake in a summer barbie while drinking heaps of beer and wine. Of course, there's the usual jaunt to either a park or the beach, and, there is always cricket- either on the tele or playing in the backyard.

For Paul and I, we decided to spend the day taking in some of Australia's natural beauty with a hike. We did the famed Manly walk which is a four hour trek through gorgeous scenery and tropical bushland along the the coastal cliffs of Sydney Harbour.














We saw lots of these guys:



While on our hike, I saw the greatest thing ever... no, not an ice cream truck, but an ice cream boat! The Aussies are genius! The ice cream boat putts along the shoreline ringing its bell as kids wade out and swim out to meet the ice cream boat. How cool is that- you can swim and eat ice cream at the same time!





After a short rest at home, Paul and I headed down to the point to watch some fireworks and enjoy a bottle of bubbly- one of my favourite things to do in the summer!

On another related note, something funny I find is Australia's Meat and Livestock industry's lamb campaign. For the past few years, there has been a big ad campaign for eating lamb, particularly on Australia Day, because apparently they want you to believe that eating lamb is the Australian thing to do. Yes, it's tongue-in-cheek and often these ads come under criticism, however, they seem to work as there has been a rise in the consumption of lamb and the week leading up to Australia Day is the highest lamb trading week. Kind of interesting, huh?

So, I leave you with this year's and last year's ad. If you're unfamiliar with Aussie culture you might not understand it or find it funny- I just find them peculiar.


2007 Ad:




2008 ad:



And one more thing, for anyone interested in Aboriginal culture, there is this great Australian film, Ten Canoes which is a mix of anthropology and entertainment. I highly recommend checking it out as you won't be disappointed.