The Art of Detachment, or the Lack Thereof

I was inspired by a friend Conor's blog post about things he's going to bring and miss on his year-long world rugby tour (http://willtravelforrugby.blogspot.com). I started thinking about the things I packed and the things I wish I wouldn't have packed in the 6 large suitcases Theo and I managed to bring. On the airlines, we were allowed 2 suitcases each for free. So we paid for an extra each. When you work out the math for shipping, it ended up costing less this way.

I think I did a pretty good job whittling down my belongings for someone who's never made this big of a move before, although my mother may disagree when she looks at the boxes of stuff I left at her house. But I think when you look at the big picture of downsizing from a 3-bedroom house to practically nothing, It was a big accomplishment for me.

When you're going to a brand new place, I think it's important to surround yourself with things that really make you feel good inside, that will instantly make any space cozy and undeniably yours. Decorations are important to me, especially those that make me think of a person, place, or if it's just the color red (my favorite) that's good enough for me as well.

Here are some pictures of the things I'm glad I brought:

My stuff in these photos include the "Shrine to Frida," which really isn't a shrine, it just looks like that! On the "shrine" you'll (maybe) see a cross from Mexico, a buddha, an elephant, and Bader's head scarf, used to expertly disguise an empty box.

I also brought a Mexican blanket (originally Bader's, I think) and dreamcatchers Theo and I bought on a trip through Arizona & New Mexico. The blanket has come in very handy, and I've only had one bad dream since we've been here ;)

Reminders of loved ones are also important. I managed to pack the photo of my grandparents and a couple of other small photo books, but couldn't fit the majority of my stockpile of photos, or my scrapbook of concert tickets, stubs, etc. I definitely couldn't leave without my baby boy who recently passed. Inside the gold tin is my cat Iva's ashes, who died a couple of years ago. I had planned to bring him with me, but he didn't make it alive. He was an adventurous soul and I knew he would have loved this one.

I lot of the items I cherish were gifts from friends and family: elephants, Hindu wall hanging, red fairy, kiwi birds, New Zealand lamb...

I brought the tarot cards for some reason... I don't even read them unless I'm really bored.

You obviously can't live without clothes, but unfortunately when you have nothing to put them in they end up in a pile on the floor. HA! I have about another suitcase full of clothes and shoes that I never wear because it's entirely too hot. I could have done without some of those. But who knows, I haven't experienced winter here yet. Maybe they'll get some use.

I was insistent on bringing the Wii. For a while we didn't even have a TV to use it on, but Christian was nice enough to solve that problem for us. Then we realized after a slightly smokey incident that we needed a step-up transformer. It happens to cost a couple hundred dollars so I still haven't used that item yet. Someday, I hope.

Then there are the practical items... basic hygiene necessities. We haven't really had to buy much yet, because I prepared so well for this. Because of my ultra-thrifty habits, I had extra conditioner, toothpaste, soap, lotion, etc. Good thing, because these items look to be more expensive here and I despise paying full price for anything.

There are some things we forgot, were not practical to bring, or just not possible. This is a really long list in my mind, but here are the highlights:

Mexican Foods: corn tortillas, tomatillos, green mole, mexican cheeses, chipotle peppers.

My Fave Cooking Items: pressure cooker, baking stones, gadgets, cool dishes.

Ipod dock/speaker system: we tried to find this here, but was told at the Mac store that this item is now "vintage."

Music: I had tons of CDs that I hadn't yet copied over to my laptop. I wish I had done this before we left, but the local library has been helping me reconcile this.

Last Year's Tax Return: without this item, 2009 taxes will be a little more difficult, but not impossible.

A Writing Example: I thought I was past the point of needing this for job interviews, but apparently not.

One thing I did bring with me but didn't consciously think about, was the set of binoculars my mom bought me a while ago. I randomly packed them, and they've been great to have around so I can spy on new, interesting wildlife outside my apartment window.

So I haven't completely perfected the art of detachment, and I don't think I ever will, but I do feel like I'm one step closer.

Long Weekend

It's been a long weekend...there was a holiday on Tuesday, plus my life resembles what feels like an eternally long weekend. Not going to work every day isn't actually as glamorous as it would seem when you don't have any money to spend!

