Australia is a country of immigrants. It’s therefore not uncommon for Australians to describe themselves as “part-Italian” or “part-Malaysian” or “part-Croatian.” Me, I’m “part-Lithuanian.” Only a very little part mind you – my grandfather was half-Lithuanian, half-Polish (and perhaps even a little Russian). My grandmother was German. In truth, my blood has been so watered […]
Chapter 2 – Mexico
When I was a child, I remember gazing up at a huge map of the world displayed on the wall in my parents’ study, and being drawn to Mexico. I didn’t really know anything about it. I think it was probably the name that attracted me initially – a 3 syllable country with an X […]
Shall We Travel the World?
Over the past 4 years, I have lost count of the number of countries the husband and I have been privileged to visit. What started out as a temporary assignment (1 year, maybe 2) has morphed into something almost semi-permanent. This – working 10 weeks, travelling for 3, community living on a gated compound, no […]
Community
A funny thing happened the other weekend. The husband and I were lolling around the apartment, doing nothing in particular – when the power went off. We looked at each other and waited for it to surge back on, but it didn’t happen. And although we didn’t really have any plans anyway, it unnerved us. […]
The Strangeness of being an Expat
It had been close to two years since we last set foot on Aussie soil when we landed in Sydney shortly before Christmas. Two years – our first Christmas off the island in 5 years. As we transferred terminals from international to domestic, Sydney’s humidity hit me not so much like a punch in the […]
Hunting Rudolph
The husband and I have just returned from a two week exploration of Finland. Finland appeared to be a strange choice for many people when I told them where we were going – I was frequently met with confused expressions and comments such as “that’s random,” “why are you going there” and my favourite “you […]