Last post of the expat blog challenge

As the last post of this challenge, I would like to make a toast to life changing adventures and all the incredible people in my life who have made an impact.  And...another toast to all the awesome places I yet to see, people I have yet to meet, and things I have yet to learn!  It's a pretty darn good life.

A Tradition I Maintain

I'm going to steal from the Nichol family for this post.

Jeremy's family has a lovely annual tradition which we have been (more or less) able to keep up with during the last five years in Australia.  During Advent, which begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas, the Nichols gather together to eat a yummy meal, maybe have a nip of eggnog, and light a candle on the Yule log.  Each family member has a reading that has been assigned to them, which they have been doing for years.  The different themes of the readings are: joy, love, sharing, wonder, and the Christmas reading.  All appropriate things to be thinking about during the Christmas season.  When the reading is finished, everyone toasts to the theme of the week and we all hold hands and pass a squeeze around.  When we lived in Ottawa, we would try to make it to the Nichol farm at least once or twice on a weekend to celebrate this tradition.

Jeremy brought his Yule log from Canada (which is...probably not allowed?) and we always put it out during the month of December.  Some years, we are able to coordinate better than others.  Jeremy's sister Hayley was living in British Columbia with her husband and two kids until recently, but now they are all back in Ontario.  This year that just passed, Jeremy and I stayed up and called Hayley, Lance and the kids and did Advent with them and then we would call his parents and repeat the whole thing!  (We didn't call his brother D'Arcy as we were fairly certain he would be quite unhappy at being woken up early on a Sunday morning!!)  The whole family was at Hayley's place at Christmas, so we were even able to do the Christmas reading with everyone present!  (It was slightly chaotic)

I love this tradition.  I remember the first time I experienced it - it makes you feel like part of the family.  The farm is so cozy and has a lot of good memories (except when you're totally alone and the power goes out and there aren't any flashlights except in the cellar where the murderer is clearly hiding!) and being able to take part in the tradition year after year kind of makes me feel like I'm back at the farm just for a moment.  During the time that I've been around, I've also seen friends warmly welcomed to take part in the tradition.  This year, our friend Lisa was here at Christmas and got to participate and there have been many others.  It really is just something that makes me feel warm and fuzzy :)

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo!

Day 26: Recognize someone who has made your expat experience better.

What a tough choice, when there have been so many people who have made this this big crazy move amazing and unforgettable.  There are the family and friends who have supported us, kept in touch, and visited.  The friends in Brisbane - some who we met the first year and are lucky enough to have continued our friendships, the fantastic people I met in my speech pathology class, the lovely co-workers, Mike and Annette in Fairfield who for a time acted as surrogate parents...just so many people along the way.

Today I will recognize Grace - the lady who gave me a chance at a job when we moved to Adelaide.  I know that people have things much worse than me, and looking for a job for 3 months is not the most horrible thing in the world, but it was making me feel really crappy.  Adelaide is not an easy place to find jobs in general, and with only one year experience post grad I wasn't exactly the most shiny and appealing choice.  I was going to interviews for jobs I (likely) would have hated and was devastated when they chose the more experienced candidate over me.  Sometimes I didn't even get an interview.

Grace and I had no idea what to expect from each other.  We were put in touch by a lady I worked for as an assistant in Brisbane who had studied speech pathology at university in Adelaide with Grace 25+ years earlier.  It was really kind of a fluke.  I shadowed her for a couple of weeks to see how things were run at the hospital and aged care facilities.  I slowly began taking on work in aged care while waiting for my hospital accreditation to come through.  I called her whenever I needed advice/help and she was always willing to take the time to talk any situation through.  She never made me feel like an idiot.  She has been incredibly supportive and passes on good feedback, which is really nice!  Now I see all of the in-patients and day rehab patients at the hospital.  I service four aged care residences regularly (and there are another couple who call once in a blue moon).  I do home visits and private adult and child work.  I LOVE it.  It is exactly the job that I would have always wanted, had I known it existed.

I have gone from not being hired at places that I would never apply to now, to being hired as a casual with South Australia Health (good to broaden your horizons).  During the SA Health interview, I felt very comfortable with all the questions because I had experienced many of the situations described.  Grace also gave me a glowing reference - but told them she was keeping me and would only be willing to lend me out every so often!  Hahaha.

We've been invited to dinners with her family and have gotten to know them a little as well.  She is currently battling breast cancer, and has cut down her workload a lot.  That being said, if you ran into her at the hospital and didn't know, you would have absolutely no idea.  She is an excellent person to have as a mentor and has really given me great opportunities career wise.  I'm very glad we found each other, because now I can help her in a time of need.  There are so many people who have made/are making this journey better than I could have imagined, and Grace is an important piece in the puzzle!

I'm scared

Our task for today is to revisit an old post that we have more to say about now.  I thought about this one for awhile and read some of my old posts to try and figure out which one I could use.  I decided to pick one from January 2011.  I think that my blog is probably 98% light and fluffy.  I don't tend to post about negative things because I would rather focus on the positive!  That being said, the events of January 2011 were the beginning of what might have been the worst year of my life.  

