Hello From Thailand!

We are sitting in Chiang Mai, Thailand right now after a full day of temple viewing and a Thai cooking class. We are having a great time; our elephant ride yesterday was especially awesome. Anyway, that's all for now!

Circus Oz

We went out with some friends on a Wednesday night to check out Circus Oz, a touring circus with no animals and live music. The Big Top is set up in a park near Federation Square in Melbourne for a few weeks. It was unlike any circus I've seen before, though I imagine it's a bit like Cirque du Soleil (on a much smaller scale). It was quite artistic, with funky costumes and an urban-type set. The music was great, and some of the acts were really impressive (trapeze, tightrope, tumbling, etc.). There was a political/social justice message woven throughout the show, which seemed a bit out of place, but it was okay. Overall, I'd recommend the show for a cultural and entertaining night out, but I was glad we didn't pay any extra to sit closer, because every seat was just fine in the small arena. P.S. Not to make you jealous, but while you're reading this, we are (probably) currently riding elephants through the jungles of Thailand!

Emily and I during the intermission.

Off to Paradise

Zack and I leave tomorrow for two weeks in Thailand and Bali. I'm beyond excited. Warm weather and sunshine here we come! We'll be spending a night in Bangkok on our way to Chiang Mai, which is a city in Northern Thailand where we'll ride elephants and check out temples and such. Then we fly back through Bangkok (spending a day there to check out the famous sites) on our way to Phuket, which is in the Southern part of the country. Here we'll enjoy the beaches, snorkel around the islands of Koh Phi Phi, and rock climb at Railay Beach in Krabi. Then we're off to Bali for a few days for more beach time, culture, and relaxation. Wahoo!

I've set up a few entries to post while we're gone, but there won't be much unless I can connect to some wifi and post some random pictures from my phone. So I'll be back with tons of pictures and stories at the end of July! Bye for now!

Christmas in July

Ready for the party!

I know all of you American readers are "suffering" in your 100 degree temperatures right now, but here in Australia, we are cold. It's winter, and it definitely feels like it, especially on the days when it's rainy and gray (which is pretty often in Melbourne). We expats have been feeling a little glum lately, so we decided to celebrate Christmas in July to get our minds off the dreary weather and have something to anticipate.

Lots of planning went into pulling off this fun party. Emily and Adam came over on Friday night to help decorate our place; we put up the tree and cut out paper snowflakes (some better than others). I ordered a whole turkey from the South Melbourne Market for our Christmas dinner, and we all planned different appetizers, side dishes, desserts, and drinks to bring. I made some eggnog (Zack MUST have eggnog on Christmas) and tree-shaped fruit and veggie platters.

Everyone also brought a white elephant gift to share in an exchange game. We had lots of fun getting rid of silly gifts like Spam, but the best item was probably a copy of the book 50 Shades of Grey. We might have had a bit of a read-aloud session for part of the evening entertainment! We played the word/acting game called "Celebrity," stuffed ourselves silly, and even sang Christmas carols at the end of the night (Zack played guitar and I played piano).



If it has to be winter in the middle of July, I'm glad we have good friends to celebrate Christmas with to make it a little better!

Our crazy friends!

Requested Post-Help for Future Expats

I've had a request from a soon-to-be expat to do a post about what we would have done differently regarding our move to Melbourne (hindsight is 20-20 of course). So, in no particular order, if I was moving to Melbourne, here are the top 10 things I wish I would have known/done:

1. I'm glad we didn't do a sea shipment and bring over all of our furniture and household items. There was really no point (at least in our case). I do wish I had gone to IKEA right at the beginning to get decent (yet affordable) items right off the bat all in one place. Instead, I tried to be too thrifty by scouring Gumtree for deals and ended up repurchasing better items later anyway. I am glad we brought our instruments and that Zack brought his mountain bike, because those are important parts of our lives. But he still hasn't used his golf clubs!

2. I think I wish we had purchased a vehicle (one that would accommodate bikes and/or surfboards) at the start of our stint. We've built our lifestyle around not having a car now, and it's fine, but it does limit our mobility on some weekends and makes us depend on friends too much sometimes.

3. You always hear that clothes, shoes, and linens are ridiculously expensive over here. With shoes, I would agree. I would definitely bring shoes over from the US (especially athletic ones). You can find decent deals on clothes if you go to the right places at the right times, but overall, it was good to bring boxes of our own over with us. I wish I had known earlier about stores like Spotlight and Big W for linens and basic household goods; there was no need to bring towels, sheets, etc. Online shopping is a lifesaver sometimes too.