The holiday was Australia Day, commemorating the arrival of the first British to Australia. It's sort of like Independence Day in the US, except for it's not exactly independence being celebrated, I suppose. Similar to how Christopher Columbus Day is controversial in the US, so is Australia Day. To some here, it's a sad day for the Aborigines and nothing to celebrate. Nonetheless, we attended a holiday BBQ down the street so we could spend the day with friends, especially those who were so kind to help us out when we got here. The beach-side parks were crowded with people. The crowd varied from young to old, Australian-born to immigrants. There were lots of Aussie flag outfits, hats, fake flag tattoos, and t-shirts. One thing almost everyone had in common - BBQ. If they weren't BBQing on the public grills, they were BBQing on ones they brought with them. It was super hot outside, but it didn't seem to be slowing anyone down.



Theo had a good time playing around with the boys. For the first time, I even saw him play cricket, although an extremely casual version. I thought he hated that game! I guess he'll play anything after 5 or 6 bowls of kava!

Earlier in the weekend, I got to go to my first surfing competition. It was fun, especially since it was located right on a dog beach. So when I got bored of watching surfing, I could watch the cute dogs. It's been ages since I had a dog, so of course it made my yearning for one even worse!!

An interesting quirk I've been noticing on the Gold Coast is the general lack of some of the social graces I'm used to, like generally making eye contact, smiling, saying "Excuse Me" when you bump into someone, etc. So this weekend, what surprised me was that even though a surfing competition was clearly in progress, the fishermen continued to cast their long lines from a pier right next to the surfers. So the competition announcers politely asked the fishermen not to cast so close, since apparently during a previous competition a surfer actually got hooked! But they continued as if nothing was going on, which to me would be pretty rude, but here, I guess people just do what they want.



To break up the monotony of relaxation, I had my first job interview smack dab in the middle, on Monday. My feelings about it are mixed, so I plan to keep looking. I guess my "long weekend" continues.

Byron Bay

Today we went on a "road trip." At least a road trip by local standards, and frankly our own since we don't have a car yet...even though Byron Bay is only about 45 minutes south of the Gold Coast.

Byron Bay is the closest thing to a sort of hippie community in the area. Downtown, they have funky little shops and cafes, and you have a better chance of not getting hit by a car crossing the street. Oh the humanity there! :) I should explain a little...in the US, Theo always marveled at the way drivers of vehicles would actually stop and wait for pedestrians. He would tell me, "That wouldn't happen in Australia. They'd just run you over. You can't just walk out in front of cars there!" Since I've been here, I actually have noticed a general respect for vehicles among pedestrians. I've even seen a lifeguard truck make a lady with a stroller stop on a sidewalk so they could drive through. Anyway, my point is that Byron Bay is so hippie that they'll even stop for pedestrians. Imagine!! (By the way, I didn't really see any actual "hippies" of the magnitude we have in the US, but it did seem more liberal.)

So we woke up at 4:30 a.m. so our friend Takkeshi could get some quality surfing in. Here's the surfing shot of the day, compliments of Theo:

It was a beautiful morning and the waves were great. We ate breakfast, went back to the beach, then had seafood & chips for lunch.

It was a nice, relaxing trip and I'm sure we'll be back. The vibe is definitely different there. Cute, funky, and even more laid back than usual. I'd love to have a house there. I found a newspaper and browsed the real estate section. Property near the beach is over $2 million. Guess I better get a job soon.

So, how's the weather??

So a lot of people are curious - what's the weather like? Well, I was very excited about arriving here for summer in Aussie. We had a little rain when we first arrived, but now it's been pretty normal. Highs in the 80s and lows in the 70s. Perfect for me and my sun-loving self. Although it can seem like it's a lot hotter than 80 when one strays too far from the beach. We are lucky to have a 2nd floor apartment, only a block from the beach, which gives us a nice constant breeze. A lot of people here either don't have air conditioning in their residences, or have a small A/C unit that only gets used when absolutely necessary. I love the warmth, so I'm not missing A/C much. You can really tell the difference when the breeze stops though. A few nights were so hot it was hard to sleep, and apparently it will get hotter in February, so I'll let you know if I melt.

Library Card

I got my official Gold Coast library card the other day. I was so proud.. I couldn't stop thinking about the movie Citizen Ruth. If you haven't seen it - go rent it now :) She's talking about how it's her right to choose abortion or not... "...Because I'm a citizen." LOL

Mexican Food - 2 Thumbs Down Under

One of the few things I knew I would miss before I left the States for Australia was Mexican food. I was completely spoiled in KC. You can’t throw a stone in any direction in KC without hitting a Mexican restaurant. Twice I lived within walking distance of my beloved, affectionately nicknamed, “Mexican Price Chopper.” It had everything, from the best selection of produce (including cactus, every kind of hot pepper you could imagine, and strange looking vegetables I didn’t even know what to do with). In this grocery store, they even make tortillas, chorizo, and tres leches cake (yummmmmy) onsite.