2010 ended nicely, with a great trip to New Zealand.  Jeremy flew back to Brisbane on Jan 1 (but missed his flight because the alarm didn't go off AND the hotel made the wake up call to the wrong room...argh...so the airport shuttle arrived, the hotel called up and no one answered, and the airport shuttle left).  Maybe I should have taken that as a sign!

He eventually did get on another flight, while I flew to Auckland for a six week clinical practicum in my speech pathology course.  I was totally alone, didn't know anyone in the country, but was looking forward to a good clinical experience.  

When the reports started coming about flooding in Brisbane, I was quite worried.  In the back of your mind though, you think that something like this couldn't possibly happen to you.  Our neighbours were born and bred in Brisbane and had three adult children with lots of friends who owned utes.  When they heard the forecast, they got all their stuff out of the house ASAP.  They had been living in that house for a long time and had been flooded about 35 years earlier, so they took it very seriously.  Jeremy was hoping that since our house was across the road and on an upward slant, we might narrowly avoid it.  I have to give him credit - he took most of our stuff to the shed in the back (the highest point) and brought some other things to some neighbours on higher ground.  He even hoisted our fridge onto the kitchen counter.  Being expats, we didn't have all of those connections that you build when you've lived somewhere your entire life.  We definitely had friends who helped by putting Jeremy up, cleaning afterwards, etc but we just didn't have the resources to go about it the way our neighbours did.  Jeremy chose to have an optimistic outlook, which later led to some neighbours saying insulting things (even though he had made all the preparations he possibly could). 
We got to see the lovely side of humanity (people pitching in for the huge clean up, volunteers coming around handing out snacks) and the yucky side (a certain pair of neighbours being quite rude).

Anyhow, our house did end up being flooded and when I returned in the middle of February our suburb was a dank, dark, gloomy, half deserted mess.  I came back to a house with the carpets ripped out, builders going in and out ripping away the kitchen cupboards and installing new ones, and everything still pretty icky.  We had crammed most of our stuff into one room because the whole house needed repainting and repairs.  (We were fortunate that the rental agency let us stay there rent free at that time).

I don't think I actually realized how much going through this affected Jeremy.  He had to do everything himself and there was nothing I could do.  We had a really tough year, but looking back I think that if we could get through 2011, we can really get through anything!

Below I've posted a couple of pictures from Jeremy's flood album - that's our house in the background with the boat parked out front.  Then you have the view down our street into the park (aka lake).

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I'm scared

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/brisbane-flood-alert-as-wivenhoe-threatens-to-spill-over/story-e6freon6-1225985251560

Anyone who has been keeping up on the flooding in Qld will probably have read something like this and if not...well, it's worth a read. Brisbane is not the place to be right now, so I'm lucky - unfortunately my husband, friends, neighbours and cat aren't. Our suburb (Fairfield) is on of the ones listed to experience flooding tomorrow. Jeremy went to talk to our neighbours, Annette and Mike, and they have packed up their house and are leaving. They experienced the floods of 1974 and apparently Sydney St was flooded (only the one side of the road though...maybe we'll be lucky?) They're saying these floods will be worse than the '74 floods which is not an encouraging thought. Jeremy says that if the waters start to creep up to the house, he'll go to De ands Graham's (neighbours next door, their house is on stilts). He's smart so I'm sure he'll do the right thing. I feel really helpless and worried...

A Hidden Gem

My hidden gem is my favourite place in Australia so far - Stradbroke Island.

Stradbroke Island is a quick ferry trip from Brisbane, but often gets overlooked for Fraser Island, Moreton Island, the Whitsundays, etc.  I would guess the locals probably prefer it that way! 

We heard about 'Straddie' right away, from Jim and Wendy who put us up during the first couple of weeks in Australia while we looked for our own place.  They make regular trips out there and usually spend at least a couple of weeks a year in a rented house on the island with their daughters, grandchildren, and whoever else wants to come along! 

I've only actually been to Stradbroke Island twice, and now that we've moved away from Queensland I wish desperately that I would have spent more time there.  I really would have liked to go when my family was visiting at the end of 2011, but it gets really crazy there around Christmas and it just didn't work out.  Our first trip was in April 2009.  Jeremy, Tracee, Sean and I booked a campsite at Cylinder Beach and put up our tent city.  The view was amazing - less than a minute walk and you saw gorgeous blue ocean and perfect scenery.  Idyllic.  One morning on a coffee run, we stopped by the side of the road to check out the view and saw dolphins frolicking away.  The water temperature was perfect...the weather was lovely...how could you not fall in love with a place like that?  The second time I went was when Ross and Kath were visiting at the end of 2012.  I managed to take off a half day of work so that we could spend Sunday night at the beach house they had rented with Wendy and Jim and I'm so glad that I did!  Wendy and Jim's daughter Chantal was there as well, with her daughter Eloise.  I crammed as much as I could into that tiny trip!  We swam at the beach, swam at Brown Lake, ate a phenomenal barbecued leg of lamb dinner, drank gin and tonic, and in the morning did the North Gorge walk.  All too soon it ended and I had to head back into Brisbane to work my half day. 