4. I think I wish we would have brought our dog over with us. I'll always question this one. I know the cost would have been outrageous, and the flight and quarantine time would have been torturous, but overall, we often wish Molly was with us. It would have made finding a rental place more difficult, and I'm not sure what we would have done when we went on trips, but she would have loved Australia. I guess we have to trust the expats we talked to before our move who had brought their dogs and said they regretted it.

5. I'm glad we joined some Meetup groups online and went to events right away. They have been the source of almost all of our friendships we now cherish here in Australia. I wish I had known that making new "couple friends" was going to be almost exactly like dating!

6. I wish I had not obsessed over the electrical appliances issue before moving. I did all sorts of research on voltage changes and transformers and converters and such. The few American items we did bring have been a pain to deal with overall, and you can find decent enough appliances for reasonable prices to get by for a few years. I would suggest not bringing any items you need to plug in if you can help it. The exceptions would be my laptop and camera battery chargers. A simple adapter plug makes those work just fine.

7. I wish I had known that we would end up becoming good friends with other expats. I don't know if I expected that we would hang out with mostly Australians, but I was surprised that we naturally gravitated toward those in our same situation. I guess it makes sense, but it was unexpected (to me). We do have some Australian friends, but I think it's just easier for expats to be friends with other expats, because you all know what you're in for (a friendship where someone is eventually going to leave), and you are going through the same things.

8. I wish I would have known that Melbourne is often a rainy, gray city. I would suggest investing in a good umbrella and raincoat. Also, it does get cold here. I wish I would have brought more winter clothing over with me.

9. I wish I would have gotten a job earlier. You can make good money over here, and we could have had a lot more in savings if I had started teaching last year. Oh well.

10. I wish I was better about embracing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities we are afforded over here. We're making the most of our time on this side of the world and taking lots of trips and doing lots of things, but sometimes I freak out about the cost. To be happy (with no regrets) and not drive yourself and others crazy, you basically have to just "get over" the prices, especially of rent, postage to/from other countries, and food at restaurants!

So there you have it. I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but hopefully that's somewhat helpful to people who are trying to plan for expat life. I know I felt completely overwhelmed when we were trying to decide what to pack and such, so please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions about moving down under. Thanks for the post idea; anybody else have a request?

An Awesome Anniversary

Chocolates and flowers-the way to a girl's heart!

Yesterday afternoon, I received an e-mail from Zack, cordially inviting me out for a romantic evening to celebrate our fourth anniversary. I met him downtown last night, where he greeted me with red roses. We went to the Lui Bar at the top of the Rialto Tower (55 floors high). The view of Melbourne was incredible! It's not quite as high as the Eureka Skydeck, but you don't have to pay to get this view, although the price of drinks is "dear" (Australian for expensive).

They had the coolest pop-up menu with a story behind each drink. I had the Koala Stinger, which was a creme de menthe drink with infused eucalyptus. Zack had a honey scotch drink that came with a cool ice ball in the glass. He pulled out another surprise-a box of chocolates, and we enjoyed a few of those with our drinks while admiring the view. It was an awesome place; I'd like to take visitors and friends there for sure.

Our delicious drinks.

He should be on that show Mad Men!

After drinks, we headed to an adorable French restaurant a few blocks away. It's called Bistro Vue, and it really felt like we were sitting in a little restaurant in Paris (at least how I imagine it). Zack had scoped out the place the day before and reserved us the best table, a plush corner booth, and we shared a bottle of French wine while an accordion player played familiar tunes. We had a delicious dinner (I had steak), followed by my favorite dessert of creme brulee. Then our waitress brought us a surprise "Happy Anniversary" plate with two little donut treats! 

It was an awesome, romantic night (thanks Zack!), and a great way to celebrate four years of marriage. We don't know what we'll be doing or where we'll be next year at this time, but we're happy for nights like this in Australia right now. Happy anniversary to us!

A Bit American

We didn't really celebrate the 4th of July. Well, I did wear my Americorps sweatshirt. And I made these apple puff pastry desserts in honor of the holiday, because they tasted like a good ol' American apple pie. But that was about the extent of it. Instead, because it's cold outside, we are going to celebrate Christmas in July this weekend with a party at our place. And today, Zack and I are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary. I'm supposed to meet him downtown tonight; he's taking me out for dinner somewhere fancy! Woohoo!