Observing the Aussie Way

The first few weeks of living in a different country are a bit like having a new baby without any help or any of those lovely gifts you receive for a baby shower. Your days are spent in a bit of a fog and you need to accept that getting one thing done (like buying a toaster) should be considered an accomplishment.

This however, does not go over well with my "put everything on a list and get everything done" nature.

But alas, this is how it shall be for the next few weeks and maybe even months which is something I'll need to get used to. I'll start working on that after I get over whatever virus/cold has taken hold of my head. Yes, I'm sick and I believe I picked it up from Kaia and Ben so it's my turn. It's not very comfortable being sick when you are sleeping on a rental bed with one pillow and no cable tv.

Enough feeling sorry for Maura - on to more observations:

1. Lemonade = Sprite
   
2. They don't carry rootbeer here and Ben is still grieving over this.
   
3. You are able and expected to bargain a deal on anything in the stores -- this would be like going into a BestBuy and saying "hey, I'm not paying $1,599 for that refrigerator". It's very interesting and for those of you who know I like to haggle at the Kane County Flea Market you know this is kind of shopping is right up my alley. So far I've done fairly well at getting money off on a refrigerator and washer/dryer along with free shipping. Here's the kicker: the delivery person will hook up the refrigerator and the washing machine, but someone else needs to install the dryer and that will cost me $99! GRUMBLE.....
   
4. I enjoyed a lovely Sauvingon Blanc the other day called "The Arrogant Frog" - however, it doesn't taste so good when you have a stuffed-up head.
   
5. Jumper = sweater, skivy = long-sleeved tshirt or turtleneck.
   
6. The Melburnians are all commenting on how cold they are - they are coming off a very hot summer and moving into autumn - and they think 60 degrees and sunny is cold.
   
7. I have now driven twice to Target with no accidents - although the turn signal is on the other side of the steering wheel so I keep flipping the wipers on. Maybe it is better to walk.
   

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is Ben and my 8th? 9th? wedding anniversary! How are we celebrating you ask? Well, I found out it was our wedding anniversary by reading two "Happy Anniversary" emails from Kathleen and Beth (THANKS FOR THE REMINDER SISTERS!).

So now that I realize we should be celebrating, I'll call Ben on his Blackberry and see if he can join Kaia and I for dinner and a glass. It would be nice to go out dinner and have a glass of Sauv Blanc in a wineglass and not a coffee mug (which will do until we get the rest of our furniture and household goods).

Thanks to everyone too for all their wonderful blog comments (and for reminding me that it's my wedding anniversary).

What would I do without all of you? :)

48 hours in the not-so glamourous life of a new ex-pat

Well we made it Down Undah on Saturday afternoon. The flights went very well - no delays and Kaia was G-R-E-A-T. Here are highlights of what we have experienced in the past 48 hours:

1. Set off the townhouse alarm as soon as we walked in the place (HI NEIGHBORS!)
2. Figured out that Target is not anything like the Target in the States (What do you mean you don't sell toothpaste and telephones?)
3. Spent some quality time with my Australian girlfriend Catherine, her husband Vic and their two kids, Joseph and Amy. Had a few good laughs and got some great Aussie tips over a couple of glasses of Savinugon Blanc.
4. Took Kaia to her new school to meet the teacher and say hello to her class. Good part: the little girls LOVED Kaia - they all wanted to stand next to her. Bad part: Lauriston has a nut-free environment and a little girl in Kaia's class is extremely allergic to nuts. This means no PB&J sandwiches for Kaia's lunch.
5. Ben rented a Toyota Camry for us so I drove the Aussie way for the first time today and didn't kill my family. Kaia was walking into the store with us going "YAY! Mommy didn't kill us!!!!!" - I'm sure the people around us LOVED that.
6. Figured out everything in Australia is not only expensive, but UN-HEARD of expensive. Example: Ben got a second set of keys made for the townhouse....4 keys = $28.00AUD

Here are some other titles I could have used for this post:

I just spent $48.00 on a hair dryer.

They don't sell pretzels in Australia - only 5 million kinds of potato chips

How long until the "glamourous ex-pat" part comes along?

:)

On a serious note, it is exciting even though this part is tiring. We are all handling it very well - Kaia especially.