I'm still waiting for a long weekend to happen so that Jeremy and I can go explore Kangaroo Island (I may be waiting a looooooong time - junior doctors tend to be given holiday shifts so more senior staff can do things like explore Kangaroo Island!)

Pictures of the first trip back in 2009:

View near our campsite.

 

Tracee at Brown Lake

Stunning views everywhere you look

Me ruining the view :P

 

 

Tent city!

Final quote of the challenge

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

My experiences with 'coming back' have been two whirlwind visits home.  Visits where every hour of the day is planned to cram as many outings and get togethers in as I possibly can.  On our trip in May (the first trip back that Jeremy and I will actually be there at the same time!) I think it will be even crazier than usual, with only two weekends in Canada - one being a bachelor party in Montreal and the other being D'Arcy and Birte's wedding.

When you go 2-3 years without visiting home, all the subtle changes that occur in yourself, your loved ones, and your city all of a sudden become significant changes.  People move away, get married, buy houses, have kids, change careers, get sick, retire, break up, move on...and you're not there to be there for any of it.  New faces join your old group of friends.  Little cousins who were kids when you left are now teenagers with boyfriends!  People haven't been around to see you change and might expect you to be the same person you were years ago.

Coming back as a visitor is also not the same as coming back for good.  When you're in town for a short visit, people tend to make the effort to see you.  Friends who might not see each other much any more gather together, so it feels kind of like old times, but it's really just an illusion.  Best friends who have moved across the country might fly in specially to spend time with you (Tracee!) so they are still a part of your home experience even though if you had never left, that wouldn't be the case.

You want to spend time in your old hangouts, but maybe you've grown up a bit while you're away.  They still hold appeal in your memories, but you're not 24 anymore.  Maybe you can experience a new part of your city.  New restaurants, cafes, pubs etc have popped up and you need people to guide you...you feel like a tourist in your own city and it's kind of cool.  I can't wait until I have another chance to experience this is May :)

Something I still haven't seen in my expat country

Maybe a more fitting topic would be something I still haven't seen in my home country!  When you have a (potentially) limited amount of time in a place, there's more of an incentive to get out and see as much as you can.  We have done a pretty good job so far and only have WA and ACT to cross off our list - I'm looking forward to seeing Perth, Margaret River, some of the beautiful beaches in WA that are more out of the way (a place called Esperance looks absolutely stunning in photos), and I'd like to see Canberra (coming from the capital of Canada, I feel a kinship with other lesser known capitals of the world!)

In a country as big as Australia there are clearly heaps of places I still haven't been.  For the purpose of this challenge, I will focus on something very specific: the big things of Australia.  When my brother Ronan was visiting, we inadvertently ended up seeing several of the 'big things' - the big pineapple, the big macademia, the big banana and the big prawn.  We then decided to make it our mission to see as many big things as possible! (I'm still waiting for him to return so that we can accomplish this goal).  Since then, I have seen the giant koala, the big pie, the big avocado, the big rocking horse, the big apple (but not as big as the one in Ontario!), the big barrel, the big rum bottle, the big church block bottle, and the big winch.

Ooh, just remembered the challenge is to talk about something I haven't seen.  I just got a bit too excited making my list of things I had seen.  There are still several items that I have not seen, and I would argue that an excellent trip around Australia could be undertaken with the sole purpose of seeking out these large objects!  Some of the most interesting and fascinating ones that I have not yet encountered are:

The Golden Gumboot in Tully, North Queensland

The Big Chook in Moonbi,NSW

The Big Merino in Goulburn, NSW

The Big Poo in Kiama, NSW (Yeah...seriously!)

The Big Stubbie AND The Big Pink Panther is Larrimah, NT

The Big Galah in Kimba, SA

The Big Olive in Tailem Bend, SA

The Big Platypus in Latrobe, TAS

The Big Dead Fish in Fish Creek, VIC

The Big Camera in Meckering, WA

This is just a small assortment of the many, many options!  It only serves to remind me how many big things there are left to see...Ronan better come visit again soon!

I made a special point to get this finished early in the day as Jeremy and I are off to "A Day on the Green" at Leaconfield Wines later this afternoon.  We're going to see Hunters and Collectors, Something for Kate, You Am I and British India at this outdoor winery concert.  There are buses running to and from the winery from the city so that people can get there and back safely.  We're meeting up with Maria, a lovely Irish Occupational Therapist from my work, and some of her friends.  I went to a similar thing in New Zealand and it was a really lovely relaxed atmosphere and I remember feeling very calm and happy.  That being said, I should probably go and start getting ready.  Happy Saturday!

Tastes Like Home

It's funny how besides people, food is one of the main things you miss about 'home'.  Now we've managed to find almost every single item we were missing when we first moved here (Jeremy has done copious amounts of research!)  Some foods can really evoke a specific feeling or make you think of a particular person, place, or moment.  Here are some foods that are 'home' to me...