So I figured Australia would be barren of most Mexican goods, and I had been dreading these food craving moments for months, but I still wasn’t mentally (or gastronomically) prepared. So let’s start with the most basic of almost-daily snacks for me, the “egg taco.” I had prepared for this one. There are 3 ingredients in an egg taco. 1. The egg. 2. The corn tortilla. 3. Mexican hot sauce. The hot sauce was in my suitcase.

Eggs are easy enough to find. The problem, I discovered, was the corn tortilla. I’ve searched every grocery store in our vicinity for what I thought was a basic food item. However, no corn tortillas can be found, only flour ones. In my search, I did come across something flat, with corn as a main ingredient, called “Mountain Bread.” Sounded cool and interesting, so I decided to “give it a go.” Although the ingredients list corn flour, wheat flour, water and salt, all these taste like are pure flour. And not even as good as a flour tortilla… just tastes like pure flour. Not cutting it for my egg tacos.

Next Mexican food attempt: the restaurant. Walking around the Gold Coast, you will actually see quite a few Mexican restaurants, at least more than I expected. I was reluctant to try them, but I finally gave in to my urges/curiosity. The first thing I noticed was the prices. Mexican restaurants in the US are notoriously inexpensive. Another way I was spoiled, I suppose, so I put the fact that even combination plates were $20 out of my mind. Scanning the menu, I saw “Chilli” Verde (sorry I can’t help pointing out the spelling mistakes!), one of my all-time favorite dishes. I read the description… capsicums!?? Instead of tomatillos, they use green peppers! I don’t think so… this is blasphemy!! So I finally decided on a “Burrito Americana.” I figured… if they can’t do actual Mexican, maybe they can do TexMex. When it came out, it actually wasn’t that bad. But not great either. And definitely not worth $20. I definitely needed some spice, as always, so asked for hot sauce. What do I get? Tabasco sauce. I don’t even like Tabasco sauce… I actually think it tastes gross. But I obviously didn’t get the hint, and decided to ask the waitress if she knew where they sell corn tortillas (she looked some sort of “ethnic”), but she obviously wasn’t Mexican because she had no idea.

SHEESH!!

The next project will be cooking refried beans at home. I've seen pinto beans at the store. So there I go. I can eat beans, at least...

...with hot sauce.

First Apartment in Oz

I'm not in Kansas anymore, but I am in Oz!

After hours and hours of internet searches, realtor visits, rental applications, and walk-throughs, we finally found the right apartment for us. It's in Kirra, which is on the southern end of the Gold Coast - not far from the Coolangatta airport actually, which will be nice when we start getting out-of-town visitors. We're about a block from the beach, so we can wake up every morning and see the waves crashing on the shore, which is pretty close to being in heaven.

This is the view from the living room window:


It's a two bedroom, 2nd floor apartment with a carport, balcony toward the beach, and washer hookup. The main kitchen/living room space is tile, which is nice. I'm always wary of old rental unit carpeting and how clean it is. Although with tile, you have to buy a lot of rugs, which can be expensive.



The funny thing about most Southern Hemisphere bathrooms is that the toilet is in tiny separate room from the rest of the bathroom/shower room. I haven't figured out why, but it sure is nice to avoid the toilet after my husband has been in there! LOL

I didn't believe Theo before we moved here, but it's true what he used to say about clothes dryers. Most people here don't use them. I supposed it's already so hot outside, you might as well use nature. I wasn't sure if I would like this, but so far it's been easy to get used to. It saves money on electricity as well, I suppose. We haven't gotten our first utility bill yet, so that will be interesting. Water is included in the rent, so it will just be power. I was surprised (after living the Midwest all my life), to find out that I could specify how "green" I wanted my power to be. Being the environmentalist that I am, I was excited to get 100% green power for the first time in my life!

Furnishing the place has been a slow process...for a few reasons. But we did get some hand-me-downs, like cooking pots, table & chairs, etc. Still no bed. We're sleeping on the floor. This was pretty brutal for the first few nights, but now we are actually used to it. And I'm not saying this to be positive or optimistic. Neither of us have had back problems and we're sleeping like babies. So now we don't know if we'll even buy a bed! Maybe we'll get one for visitors, though :)