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The Panda and the Wolf move to Australia


RedPanda

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We saw an echidna today!!! At dusk in the Birdsland Reserve in Belgrave. Right about dusk, just wombling about looking for food and scratching its sides, sniffing the air. About 7 meters max, from where we were standing. Once again, no serious fence, and the animal was entirely unconcerned by our passing (and ogling, and taking a short video on our phone).

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Aren't they just the most fantastical creatures?! Was road-tripping Western Tasmania recently and came over the rise to see one bumbling across the "highway" in front of us. Screeched to a halt with about a metre to spare. My dad (71, who was visiting), leaped out of the car to follow it into the bushes to get a few snaps. Something he just wouldn't normally do :-)

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Wow - an echidna in the wild. Very jealous! We only saw them at a wildlife sanctuary while on our trip. Would've loved to have seen them on one of our walks. We did see 3 platypus so didn't do to badly!

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51 minutes ago, JackoFam said:

Wow - an echidna in the wild. Very jealous! We only saw them at a wildlife sanctuary while on our trip. Would've loved to have seen them on one of our walks. We did see 3 platypus so didn't do to badly!

Oh! We still need to see one of those, a platypus. But they are supposed to also live in the Birdsland Reserve, so we just need to keep our eyes peeled.

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We were very lucky to be taken on a walk through Tidbinbilla Reserve outside Canberra by our hosts and that where we saw them. They live in the ponds in the reserves and our hosts explained how to spot them

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We went to the Hophaus Dachy Races this weekend! It was hilarious, and super-cute. I love it that a thing like this made it to the evening news and got some airtime.

We also have some good news brewing, but will share it once it's final.

On another topic, my aunt and her 'gesin' are coming to visit us soon, all the way from Queensland! Bringing my grandfather for a longer stay after they had gone back home. I'm really looking forward to this, as we've been here for just over 4 months now, and the idea is slowly sinking in that although we still Skype our friends and family regularly, they are actually really far away. So it will be good to see some family.

Other than that, not much news. Small wins on a daily basis, one day at a time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, for the Good News: @GenDemo has started work at his new employers this week! :D So far he likes the place, and they use the right software, and the people appear to be friendly. He will probably wait a month and then put up a long post about: The Australian Workplace, on his thread Wolf Wanders !

Other than that, I'm still looking for work, going to EA events, talking to people...all kinds of people...
And walking around a lot. It keeps me sane. I've also seen quite a few cicadas hatch in the area, so I'm anticipating full serenades once the weather heats up, I'll just have to wait and see how bad that is, and whether or not it goes on at night. Talking of wildlife: our (very) local possums are eating the plants in our garden, including the roses! I would have thought the thorns are deterrent enough? At least possums don't carry disease. And right now they are limited in number to two. And they are no longer stinking up the laundry, it appears our barricading efforts have paid off! :ph34r:

Yesterday I went into the CBD to attend an EA event, and I came back on the train at about 10pm. The train was nice and cosy, but when I got out at the Tecoma station I was suddenly hit by the fresh eucalyptus air, and it just lit up all the all the "You are Home" circuits in my brain. That's a wonderful feeling. :) 

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  • 3 months later...

It's been longer than I thought, since my last post. At first I thought: But nothing has changed, there is nothing to say. And then I thought too much has changed, and I don't want to say anything. But now is a good time to say it.

[this is heavy reading, if you don't feel good today, read it another time]

 


Let's do Christmas first, I think it makes more sense that way. We had the best Christmas here that we could ever have imagined (because we are realistic imaginers, and we knew the first one would be only 6months after immigration, and our only family here is my aunt and co, up in Brisbane, so we reckoned we'll probably just have a quiet Christmas at home). What we got was two invitations from separate groups! One Dutch-Australian Christmas with the friends we made from the Airbnb stay, and one very South African Christmas with some fellow forumites. And we also got more pressies than we anticipated! Which certainly ups the ante for next year, you know we'll be settled by then...then we can afford to give something back. And we Skyped family, which was also really good. It helped us a lot that this year, unlike most other years, the rest of my husband's family were not all congregated at their usual seaside haunt. Some were in Gauteng, some were in Australia (a certain Wolf and Panda that is) and some...were having a white Chirstmas in Canada! So we were spread out over all the possible time zones, with 19 hours between us and the 'Canadians'! Anyway, Christmas was fun, and long, this way. It helped us to feel OK in our new home, less alone and on our own, since we were not the odd ones out missing from the family gathering. Some days later we went to the Melbourne New Years fireworks, also at the suggestion of our forum buddies (see, you camp with people, then you can never get rid of them! :lol: ) It was good fun.

So that was really good.