 Grandmaman's meatloaf.  Even back in the day, when I was a very picky child, I always enjoyed Grandmaman's meatload.  Yummy with onions in the meat and pastry on the outside...just pure deliciousness!  She always makes it for me when I visit, and she made it when she came to visit as well :)

 Beavertails.  If you haven't heard of this delicious pastry and a Canadian casually brings it up in conversation, you will probably be quite disgusted.  In fact, a friend from Toronto exclaimed "That's inhumane!" (So apparently Beavertails are a regional delicacy).  It brings back memories of family skating outings on the Rideau Canal. Getting a Beavertail was a great treat and I savoured every bite as I held on tightly with woolen mittened hands in all my red cheeked glory.

 Poutine.  The best kind is from a chip truck after a night out.  The gooey, melty cheese just hits the spot.  (Not recommended for regular consumption - this was probably a 2-3 times a year kind of thing.  You need to space it out so you really appreciate the moment!)

 Shawarma!  This particularly reminds me of my second year of university, when I was 20.  We lived in a dingy, likely quite unsafe apartment building in an unsavory part of town and probably shouldn't have been out after dark...but I loved wandering across the street to get a tasty shawarma.  Ottawa has a large Lebanese population, which is evident in the cuisine.  Shawarma musts: pickled turnips and toum (a thick creamy garlic sauce).  This is something you don't want to have at the very end of the night, lest you wake up in the morning with the craziest garlic breath ever!  It's also not very wise to eat right before going out (see earlier garlic breath comment)  Australia has kebabs and yiros, but they're just not the same. 

 Tourtiere!  Every year at the extended family Christmas get together with my mum's side of the family, we have at least a couple of tourtieres (a traditional French Canadian meat pie).  My Aunt Michelle often makes several at a time, and I like to tease her by calling them 'torture pie' (but they're actually quite nice.  No room for snobbery here - the best accompaniment is good ol' ketchup!

 Willy's Pizza - the BEST pizza in Ottawa.  Australia just does pizza differently than North America.  My favourite order is pineapple, bacon strips, and feta cheese.  OMGGGGGG.  Again, more like a 2x a year kind of thing...and something I definitely need to put in my mouth every time I visit home.  Situated conveniently next to Grace O'Malley's, it was the perfect place to grab a slice while waiting for a taxi.

This has all just made me more excited for my trip home in May!

Quick Fringe update: We're just about to head out to meet up with friends and see "Wolf Creek: The Musical".  Last Saturday, our friend Leanne was visiting on her 'Farewell Australia' tour (she did her Master's in Physiotherapy at UQ, which is where we met, graduated, worked in Brisbane for a year and is now heading back to Canada).  She was nice enough to put Adelaide on her tour and she timed it very well (opening weekend of Fringe).  We wandered through the Garden of Unearthly Delights, saw the Fringe opening parade (kind of...the crowd was so huge we mostly just caught the upper 10%).  Can't wait for more Fringe!

I'm going to focus on a positive trait that equipped me for life abroad, because...I'm still here, I've survived and I'm even planning on staying so obviously there hasn't been too much holding me back.  I think the trait that helped me the most was ENTHUSIASM!

Let's face it - leaving everyone and everything you've ever known is not easy.  I probably wouldn't recommend doing it three months after getting married - it's tough!   Particularly at first when you don't know a single soul, have no friends, no job, no social outlet.  Things have been rocky at times, but now it's smooth sailing.  Now that both of us have graduated, met many of our goals, and have entered the workforce we are really on the same page about the majority of things.

Okay, I've started straying from the question/response.  Right.  Enthusiasm.  With all the difficult aspects that come with being in a new place, I think if you have enough enthusiasm you can overcome a lot of the tricky things.  I was enthusiastic about finding a place to live, finding a job, going to the beach, riding the ferry, checking out South Bank, riding the train, seeing the different foods in the grocery store, tempting friends to come visit, applying for my master's, seeing as much of Australia as possible, meeting new friends, going to the library, seeing what the nightlife was like, trying awesome new things like zorbing, riding my bike to work, playing minigolf, seeing the Big Banana, walking up the stupid evil hill to catch the bus, seeing the gorgeous colours of the flowers...basically anything and everything!  When we heard that Jeremy had a job in Adelaide, I jumped at the chance to try somewhere new.  I guess I mostly just decided to try and embrace the experiences I was offered. 

Of course, you can't be positive all the time and I had lonely times and negative feelings and the odd bout of homesickness...but I made it through.  I feel like I/we have come to a place where everything is bright, shiny and positive and I have continued enthusiasm for the coming years.

My Accent

This is something that is actually quite fascinating to me and also falls into my field of work.  I have never actually seen someone for accent reduction, but it's within my scope of practice.  I would have to take a course first or something though, because I'd have no clue where to begin.  I should start by saying I can't fake an Australian accent to save my life!  We were taught in one class that there are three 'types' of Australian accent, and I'm borrowing off dialectblog.com for an explanation:

Roughly speaking, General accents represent the most common type of English spoken in Australia. Broad accents are usually described as more extreme (and associated with more working-class speech), while Cultivated Australian accents are a prestige variety somewhat closer to the British Received Pronunciation (although actual speakers of the latter are in the minority).
For a frame or reference, these corresponding celebrities might help:
1.) Broad: the late Steve Irwin.
2.) General: Australian PM Julia Gillard.
3.) Cultivated: Cate Blanchett. (Blanchett’s somewhat more “British-Sounding” accent may be a result of her being an actress, but her speech nonetheless resembles this type of elevated Australian speech).

