The Plunge Down Under

Into the Unknown

Expat Blog Challenge Day 28

"A Toast to the Future"

I am staring at the moment into a future that has far too many question marks for my liking.  Today is not only the last day of February and the last day of our expat blog challenge, but it also marks the last day for R at the company he has been devoted to for nearly eleven years.  This is a bittersweet moment for all of us.  It wasn't supposed to end this way in our perfect plan for how this move to Melbourne would go.  But then things rarely do.  

Thanksgiving Traditions

Expat Blog Challenge Day 27

"A Tradition I Maintain"

Today is the 27th day of our expat blog challenge, and I find myself mourning the fact that it ends tomorrow.  The word bereft comes to mind.  Our organizer C. of Oz has done such a fantastic job of providing thoughtful prompts and encouraging a community spirit.  I have enjoyed the challenge immensely and benefitted from it in ways that I did not anticipate.

One thing Cristin decided to include in the contest was a 'get out of jail free' card.  I am going to invoke that card today, because I am not able to write a proper post.

If I were to answer the prompt, I would share how we have celebrated the American Thanksgiving holiday over the past four years.  Each one has been different, but my favorite was the year that my friend Gillian poured her heart and soul into helping me produce an American feast for seventy people who could not imagine eating turkey with candied yams.  It was and will forever remain a highlight of our time in Australia.  You can read all about it here.  

A Friend in Need

Expat Blog Challenge Day 26

"Recognize someone who has made your expat experience better"

For this prompt I would like to write about someone who, to my knowledge, doesn't read this blog.  When I thought about how many people fit the description, I was overwhelmed.  I started a list of names, and then stopped because I knew that I would inevitably leave someone out.  Instead, I decided to focus on one friend who jumped into my life soon after we arrived, and who has remained for the duration.

I think I first met Jeannie at orientation day for our oldest daughter when she began year 7.  As we chatted we realized that we both had year 7 and year 2 daughters, with a son in the middle.  Later our younger daughters figured out that they shared identical given and middle names, and so began their friendship.  Jeannie must have recognized the loneliness in my eyes, because she took me on as sort of a project.  She made it her mission to help me feel part of the school, through introducing me to other parents, filling me in on who the teachers were and encouraging me to attend morning coffees and the like.

Dear Pittsburgh

Expat Blog Challenge Day 25

 "Revisit an old post that you now have something more to say about."

(Photo credit)

Dear Pittsburgh,

You have been on our minds lately.  Thirteen days ago I wrote down one hundred things that I have loved about living in Australia.  Today I would like to turn my focus forward to the next stage of our lives.  I can't come up with a matching list of one hundred items for you on such short notice.  That list I will save for sometime during the weeks and months after our return.  Instead I will share what comes to mind when I think about the city of three rivers.

A Hidden Gem: Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Expat Blog Challenge Day 24

Prompt:  "Our final PHOTO post - A hidden gem"

The majority of moments in my life as manager of an expat family fall under the heading 'mundane.'  I unplug clogged drains, collect the dirty laundry, change burnt out light bulbs, discover a dead car battery at the worst possible time, manage the logistics of four children with their multiple activities, hang out the laundry, sweep the floor, prepare meals, and clean up afterward. 

Even those times that should fall under the heading 'extraordinary' often feel like anything but.  As another wanderer has said, "Travel is exotic only in retrospect." (Marilyn Gardner in her article "You take yourself with you").  Often I have to remind myself that this is supposed to be fun, that I'm going to be so glad later that we took this particuar expedition, or traveled to this special place.

Perhaps that is why the subject of today's post is such a pleasure.  It represents a memory of an unexpectedly delightful sidetrip we took after our weekend in Canberra.

Why Do We Leave?

Expat Blog Challenge Day 23

Respond: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett

If you ask me the question, "Why do you go away?" I would have to answer that it is because the love of my life is by nature a wanderer.  R and I are alike in many ways.  We rarely argue, and almost never fight.  There are times when I think that we really should stage an argument once in a while to keep things from getting dull.  Plus, it might be good for our kids to see us work through a disagreement and come to a resolution.  Instead we usually stick with harmony.