Some time well before Christmas, at the end of October in fact, my grandfather came to visit us. It was mostly because my aunt wanted the visit to be now, so we grumbled a little about being not quite settled, and not knowing where our feet were...but OK, yes, sure. We wanted to see him after all, and with older people you never know. So he came and spent two and a half weeks with us. We tried driving along the Great Ocean Road with my aunt and her husband and my grandpa, but the weather was uncooperative, so we missed a large section of the most iconic parts, and only saw the 12 apostles. It was also freezing, really freezing, my ears hurt. But anyway, it was enough to convince us that we should go back again some time.

The two weeks that he spent here were actually really good. We walked in the gardens, and I took him to some of the parks, where we had a sandwich lunch between the
'tallest trees he's ever seen! Did you know that some of these trees in Victoria grow up to 94m tall???'
"Yes, grandpa, I know, you told me yesterday".
'I know, but can you believe it!?'
And so we discovered that my tree-crazy must surely come from him! I had to take a lot of pictures of him with "this one is the tallest, I'm sure! Take a photograph of us!" :)  We also spent some quiet time at home just sitting and reading or drawing, and chatting. It turned out to be a really good visit.

But I also realised that my grandfather was getting old, much faster than I had realised, and I started thinking that he would probably not pass the medical for his next flight out. That's when it really hit home that 'we are here now', and our family is not. Finally we took him to the airport for his flight back home, and said goodbye. And everyone assured everyone that they were much loved, and would be much missed. I waved him out with a smile, but cried all the way out of the airport, because I knew I would probably never see him in person again. Lucky for me one of the first important things I learnt about my husband was: "It's alright, I'm not afraid of tears." And so he isn't, and that helps a lot.

November went by mostly unnoticeable. Life happened at the standard rate of one day per day, and I felt better for having seen pictures of my grandfather, safely landed back home, and then chatting with him over Facebook. (see, he's fine, stop being so melodramatic)

Apart from Christmas and New Year, December and January did not pass at the standard rate of one day per day.
Around the 18th of December my grandfather was taking my cousin back to his dad(my uncle) after a visit, and then 11am on a Sunday morning on a quiet side road someone crashed into them with so much force that their car was pushed 70m in the other direction. Both my grandfather and cousin were taken to hospital, where my cousin was put into an induced coma to heal, and my grandfather had scans that showed bleeding on his brain, but they couldn't operate on it. A week later my cousin passed away. Although my grandfather had been recovering somewhat at home, after the death of my cousin, he lost the will to live and was hospitalised again shortly after that.

 

On the morning of my birthday I got the call from my quite bewildered uncle: "I'm sorry to give you the bad news on your birthday, oh it's your birthday, congratulations, sorry, but your grandfather has just passed away, a few minutes past midnight."
I could hear very clearly that his mind had just stopped feeding him any instructions. "You know, he would have been quite chuffed with himself if he'd known: born on his grandmothers birthday, died on his granddaughter's. He always had a thing for coincidences."

But what do you do when you lose such an important part of your life? I know the answer: you go on. Because life goes on, ultimately again at the standard rate of one day per day. And your friends are there to remind you of that, by living their lives and sharing them with you.



My family might be strange in some regards, but we are very practical, and we call a spade, a spade, unless it's a shovel in which case you should describe it correctly as a shovel. So, when it comes to funerals we have all agreed that a funeral is held in the name of the departed, for the benefit of those who remain. In other words, you don't show your love and appreciation for someone at their funeral, that is too late, you do it while they are still with you. It also means that we understand when members can't make it to a funeral because they are too far away. I have always known this. But this is the first time that I am the one who is too far away, and I can tell you it's tough. I know it must be a lot easier with a family that understands, but in a way that just makes me love them more and wish I could be there to support and comfort them. Especially my uncle, who lost his father and his son, in one accident. I know he has good friends and our remaining family to be there for him, even though it's not me. So this is why I will not be flying back to South Africa, to attend my grandfather's funeral.

All I can say is this: As immigrants, with family spread wide over the world, it is especially important that we try to make things right with them, at least from our own side. Even though I grumbled at the timing of the visit, I will always be grateful that my aunt arranged for my grandfather to visit us. It's one of the most precious things one can have- good parting memories.

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I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of your grandad and cousin :(   It is extremely difficult to be so far away when a family experiences such loss. I really can sympathize with you. On this day exactly a year ago my granny passed away, we were very close and it was a shock. There were plans for her to come visit me in Oz, but those plans were never realized. I am so glad you have such precious memories with him. Thinking of you xx

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Thank you for sharing @RedPanda

So sorry for your loss. Having had that time with your grandfather will always be a special memory. Every time you see a tall tree, you will think of him and smile.