So now we know what type of accent I don't have.

I consider my accent to be fairly neutral, as far as North American accents go.  No drawl or twang, I don't think I sound particularly 'clipped', not too nasal...but then again, most people probably think their own accents are 'normal'.  I've taken a few amusing quizzes, such as this one: http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have which tells me I have a "North Central" American accent (and that I probably get mistaken for Canadian a lot...hahaha).  Another quiz told me that my accent is most like people in Buffalo, Rochester, and Minneapolis and least like people in Philadelphia, Jackson and New Orleans.

So as you can see...I wasn't lying...I am interested!

My accent doesn't really get in the way too much, although there are some situations at work e.g. I ask if there are any straws and get blank looks (Australians round their mouths more for the vowel so it sounds more like 'stroe').  It definitely differentiates me.  I don't think I'll be getting rid of it any time soon (or ever) and I guess I'm okay with that!

Another blog I admire

For someone who has been writing in this blog for five years (and LiveJournal for a long time before that!) I am still not very bloggy!  This challenge is the most I have delved into the blog world and I'm quite enjoying it.  I have a few friends with blogs, and sometimes I read up on speech pathology blogs such as Dysphagia Cafe, Ozark Speechie, and The Appy Ladies.

One blog that I randomly stumbled across (which has gained an enormous following even though she rarely writes in it anymore) is called Hyperbole and a Half. (Look!  I did another linky thing!)  The writer is absolutely hilarious.  She tells life stories in cartoon format and they kill me every time.  Favourite entries include "Menace" and "The God of Cake".  She really has a knack for keeping people amused and entertained.  Another thing that I like is that she has addressed her struggles with mental health issues/depression in her blog.  She is a person with such talent and many fans, and she chose to write about these serious things in her own way.  If you read the comments, you can see that her story has touched many people.  I appreciate her efforts.

Today I'm supposed to talk about something I never would have seen if I had stayed home.  I have been having trouble with this - there are thousands of things I never would have seen!  Even if I had visited Australia on a holiday, there are so many experiences that you just wouldn't get on a trip, even an extended one.  After thinking long and hard, getting annoyed, giving up, revisiting it and repeating the whole cycle again I have finally decided on the following:

I admit that the pictures don't look very impressive.  I wish I had taken better ones under the circumstances.  These pictures are from June 2013, when Jeremy and I took our trusty Subaru Outback down the Oodnadatta Track and then drove back from Uluru, NT to Adelaide via Coober Pedy.  I was totally excited to stay in an underground hotel and see what the town was like.  After we checked in, we went wandering outside, looking for somewhere to eat.  Of course, wanting the full experience, I insisted that we go to an underground restaurant.  There are two underground restaurants in town...and neither one was open (sidenote: returned to Coober Pedy in Dec 2013 and the same thing occurred - I think I'll have to let that particular dream go).

One of the restaurants had the gate shut, but there was a man walking around on the other side and we called out to him to find out if the restaurant was going to be opening later in the evening.  Sadly, it was not, but we started talking.  This gentleman was friends with the owner of the restaurant (who was out touring some Dutch backpackers around the area).  He told us that he had just bought the building beside the restaurant and invited us to come have a look.  Turns out it was an giant underground area sectioned into rooms and he was planning at some stage to turn it into an art gallery.  We went underground and saw the space and were suitably impressed.  We were then invited to the man's dugout house for a drink with himself and some friends and the aforementioned Dutch backpacker girls.

First, we needed to continue our quest for food but we wrote down his address and phone number and said that we might stop by.  We found the best Greek restaurant in all of Australia (to my limited knowledge) and had a fantastic dinner and then returned to our hotel.  We debated what to do - we were tired, had just done a long day of driving, and had 10 more hours to look forward to the next day.  There was every reason not to go, but in the end the adventurous spirit won out (when would we ever get this chance again?!?) and we went out in search of the house.  We had a pleasant hour or so sitting and chatting, getting a tour, and the man even gave me a small opal! (Post edited to include picture of opal with pendant that he gave me as well.  I think I will get the opal put in a ring setting).  The pictures are of the inside of the underground/dugout house (it was huge underneath - had about 6 bedrooms!)  I think I can safely say that this is something that I never would have seen if I had stayed home!

Respond: “It is a bitter-sweet thing, knowing two cultures. Once you leave your birthplace nothing is ever the same.” ― Sarah Turnbull

I lived in Ottawa (and the Ottawa area) for 25 years.  I considered going to university in Toronto, but when I won my first year tuition at Carleton University in a draw and was accepted to their Journalism program, I decided to stick around.  I always had this idea that I would at least try living somewhere else, but I had no idea it would be such a dramatic change!

