I feel in a bit of a trance, though jet-lag is much better since our arrival in Sydney 10 days ago. For the first several days we were up at all times of the night, having breakfast (or dinner?), crossing paths with various other family members at some point. We have now managed to stay up until 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. on good nights (kids still in bed by 7:00) and sleep until 5:30 or 6:00 if we can. Our rhythym's get synced more every day.
And yet, I'm in a trance for other reasons. I'm in this beautiful new home, yet have virtually no personal belongings except what we managed to carry in our 10 checked suitcases and 8 carry-ons. This country feels so much like something familiar, yet is so vastly different I'm completely overwhelmed by where to even begin. Maybe it's not so much a trance as it is a state of transition which will probably last awhile until we really feel settled. All I can do is observe -- pick a topic and I've got a lot to say about it.
DRIVING: I finally got up the nerve to drive for my first time -- to the nearby grocery store. Until then I could barely handle walking, trying to look the correct way and keep all of us alive. We live on a narrow lane with cars parked on each side of the road to squeeze through. Ravi was really nervous for me, bless his heart, and I gave him the street atlas and had him navigate (or as Bronte calls it, he's the 'alligator'). Driving is something I'm just going to have to keep doing to get better. The kids don't make so much as a peep to let me concentrate. Chris and I keep hitting the wipers instead of the turn signals, but as long as I can stay in the correct lane I'm satisfied.
NEIGHBORHOOD: I finished a book today where the author stated that New York is really just a bunch of smaller communities put together to form a large city. That's how I feel here. I haven't been in the city yet, except passing through on the way home from the airport. Instead, I've started in our neighborhood, our suburb. It only seems logical. I've found the nearest grocery store (inside a mall), library (the 2nd level of a mall), 2 parks (which have child-proof fencing around the playgrounds), the Post (just a few steps down our street), the organic market on the corner, and such. Our driveway opens to Ravi's school. If we look out our front window we can see the kids eating the lunches, playing at "morning tea", and we watch everyone come and go. As all things so far are, it's a process to get enrolled and we're still waiting for the OK from the gov't to have Ravi start. We're told he can start Monday. He's really nervous and has loved having 2 weeks off -- but deep down I know he's ready to start and move forward.
WEATHER: Gorgeous. Cool at night and in the mornings -- just right during the day. Hats are mandatory parts of the school uniforms since the sun is really strong. Blue skies and white puffy clouds. I'm told this is the most beautiful time of year. It's autumn and leaves and changing and falling down.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY: This area bleeds green. I wondered why bottles of water were so expensive ($2.80 for one small bottle!) until I realized that people don't buy bottled water. They carry refillable bottles. The packaging on all foods is reduced and recyclable. We have three rubbish bins: garbage, recycle, and vegetation. People bring their own grocery sacks, they drive efficient cars, they have efficient toilets, etc. Our house has rain gutters that drain into a series of pipes that all lead to the water canister that then is used to water the lawn. I'm in awe.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLES: If the grocery store or food court at the mall is any indication, people eat pretty healthy. The number of fresh food stalls is unreal. I laughed the other day at the grocery store because in addition to having a cash only line, there was one that had a piece of candy crossed out. I'm assuming you couldn't go in that line with confectionery of any kind. I didn't dare try in case something in my cart disqualified me.
HOUSE: If we were to design our dream home, and enlisted the help of IKEA, this would be it. We love our house -- it is so wonderful. It's a brand-new home and is crisp, clean, modern, and free from clutter so far (until our stuff arrives sometime, then what?) We have a small yard out back where the kids can run around. We have a gated front yard so I don't have to worry about them out front either. I could live in the kitchen (wait, I already do) and I even have a separate laundry room with loads of cupboards. A house with more cupboards and storage space than I need? Wow. We'll like it here.
SHOPPING: We live within 10 minutes of several very large shopping centers, including Kmart and Target. Everything here is within a large shopping center, including grocery stores. It makes for a parking nightmare, but everything imaginable is at your fingertips. It is one-stop shopping at it's best. The nice mall even has a Mac store which will soon be opening. IKEA is the top level of a large mall about a half hour away. The grocery stores are loaded with anything I could ever need (if I could just figure out the different products and brands). Coming from Djibouti, I'm in shopping paradise. The only downside is the prices, which are about double what we'd pay in the states and it's painful.
No comments:
Post a Comment