Australia really doesn’t celebrate Halloween. It’s is my 3rd year and I’m finding that I’m not missing the holiday as much as I had. The second year was the hardest. I hadn’t had anything pumpkin (American Pumpkin, not Aussie pumpkin). This year we are going out for a nice Mexican dinner. f
It seems that Australia is starting to embrace the idea of Halloween. There are parties all over the city, but few of them are actually on Halloween. Now I know that next year, we’ll have to plan far ahead.
One of my favourite places in the world is the Taronga Zoo.
Wow…I can’t believe I have been in Australia for 2 years already.
I touched down at 1140 am on 22/11/2012 after leaving the United States 2 days prior.
I remember being scared although my husband, then my boyfriend, was waiting for me on the other side of customs. My heart was racing. I was about to start a new life in another country. It was exciting and frightening all at once.
Now, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I love Australia.
My job is amazing. I have great coworkers and wonderful patients.
In a few weeks, I’m taking a step forward in my professional life and will be taking on a new temporary role.
Everything is falling into place and I couldn’t be happier.
Living in Sydney is very expensive. I have to say it was quite a shock when I first arrived nearly two years. Although rent, food, and petrol is expensive, I found that my money goes further. I don’t have to pay for cable. I don’t have monthly car insurance payments. I pay once off yearly and then I don’t have to worry about it. I purchased a car with cash. It’s an old car and costs were low and in the end, it was much cheaper to buy an old car because a new car in Australia is just too expensive. Basically, I pay my rent fortnightly, pay for internet every month, and pay for electric and gas quarterly.
I found shopping at Aldi has cut my food costs significantly. I also buy from the cheaper food stores. I found that Coles has the some of the best prices when sales occur. I’ve cut out soft drinks from my diet. Holy Cow! $25 for a case of diet coke. It’s just ridiculous. But it has made me think about what I am purchasing.
I love not having to pay for cable. The free to air television is nice. I found a few shows that I love to watch. The Aussie drama, Neighbours, is one of my favourites. We do get quite a bit of American TV here, but you do have to wait days to weeks to see it.
I’m planning on making Thanksgiving for my Aussie hubby and a few American friends. I know that I seem to miss home so much during October and November.
Since Australia doesn’t celebrate Halloween like America does and the lack of fall stuff; no fall foliage and no pumpkin spice lattes, I found myself feeling homesick during this time of year. So as I’m starting to plan the typical American Thanksgiving, I realise that I have no idea where to buy a Turkey. Most grocery shops have some frozen turkey breast, usually no more than 2 kg. This would be fine if it were just me and my husband, but I need something bigger this year. So, I went search online for turkeys and I nearly lost it at the cost for a 8kg turkey.
Are you kidding me?! I’d never thought I had to pay so much for a turkey. Luckily, I found a butcher and I should be able to get a turkey for around $80 (still ridiculous!),
But finding a turkey isn’t the only challenge. They don’t have fresh cranberries here. Few if any stores have pumpkin purée and there is no such thing as pumpkin spice in this county. I found USA foods last year and I was able to purchase a tin of pumpkin in off seasons, but it was always sold out for months before the holidays. So this year, I got it early.
I’m going to be ready for Thanksgiving this year.
For the past three months, I have been working on a project with my boss, educator, and several other employees at my hospital. We are getting close to our go-live date for implementing our new charting system. I’m glad that I’ve gotten to shine a little bit over the past few months, but I’ve been in the spotlight more and more as the training has started. I love teaching and educating. It’s my ultimate goal for my career. The one thing I’ve been heading towards since I got my Masters degrees. I’ve done the manager thing and I hated it. I’ve been in middle management and in truth, it’s where I have always been most comfortable. It’s always been just the right amount of responsibility for me. As a newly-wed, the last thing I want to do is have 24 hour accountability. But I am ready to step out of my comfort zone. I was offered an opportunity and I really want to change it, but I also know other changes are on the way. What if I make the wrong decision? Can I make this work for me?
I’m very excited and nervous, but so ready for what might be.
It’s a long weekend and I am so happy to have a few days off. Work has been keeping me very busy. I’ve been working at least 12-14 hours extra over the past few weeks and it has been exhausting. As we get ready to ready to launch our new charting system, I’m drowning in computer work. But I’m so excited because I’m finally becoming involved. It’s has been years since I have truly worked with a team like I am now. As a traveller, I’ve always been on the fringe of things; not having to get worked up over workplace politics, but now I’m dived in the deep end and I’m okay with that idea.
Now it’s Labour Day weekend and I have FOUR days off. I’m not doing anything, but enjoying the time off with my husband.
bungsandotherstuff 