I think bittersweet probably is a good word to describe the experience.  I feel like now, wherever I end up, I will always remember the positives of the other place and long for it (at least sometimes). 

In Australia, I will think back to Canada and miss the changing autumn colours, the calm and eerie silence of  newly blanketed snow, the $10 Tuesday night skiing, the close proximity to other countries and all inclusive travel deals, dividing holidays between Russell and Athens, Canada Day in Ottawa, Winterlude, lake swimming, cottages, and all the other quintessentially Canadian things that were part of growing up in Canada.

If we ever moved back to Canada, I would miss the year round Adelaide sun, the 15 minute bike ride to the beach, the world class wine country, the ability to sit in my backyard at any time of the year, the Aussie accent, the colourful flowers and palm trees, the cheap flights within Australia, the easy driving, the sightings of Australian animals, the friends who have become like family, and everything else that has made me love Australia.

No matter what happens now, there will always be an aspect of yearning for the other. 

I'm hoping our brilliant plan will lessen this - live and work in Adelaide for most of the year, Jeremy work as a locum for June, July and August in Canada, Leana stays in Adelaide and continues working but visits Canada for a month every (Canadian) summer.  It's not perfect, but it will allow us to continue living this wonderful lifestyle over here while not neglecting our families back home.  We'll just have to see what happens...  

What the tourists never see in Adelaide that they're really missing out on

I feel like when tourists visit Adelaide, they remain in the CBD, Glenelg, and will probably take a jaunt out to wine country.  Being surrounded by world class wine regions, there are a variety of options.  Barossa is a popular choice as well as Clare, which is a bit farther away. 

My absolute favourite (and one that is maybe not as well known) is McLaren Vale.  It's a smaller region south of Adelaide, still renowned but possibly less travelled.  There's a winery called Oxenberry which makes a delicious 'grapple' cider and we like to stop here for 'manwiches' for lunch.  A tourism description might paint a better picture: McLaren Vale is one of Australia’s renowned wine regions, famous for producing some the best wines in the world, and with over 65 cellar doors. The region is thriving, and the energy and passion of the local community is infectious.  The area is only minutes away from the stunning coastline and beaches that influence so much of our lifestyle, culture and primary production.

Victor Harbor is another gem that tourists who don't have a lot of time on their hands might miss out on.  We visited here on a whim with our friends Jules, Bruce and Billy and I was entranced with this lovely seaside town.  Here is a description from the SA tourism website:  Victor Harbor is all about the sun, surf, sand, stunning views and intimate wildlife encounters.  It's here that you'll find the Little Penguins of Granite Island, Southern Right Whales blowing into Encounter Bay, and some of South Australia's best surf at beaches like Petrel Cove, Chiton Rocks and the Dump.  Granite Island can be reached via a 600 metres causeway from Victor Harbor. Take a Clydesdale-drawn tram or walk across and absorb the stunning sea views.  Victor Harbor features outstanding early colonial architecture, good pubs, cafes and restaurants, and plenty of accommodation and fun events to attend. 

As for the city of Adelaide itself, I have to think a bit harder.  Just south of Glenelg is the suburb of Brighton which is a similar beachy suburb but less flashy and touristy.  Tourists might be aware of the massive Adelaide Fringe Festival (which is on right now!) but be less privy to the zillion other festivals that occur over the year - there is seriously a CHEESE festival!  Splash Adelaide is a local group which has formed to invigorate Adelaide and use its spaces to their full potential.  I have attended several of their events and always enjoyed them.  For example, the monthly Fork on the Road food truck festivals, the outdoor screening of The Lion King in conjunction with yummy dessert bar Onyx, the cider festival, the Sunday night markets...Splash is a great place to look for random events happening around Adelaide!

A restaurant review - Sosta Argentinian Kitchen

Narrowing down the choices for restaurant reviews was a bit daunting.  There's the place in Swansea, Tasmania where I had the best steak of my life.  There's the French restaurant in Adelaide that I won a voucher for at the QEH Halloween party (for best costume - sushi).  There's the really bad experience we had at an Italian restaurant in Brisbane that we went to for Jeremy's graduation dinner and he ended up with raw sausage and chipping his tooth on a wire bristle.  There is the delicious dumpling place in Adelaide that Jess, Jen, Lisa and I randomly stumbled upon as we were wandering around on my/our first ever visit to Adelaide.  There's the 'Fork on the Road' food truck festival, which is not technically "a restaurant" but I think it would probably pass in this case.  I love how Adelaide has embraced food trucks!

I decided to just go with the last restaurant I really enjoyed - an Argentinian place on Rundle St in Adelaide that does amazing steak.  Funnily enough, I actually ate there last night!  Jeremy and I went with our friend Jane (fellow carnivore) to enjoy some meaty goodness.  We had been for the first time about four months ago and all left with very happy mouths and stomachs, so thought we would try to recreate this feeling.

