I have finally convinced myself to give the blogging a try! I'm not very good at words nor at writing journals but I love sending emails to update everyone anyways so why not just create a one-stop shop for everyone to see and visit at their own convenient time. So here I am trying out this stuff.
I do not really know how to start since I do not have an idea of who I'm writing this for? It's different if you don't know who your target readers are ... am I really ready for this? Can I really share my thoughts and stories about what its been and how its been for us? Can I make the commitment to regularly blog and not keep the posts outdated? It's not easy but why not. Maybe after a few posts, it will get better?
I'm sharing a summary page of our first three months of our journey in the new land. A lot has happened during our first three months in the new country we chose to live in other than the Philippines, the land down under, Australia.
We came here after 3 years and 4 months of living together as husband and wife. It was a big decision we had to make leaving families and friends behind but it's a leap of faith for us. We prayed that God lead us to where He wants us to go and passing all the immigration requirements in a short 10-months processing time was a positive sign that He has greater plans for us here.
The first month was easy -- it just felt like we were vacationing in a foreign land, like we used to. Only this time, we had four full bags to carry and no return tickets to secure. In a little less than a month, we jumped from one state to another - New South Wales (NSW), Australia Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria (VIC) and South Australia (SA). After this we realized we're halfway, only four more to go!
Our friends, L&S and E&N with their families, welcomed us in Sydney with arms wide open on the day we landed. They were witnesses to the puffed eyes and a few more crying on the first days. They considered us as family and offered their bedrooms for us to rest. L&S generously extended their offer indefinitely until we find a job and find our own place. What great friends we have here! L even patiently gave me a crash course in laundry!
The week after we arrived, we joined my cousin S, in his Melbourne flat to have a look around the said to be Europe of Australia. We were there for a week and learned that this was much more tourist-friendly than Sydney. We liked the convenience of riding in trams and the simplicity of the street layouts, loved the fun of shopping in what we call "tiangges" back in Manila and adored the Italian cuisine down at Lygon street. There was so much more to see ...
A week after that, my tita E & the rest of her family - ninong A & cousin N, arrived in Melbourne and we drove all together back to Adelaide where they live. It was an interesting 8hours drive as there were endless roads, skylines and farms (canola oil farms for one!) like forever. They showed us the beach at Goolwa, the view at Victor Harbour, the vineyards at Barossa Valley and the quiet little towns of Gawler and Tanunda. We were able to meet our friends M&C and their cute little kids B&N in their lovely residence. We introduced them to our other kumare and kumpadre M&J who're also based in Adelaide so they can have each other to get-together with on some occasions that they need others to keep them sane. We also had our first barbie party with some more relatives (all of them, we met for the first time!). We had fun and they captured our hearts but we had to go back to Sydney to start on the more serious fun -- the job-hunting. Then we realized vacation was over!
The job-hunting in the second month was not fun like we expected. There were fears and there were discussions here and there whether we can make this work until after 2 weeks when we learned of the husband's job offer. It was a big relief and we praised God for all the blessings He's been showering us. When the husband started working, I started apartment-hunting. I made phone-calls, inquired if they had the least of the facilities we needed, I short-listed apartments to inspect and we did most of the inspection on weekends. The look-see-and-feel lasted for three consecutive Saturdays until we found THE ONE.
On our third month, we were moving to our own pad and have started settling-in. It was interesting renting the first time since it's very different from how it's done in Manila. As tenants here, you first get "The Renting Guide" from the Office of Fair Trading under The Department of Commerce. This pamphlet details your rights and responsibilities as a tenant. Then when you move in, you have to fill in a "Residential Premises Condition Report" which is a checklist of items for inspection whether they are clean, undamaged or working. This report protects the tenant from any unnecessary charges the lessor may demand from the bond. I wondered if and when Philippines will be able implement rules like this.
Choosing which utility company to tie up with was another dirty work ... I didn't imagine there could be so much choice even for electricity and gas (for water-heating and cooking). The home phone was understandable because in Manila there are now more choices than it used to but the electricity and gas was something new to us. We finally settled for what was popular amongst the friends as well as what was recommended by the building property manager. There was no charge for water which was good, one less bill to worry.
During this month, we also celebrated the holidays -- Christmas and New Year days in our new abode. Lots of cooking and eating for two! It wasn't very bad for first timers. I guess the TV with lots of DVDs helped ease the homesickness.
Tomorrow will be the start of our fourth month adventure here in OZ. I wonder how it will be? I hope and pray this month and the coming months of year 2006 will be kind and generous to us. Let's see.
Till next post then ...
There was something about Melbourne that we really loved. We were there for 6 days just one week after we first set foot in the land down under and it was love at first sight. It could be the simple life, or the accessibility to the city from where our cousin lived, or the street layout - being grid-like very much similar to what we're used to in Manila, or maybe the friendliness of people we bumped into in our strolls or tram-rides, or the fashion, or the markets, or (okay just in case you are reading) Shaun's home-cooked meals.
I loved Natasha's and Dylan's house - it's an old house with a modern interior, very homely, very tidy, a place one would always want to go home to. It can just be 3 stops from Melbourne Central (read shopping), very convenient indeed! Shaun's was not bad, forget about tidiness, but the new telly kept us entertained. We watched two-half movies on the big screen in his very comfortable lounge (seriously Shaun you don't need a new one) while feasting on baked oysters c/o hubby, baked salmon fillet over a glass of Sauv Blanc c/o the cousin and strawberries and cream c/o moi.