There is a fundamental tension between us that will never be fully resolved, however.  R has only to visit or hear of a new place, and he is ready to move there tomorrow.  "Why would anyone stay in one place when the opportunity presents itself to move?" is the way that he thinks.  My desire, on the other hand, is to put down deep roots.  I long to be an integral part of the life of a community over a long period of time.   If it were left up to me, my children would have the same friends from infancy to adulthood.  I wish I could be a thoroughly reliable friend myself instead of periodically abandoning those who are important to me.  I thought leaving Pittsburgh was difficult four years ago.  It was in fact very difficult, but at least I fully expected that we would return. This time around, we won't be coming back. It hardly bears thinking about.

Something We Haven't Seen

Expat Blog Challenge Day 22

"Something I haven't seen in my expat country"

This prompt gave me some trouble at first.  We've managed to get around quite a bit in Australia, and see nearly everything we have wanted to see.  There is one thing, however, that I am pretty sure we will never get to witness first hand:  Uluru in the sunshine.  I will always regret that, no matter how much I was told at the time that we were lucky to see the big red rock in the rain.  We had had enough of rain in Australia by that stage, thank you very much.  I had even lugged my heavy tripod through the airport with me to set up at both sunrise and sunset to get that perfect photo of Uluru.  Alas, it wasn't to be.  Instead, we traipsed around the bottom of the rock in mucky red mud, gazed up at numerous waterfalls and tried to be grateful for this rare sight.

Here's what we didn't get to see:

(Photo Credit: http://thecarefreetraveler.com/aboriginal-tours-a-unique-way-of-touring-in-australia/) 

Now for what we did see:

Tastes Like Home: Cinnamon

Expat Blog Challenge:  Day 21

"Tastes Like Home"

If there is one taste or aroma that evokes the sense of home for me more than any other, it is cinnamon.  One whiff, and I am back in my mother's kitchen where a applesauce making was a weekly affair.  It was always a good day when we came home from school to find that a pot of apples had been simmering in preparation for fresh applesauce.  That meant it would be served warm at dinnertime.  My mom has always added liberal amounts of both sugar and cinnamon to her applesauce. The result is mouth-watering, and something for which she is known far and wide.  It is probably the food item that my kids have missed most during the past four years.

Curiosity and Introversion: Or "Best and Worst" Traits for the Expat Life

 

Expat Blog Challenge Day 20

"Today we tackle -
The trait I possess that most equipped me for life abroad. OR
The trait I possess that held me back the most. Or both"

There is nothing like moving to another country to strip you raw, expose your weaknesses and make you feel inadequate.  The times I have felt this way in Australia are far too numerous to count.  Moving abroad uproots you from your comfort zone, forces you to do things you normally avoid and challenges your assumptions about how life operates.  I think it is fair to say that some people cope better than others.  I have often wondered exactly what combination of character traits are best for the expat life.  I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I think I know what has helped me the most and what has been my biggest drawback.  So that I can end on a positive note, I'll tackle the negative trait first.

The word I have chosen for what has held me back the most is introversion.  I am not at all suggesting that introversion is a negative thing.  I love Susan Cain for her work highlighting the power of introverts, and how they struggle in a world that primarily rewards extroverts (you can watch her inspirational ted talk here).  But I can say from experience that being an introvert makes building a life in a foreign place difficult.  Even if all you want to do is hide in your overseas house and surf the web, you still have to meet lots of new people and actually communicate with those people in order to accomplish basic tasks like grocery shopping and figuring out where to buy toilet paper.

If, on the other hand, you actually want to make acquaintances and friends in your new country, if you want to experience the richness of social interaction, you must repeatedly force yourself to overcome your fear or dislike of reaching out to strangers.  If you have four children whom you need to get settled into various schools, and all of whom need friends, your task as an introvert is supremely difficult.  It may even feel impossible.  

My Accent. What Accent?

Expat Blog Challenge:  Day 19

"My Accent"

According to wikipedia, English is the official language of Australia. The average American who visits, however, might be forgiven for wondering at first if this is  true. 

We worried about many things before we made the decision to move to Australia, but our accent was not one of them.  Five minutes after we pulled away from the Melbourne International Airport, I realized that accents might be a problem after all.  I understood only one out of ten words that our driver spoke.  

"I thought Australians spoke English," I whispered to R.  "Me too," he responded.  "I have no idea what he's saying to us."  

Fortunately our driver was happy to talk away whether we responded coherently or not.  I soon gave up trying to understand him and focused my attention on looking out of the window for kangaroos.  I later learned that the dialect spoken by our driver has its own special word: "Strine" (named after the way "Australian" sounds).  For a fascinating explanation of Strine with lots of examples, see this guide.