After a short sabbatical for rejuvenation through an ayurvedic deep cleanse we are slowly getting back in the groove of things.  Although, it is probably an overstatement to say that we actually have a groove!  There is a scale called the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale that is a helpful tool in understanding how major life changes impact us.  It has been easy for us to underestimate exactly how much this years changes and challenges have affected us.  The cleanse was a helpful reset button after hitting a number of things on that stress scale this past year!  It is going to take us a while before we actually get a real groove!

Nothing quite prepared us for becoming expats.  Travel and moving didn’t do it.  I have traveled to 20 countries and still feel like a novice adventurer.  We have moved more times than I care to recall and still that didn’t prepare us for a move abroad.  While our language is shared there are differences there as well.  It seems to us that lots of words here are shortened.  For instance, I give you the word arvo.

Avacado is avo.  Australia is straya.  Biccy is biscuit, cookie.  Breakfast is brekky.  Brisbane is Brissie.  Choccy is chocolate.  Cuppa is a cup of tea.  Definitely is defo.  Devastated is devo.  Footy is football.  Lappy is laptop.  This afternoon is s’arvo.  Gas station is servo.  Liquor store is bottle-o.  Police officer is coppa.  Things sold in cans are tinnys.  A tradesman is a tradie.  A postman is a postie.  Garbage truck driver is a garbo.  A present is a prezzie. Facebook is facey.  Sunglasses are sunnies.  Vegetarian is a veggo.  You get the idea!

And, culturally there are lots of differences as well.  It is fun and challenging and disorienting all at once.  While travel is one long trip of exploration, being an expat is different because you are doing some travel when you can but also  you are building a life with all the little details that come with it!  We very purposefully came with only our clothes and computers and have been renting everything.  We are now at the point where it feels a bit like we have been in a hotel for quite a while.  The kitchen rental equipment was just not cutting it.  Food preparation is very important to our family.  So we have slowly been starting to acquire some basic kitchen equipment.  We turned our first round of rental equipment back in this week.  We have a rental contract on this home till the end of the year and are not quite sure what is next.  We love living in New Farm as it is close to the central business district (CBD) and is on a little peninsula.  It is just a very cool community!  All four of us are nesters so the temporariness of everything has been challenging.  Flexibility and resilience and trust in the process are absolute requirements for an expat adventure.  We are in constant learning and adjustment mode!  We are trusting that by the end of this year we will know what the next step is!

This week the contract on my parents home officially fell through.  In addition, our realtor who is primarily an appraiser encouraged us to find a realtor who could be full time.  It has been a wild ride with two offers, both falling through!  It has been extremely hard to be so far away during this process.  I have had to resist the urge to hop on a plane and head home.  There are some repairs to be dealt with and we now have a full time realtor on it. We are back to square one!  Again flexibility and resilience and trust in the process!

We are so incredibly grateful to our friend Rhonda for the use of her car!  It has been an absolute godsend!  While we love using public transit for most things, having a car has made our life so much easier!  We are defo (see we are learning) going to have to look at getting a car in the year ahead!

This past week we found a new groomer for the dogs and Eve also found a hair salon to get a cut.  Seemingly small things but these things make a place feel more like home.  We think they all look great!

Everyday as an expat is a new day of learning!  It is a move and travel all wrapped into one.  There is a longing to explore and a longing to be settled.  There is a longing for home back in the USA and a longing to put down roots here in Australia.  Everyday we start again!  Here’s wishing you a lovely new day and week ahead!  As always, thanks for joining us on our Aussie adventure!