1/2 a year in oz

yes, it's true. just over 6 months ago now, we hopped a plane from wet and snowy vancouver and arrived, 24 hrs later, all bleary eyed from the flights, into the 30+ degree weather and beautiful sunshine that is perth. (well, in summer anyhow. definitely not at this time of year) after dropping our massive quantities of luggage at our hostel, we stepped out to discover our new life in australia. feels like yesterday sometimes. and other times, it feels like we've been here for so much longer. strange how that happens.

so, i decided that we would inform all of you of the things we've learned about australia, what we love, what we hate, and what we miss from home (other then our family and friends of course, which is obvious).

things we've learned:

-aussie's abbreviate EVERYTHING
-things cost more here (from housing to food to underwear to toothpaste)
-the mining industry is the best way to make money in a short time (i'm considering a change in careers)
-aussie's are truly obsessed with Vegemite -a yeast based "spread" that they put on sandwiches
-they have better coffee then we do
-aussie's seem to be obsessed with Big Brother. it's on every night, at least once. urgh
-the sunsets here are some of the most beautiful i've seen
-going for a run along the coast will never get old
-whilst this is a country that hates cold, the houses are very poorly insulated and it's freakin' cold inside - in winter -
-walking around barefoot in shops is considered normal. even when said shop is very far from a beach
-you can get a "surfboard attachment" for your bike
-there are no yellow lines on the road here. it's alway white. (which gets confusing at times)
-minimum wage is actually a liveable wage
-aussie rules football is the most ridiculous sport ever. and very very cool.

things we love:

-tim tams (thanks katie)
-kangaroos and koalas
-12 degree days are considered cold and wintery
-living 5 mins from the beach (by bike)
-non-commercial radio (it's so great)
-produce that comes from the same state that we live in. delicious!


things we hate:

-bundaberg rum (dirty ashtray...)
-deadly spiders and snakes (not that we've run into them yet)
-australian internet. (it sucks. a lot!)
-poorly insulated houses
-how far everything is from something else (we thought we'd be used to that from home, but nope. it's worse here)
-Big Brother
-tv shows are half or a full season behind north america
-kookaburas. aka: the monkey-bird -because it sounds like a monkey in your tree- annoying at 5am!

things we miss from home:

-black beans (people have no idea what they are)
-glossette raisins and junior mints (my 2 favourite chocolates...)
-diet pepsi (pepsi light and pepsi max are just not the same)
-proper rum
-the cost of living in hamilton...
-heaters (in winter anyhow)
-RW, jacob, the gap, etc.
-our starbucks travel mugs

and so much more, of course.

xo

Movin' on up

go ahead. sing the song (whichever version you chose to go with is fine). you know, deep down, that you want to. it's been in my head for a few days while i was thinking about this post. i realize it has been a while since the last post, but when you keep reading, you'll understand why.

life has been busy and a bit hectic the past month or so. we got notice from our property manager (they don't do landlords here. agencies do all the work) that we had to vacate our place within a month or so. which, we were kind of expecting, but were hoping to avoid. you know how it is. anyhow, with the housing market as it is in perth, that started to stress us a little. i believe the rental vacancy rate is less then 1%. yikes!

john had just finished exams when we found out, thank goodness! he's been wonderful, doing all the searching for places, sending in our applications, schmoozing with the property managers, etc. we applied for a few places and got didn't get them. it was frustrating to say the least, but it worked out for the best. we (john) found a great place about 1.5 blocks from our previous house. it's much nicer, it's stand alone and it has a little yard. it's been mostly renovated by the previous owner, but the bathroom still needs some work. we're thinking of naming it "hamilton" because it's nice, but there's some sketchy components... :) luckily, it's in our rental agreement that the bathroom will be renovated in september.

needless to say, most of our evenings revolved around looking at properties online, making phone calls and packing up. you'd be surprised at how much we've accumulated in 6 months time. anyhow, we have successfully moved into our new place on friday (but we moved our stuff into the cellar on wednesday, then were homeless for 2 nights) and are slowly chugging away at getting it all set up. it looks great and already feels more like home then our other place did. you'll all have to visit to understand. i'll post pics at some point, but i'm at work right now eating lunch, so i can't.

added to the stress of finding a new place to live is the fact that i am looking for a new job. which in itself isn't that bad. there are a ton of vacancies around here. unfortunately, none of them are the right one for me right now. instead, i'm doing locum work. so, while john was busy looking for houses and picking up extra hours at work, i was busy getting to work in perth by 7:30am and treating until 5:30 or so, before heading home and passing out on the couch. the guy i'm covering works like a maniac. i don't know how he does it, cause i'm not even seeing as many patients as he does. but whatever, it's good money.

i've been making some contacts in the physio world to simplify my work situation. as i was told on a course this weekend by another attendee: "in perth, if you want a good job, it's not about what you know but who you know". which i'm sure is true everywhere. on the plus side, i am finally making the necessary contacts and finding links to all the clinics i would like to work at, so that's good. i'm hoping something comes of it soon. and i decided that my canadian accent is good for me in this situation, because people remember me. i think it makes me stand out of the crowd! yay canada!

speaking of canada... we did celebrate canada day with a few of john's school friends. the shin dig was lacking canadiana but everyone was wearing red and white, we only played canadian music and i drank canadian club :) isn't that authentic enough? next year we'll be more prepared.

at the moment, we are still without internet in our new place, and without a landline (it will be the same as previous. we just need to buy a phone) we still have the cells (or mobiles, as they say). but if you're wondering why we've appeared to drop off the face of the earth, it was because of the above.

hope all is well
xo