I share an office with three others. We all get along really well and have lots of fun. The one who is intent on improving my Danish, by speaking to me in Danish, said yesterday that she really is surprised how I and NQDII have settled into life in Denmark. Her husband has a job where they can always be posted away too, so she knows very well what it’s like to be an ex-pat. Then I happened to say I really missed our house sometimes and she said, “Finally! You miss something.” It made me think I must be all sunshine and light, which really isn’t the case and I’m sure a couple of my blogger mates must think the same.
There are lots of things I miss about Australia, but I know they’re not here and Denmark has it’s own plusses that Australia doesn’t have. I don’t expect my life in Denmark to mirror my life in Australia. It’s impossible. I guess how I approached the move was to literally just jump into it and let fate steer the course.
But, straight after that talk with my workmate, I received an email MMS from a friend in Australia who’d just driven past my family farm and stopped to take a photograph of the driveway. I haven’t seen that view of the place for almost a year and I must say it did make me a bit melancholy. It’s winter there now and I could see the wet ground, the gum trees with all the fallen summer bark around them and I could almost feel the frigid air and smell the eucalyptus and yet, it is all literally on the other side of the world.
The farmSo, here’s a list of things I think about almost every day.
1. My brother, his wife and kids – who live in Singapore anyway
2. My father who I dread something happening to while I’m here
3. My best friend Steve
4. My other best friend Salome, who lives in Texas and has also developed an admitted email-writing phobia
5. My dear friend Carolyn who died before I came here but I bought her photograph because I knew she would have enjoyed the trip
6. Other friends, Bruce, Joe and Francesca, Joy and Peter, Jan and Cameron, Yvonna
7. My crazy aunts and cousins
8. My house – it’s nothing really special but it’s bigger than this flat and has its own tiny front and back gardens.
9. Saigon Rose – Vietnamese restaurants in Prahran and Richmond, and the family who run them
10. The huge selection of vegetables and foods we have in Australia (plant variety, not idiots)
11. Melbourne water that requires no de-calcing to run the dishwasher or washing machine and tastes delicious. The only trouble is, there's hardly any left...
12. Cheap, great restaurants
13. Being only 5mins away from the beach
And here’s a list of things I don’t miss
1. Bogans
2. Excessive heat and all the dramas that go with it
3. Sport taking up two thirds of the nightly news
4. Aggro on the streets
5. Yuppies
6. Listening to Australian politicians
7. Driving – this has surprised me
Et voila! See, I am human.
8 comments:
I'm just wondering why your house has this big fence like houses in Indonesia? Is it normal to have that kind of fence down there?
It's pretty usual in Australia. I think it's to fence in you're own little world, which is right up my alley. Having said that, I think Canberra is the only city where you're not allowed to have fences.
I love reading lists like this...
so I thought I would share a couple too...
things I miss (other than of course, family and friends)...
Chipotle burritoes (they freaking rock and are the only Fast food that as a vegetarian, I can eat!)
the malls...and the American prices at the mall...
having a BATHTUB
things I don´t miss..
Texas HEAT
constant barrage of Presidential campaign commercials
having to drive everywhere (I actually like walking and biking WAY more than I expected!!)
Kelli, we have discovered these addictive corn thingos. I'd give you the name because we just at the whole lot yesterday but I think it's 'Maise snacks'. They're highly addictive.
And yes, the bathtub. I miss that most in winter when I used to like coming home and having one at the end of the day. Still, I think we are actually lucky to have a real shower in our flat here, rather than the usual shower on a cord over the toilet set up, which is so common here!
Agree with you totally about not having to drive everywhere!
Quote: 10. The huge selection of vegetables and foods we have in Australia (plant variety, not idiots)
*snort* thanks, I now have ice tea splashed all over my key board.
Lists are interesting, when I lived abroad, I misseed the Danish informality and friendliness. Now that I'm back, it suddenly strikes me how NOSY, inquisitive and "you-must-hear-my-opinion" Danes are. I never noticed that before.
PS. I have a tub :)
May: It's amazing what time away does to put things into perspective. You get the chance of looking at things afresh. Do you think Danes are any more inquisitive as anyone else??
I envy you your bath tub. It must make winter beautiful!
I do think Danes are more inquisitive. There's probably not that much a difference between close friends, but it's very noticable when it comes to deliverymen, workers etc.
Questions like "how much did you pay for that?", "can you make a living from that?" are not some I've ever been asked from non-Danish strangers.
Also the familiarity...5 minutes after meeting her, the boss of my new bank advisor gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder, which nearly sent my flying from the chair, because I was completely unprepared, and my plumber giving me a fatherly hug. :)
May: Now you mention it, the man at the pizza shop first asked me what I did and then how much I earned (I was very vague about it) but I will now keep an eye out. The familiarity bit sounds hilarious - and quite nice and friendly.
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