They give you a bowl of black olives on the table which you can munch on while you wait to order.  I don't normally like black olives, but these are special tasty ones.  Last night, I went for the 'Bife de Lomo' which was not so adventurous, as I had it last time - but it was just so good!  Jeremy and Jane went wild and each ordered 'Parrillada de Carne' which translates into meat parade.  It consisted of

a mix of pork belly, chicken, quail, beef skewer, chorizo and lamb chops.* Black pudding, kidney and liver optional extra *  All plates come with a side of crispy fried potatoes, and we ordered some green vegetables on the side.  My steak was cook to perfection - medium rare - and exploded with delicious flavour in every bite.  Jeremy and Jane both quite enjoyed the quail and lamb, thought the pork belly and chicken were pretty decent, but were not as excited by the beef skewer and chorizo.  That is just SO MUCH MEAT!  We paired it with a Malbec which was divine.  The service was alright, not as excellent as our first visit, but nothing to complain about.  The setting is pleasant and on my favourite Adelaide street.  Most of all, the steak is extremely yummy.  It was my best steak of 2013...will it make the top of the 2014 list?  Only time will tell...

I wasn't special enough to have my picture taken since I did not get the meat parade, but here are Jane and Jeremy in all their meaty glory!

Something I left behind

Of course I could go on and on about all of the things I left in Canada when I packed up five years ago and headed across the world.  Two suitcases and a carry-on doesn't leave much room for your stuff.  I had space for clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes, a few books, a framed wedding photo, a photo album and a few other bits and pieces.  Everything else happens to be sitting in my mum and dad's basement or at the farm.  I'm planning to have a pretty good sift through it when I visit home this May and likely get rid of a bunch of stuff.  My brother was lucky enough to have inherited my snow blades, which I received for Christmas a year before  I left.  We were supposed to bring our cat, Max, but he didn't pass Australia's strict quarantine laws (rabies non-responder, long story) and now he has a loving home at my parents'  house (who had previously never owned a cat!)

When I left, my bags were extremely full, practically busting open.  There really wasn't even room for one more thing.  I crammed in as much as I could.  We had those 'heavy' stickers placed on our luggage when we went through the airport - fortunately they were under the limit.

Among the many, many, many, many things (and people) that I left behind, there was one thing that I was so sad about leaving that my first friend from Canada who visited (three months after we moved) brought it to me in her luggage.  The friend was Tracee, and the item was my game of Quelf.

The description of Quelf on boardgamegeek.com states:

Quelf is the unpredictable party game that gives Random a new name!
Whether you're answering hilarious trivia, performing ridiculous stunts, or obeying silly rules, Quelf will inspire you to use your creativity, wit and sense of humor in ways you've never imagined.
As you move around the game board, as one of eight quirky characters, crazy things start to happen. Your friends start talking strangely. Your mom's face is wrapped in toilet paper. Your dad is acting like Dracula. And you are reciting a poem about your armpits.

I bought Quelf on a whim at Miss Tiggywinkles before going to spend an evening with friends of Jeremy's that I didn't know very well.  I was excited about my new, un-tested game and decided to bring it along.  This was the beginning of many hilarious games of Quelf.  I have played it with kids, people my own age, people in their seventies...no matter what, there is always ridiculousness and laughter.  With characters such as Mrs. Picklefeather, the biscuit farmer, and super ninja monkey (who all have their own background stories) how can anyone fail to be amused?   

So thanks, Tracee, for lugging it all the way from Canada.  It has been much appreciated through the years!

An open letter...to my cats

Dear Salmon and Mackerel,

I thought I would take this opportunity to get a few things off my chest.  Since we share the same space daily, it's always good to clear the air once in awhile.

This house has an exciting feature - a cat door!  I know that you both enjoy spending time inside and outside.  We offer you that privilege freely!  So lucky.  The cat door is a marvelous invention - you simply hop through the swingy thing, and then you are on the other side.  It's almost magical.  But cats...we have had to modify this wonderful creation because you are too damn finicky!  Holding the cat door up with silver duct tape is less visually appealing, but that's what we must do.  Otherwise, you refuse to use the door at all.  Sometimes, when it's 42 degrees (like it is today), the tape becomes un-sticky and you "can't" (won't) use the door.  In a case like this, instead of going out to do your 'business' you instead go directly on the bathmat, and then paw at it so it's all weird and folded.  When an unsuspecting person goes to drape it over the side of the shower, there is an unpleasant splat and a horrible surprise (I'm looking at you, Sam).

That new black chair that we bought for everyone to enjoy is not solely reserved for the use of cats!  In fact, since it is black and you both have at least some light coloured fur, it would probably be best if you just avoided that chair.  There are so many other places to sit and lie down!  Our new black chair is now covered in a thick layer of cat hair - the least you could do is take a vacuum to it.

When I bought you those special healthy green treats at the pet store, it wasn't just for my own pleasure.  Cats are supposed to 'love' these 'delicious' treats.  Apparently you two weren't part of the focus group!  You turn your nose up at these every time...and they were expensive!  Speaking of food, you are fed twice a day, morning/evening, and this is not likely to change any time soon.  So
you can kindly quit freaking out at any point that the food bowl is less than 50% full.  We will keep feeding you, I promise!

Mac, it would be most appreciated if you would stop murdering the wildlife and bringing it into the house to dispose of.  I especially would enjoy if you refrained from bringing live birds into the house when we're not home.  When we're here, at least (in a flurry of screaming and waving arms around) I can rescue the poor thing.  When we're not, it is really not enjoyable to come home to a house that looks like 18 feather pillows exploded all over it.

Cats, I hope you will take these details into consideration.  I feel that from our past interactions, you are more likely to ignore them and keep going about your life as you wish.  You are just very lucky that you're adorable!

Sincerely,

Your feeder, cleaner, entertainment provider, landlord, etc etc.

When it comes to regrets, I do have a few...but I must admit, I haven't really considered them in terms of my blog.  What do I wish I would have done differently when I started my blog?  Let's see if anything comes to mind.

•  not making the template more personal/just using generic blogspot website
•  not looking into expat blogging communities before this
•  ummmmmmmm I'm not good at this game

Oh, I've also been regretting not introducing the mastermind behind this blog challenge.  I haven't been trying to be rude, I'm just not sure how to do fancy linky things.  I wonder if I can quickly figure it out.  Cristin, whose blog is titled In an opal hearted country is the lady who is behind all of this!  Look at that, I did it!  I may become blog fancy one of these days!

A day in pictures...

Today we are meant to share 'a day in pictures'.  It didn't have to be today, but since I normally post pictures from trips and fun things we've done, I thought it might be different to show a normal mundane day.  So here you have it, Monday in Adelaide...

I woke up at 8:30 in my extremely comfortable king sized bed with a duck down mattress topper.  Sleeping in it is heavenly. Sleeping till 8:30 on a Monday is also heavenly.  Jeremy was up at 6 am and I felt so grateful that I could stay in bed for a couple more hours.  Looking at this picture, I can see we should really get something to put on the wall - looks quite bare!

While having breakfast, I tend to peruse what's been happening while I was asleep.  In this case, I started my day off smiling thanks to a video that my friend Carolyne posted.  It's two 100 year old ladies who have been best friends for almost their whole lives, and she tagged me in it.  I also opened my e-mail account to see that I have been invited through SkillSelect to apply for permanent residency (more about that later in the day!)

After breakfast, I jump into my trusty automobile with a few important accessories - phone, iPad, diary, giant book with all sorts of printed resources.  A car is pretty crucial for a speech pathologist, since many of us are fairly mobile.  For example, today I saw in-patients at the hospital, then went off to an aged care residence to do a swallowing review, and then I was back at the hospital in the private speech pathology office.

My first stop of the day

Popped into this aged care residence to do a lunch time review

This is the speech pathology room, which my 'associate' (boss?  senior speech pathologist?  woman who pays me?) rents from the hospital.  It's not directly attached - it's in kind of a little cottage next door to the hospital.  The neuropsychologist, a private physio, and one of the rehabilitation consultants also have rooms in here.  There is a training room as well.  I mostly see kids in here, but occasionally I'll see an adult privately (i.e. not through the hospital, day rehab or aged care facility).

 I love checking the mail when I get home!  Normally there really isn't anything exciting, but today was lucky - a wedding invitation for our good friends Jen and Chris.  (Good thing we're invited, since we already bought our flights - SUPER CHEAP THROUGH TIGER AIRWAYS - to go to the wedding at the beginning of April).  I'm loving the relaxed vibe of the whole thing and I am really excited about it.  Jeremy is actually going to be their officiant and one of our friends might be playing some music at the ceremony/reception as well.

After checking the mail, I had to go see what my friends were up to.  The orange one at the top is Mackerel and the grey/black/white one is Salmon.  Mac's favourite things are lying in the dirt (beside our peach tree - you can see a few ripe peaches on the ground), murdering wild life (sadly), and being terrified of everyone/everything, although he does like a good belly rub.  Sam is a lazy one - he likes sprawling around outside and in various places in the house.  He's a nice cuddly cat and not much of a hunter.  He was in a playful mood when I took this picture.

 We decided to grab some things at the local Woolies.  Jeremy is having a look at the meat section an trying to ignore me taking a picture.  For some reason, today for the first time he took one of those wheel-y rolling basket things.

Back to the permanent residency/visa stuff from this morning.  I thought it would probably be best to just get the damn thing over with, so I spent about 45 minutes diligently filling in the forms online.  The best part was when I got to pay $5280 for the application!

This is one of my favourite day time and evening activities - sitting out back with a book.  I used to sit in the hammock, but then our friend Claire moved to Melbourne and stored a lot of her stuff at our place.  When Jeremy saw the giant blue bean bag, he knew that I would be quite happy if I could use it until the movers come to pick Claire's stuff up.  I don't know what I will do when it goes away!

Jeremy working away at the dinner preparations while I do dishes from earlier in the day.  We have a good system - whoever cooks, doesn't have to clean.  He's in a happy mood because he unexpectedly found out the he has three (paid) days off starting tomorrow.  From here we will eat, watch a bit of TV, print off some resources for work tomorrow, probably read some more and head off to bed.