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@RedPanda my heartfelt condolences on your loss, it is dreadful to be so far away at such a time. I am just so happy for you that you got to see your Grandfather, those memories will be with you forever! Hugs to you both!

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Hi @RedPanda, it's so sad to hear about your loss. Your extended Forum family is here for you if you need to chat through it.

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What a heart wrenching post @RedPanda, tears flowed while reading it :cry:. I am so very sorry for your loss. That is so difficult for you and your family.

 

I found these words of yours so wise, but hard to apply in life nonetheless. Thinking of you

 

19 hours ago, RedPanda said:

So, when it comes to funerals we have all agreed that a funeral is held in the name of the departed, for the benefit of those who remain. In other words, you don't show your love and appreciation for someone at their funeral, that is too late, you do it while they are still with you.

 

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Thank you all for the words of comfort and encouragement. I appreciate them :) 

I never meant to make anyone cry. I just wanted to put the post up to let people think about this part of emigration. I don't mean to scare them off, it's just a reminder that in life 'things do happen to you' and it is always better to do a little bit of mental preparation, because when they happen there is no time to think about it then. And your mind is fuddled anyway, so you are not thinking straight. I'm very grateful to have a husband who is so emotionally wise to help me through this time.

Thank you for the support...now go tell everyone special in your lives that you love and appreciate them! ;)    ...panda walks off into the forest in search of a teeny-tiny flower to sniff....

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So sorry for your loss, love and hugs from us.  You should come visit us here at our caravan in a holiday park between Frankston and Mornington. ?

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@RedPanda, I'm really sprry for your loss. 

 

Now that our visas have come through certain realities like potentially never seeing my grandparents again are settling in. It gets me sad.

 

My mother also doesn't help as she is making everything a "it's-your-last-insert event-in-South-Afrixa". For example last weekend was my stepdad's birthday and it turned into a "its planningahead's last time celebrating dad's birthday here in SA with us" event.. This weekend has apparently turned into my last weekend ever in SA celebrating my gran's birthday. It makes me sad and I don't like to be reminded that I most likely will never be around again for these events.

 

Anyways, I do send you my sincere condolences.

 

P.s- I've been following you and your bf/partner/husband on Insta for a while and really enjoy the photos I see on there.... 

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Oh I am so sorry to read this!! What a terrible thing to happen :( 

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Hey @planningahead, thanks for the condolences.

It's unfortunate that family sometimes miss the mark when it comes to caring for each other. Sure they probably will miss you a lot, and unlike you this big change has no exciting adventure element to it. But still, and especially if it's your children or grandchildren, you should not hold onto people that you care for. Let them go. Let them have the very best chance in life they can! I'm sorry that they are somewhat spoiling the actual last events that you have in South Africa, but I would still strongly advise you to use the time and make sure everyone you love knows it. And yes, goodbyes can be tough.

Onto other things...an Instagram stalker.... :o .... :D .... you are very welcome. We try to share all the things that we love about our new home. And some of the things that we just find funny, like going to Koo Wee Rup for no other reason than that it has a weird name, and was kinda close to another place we tried to visit. We had internet issues, so using the limited search power of our phones decided to try a new park/reserve, only to find upon arrival that '....park' is best enjoyed from a boat! :lol: so we had coffee in Koo Wee Rup. And almost cried about the cheap houses. But we know why they are cheap....they are in Koo Wee Rup! :lol: 

All the best with your last stretch before the jump.

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On 1/20/2017 at 8:44 PM, planningahead said:

 

My mother also doesn't help as she is making everything a "it's-your-last-insert event-in-South-Afrixa". For example last weekend was my stepdad's birthday and it turned into a "its planningahead's last time celebrating dad's birthday here in SA with us" event.. This weekend has apparently turned into my last weekend ever in SA celebrating my gran's birthday. It makes me sad and I don't like to be reminded that I most likely will never be around again for these events.

 

 

You might want to think about "correcting" your mother when she keeps doing this.  Aeroplanes go both ways, nothing is your "last event in RSA" really.  You could visit for a special occasion in the future.  Yes there are practicalities and money required to make this happen, but broadly speaking you could visit every Christmas if you chose to.  She's not making it easy for you OR herself with this fatalistic tone.  Life is fluid.  You aren't going to Mars where there is no visiting allowed.  Definitely rein her in.

 

RedPanda: so sorry to hear your news but wonderful to have the memories of him visiting you in Australia where you get to "keep" these memories.  You can go and hug his special trees any time you want to and he'll be there. Hugs though cos it is hard.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Time for another update! Yes! Yes! :D 

I started working at a small legal firm in St Kilda, last week Monday. I'm mildly embarrassed to admit that it is my first real work :blush-anim-cl: (Before this I lectured one semester at UJ, but that didn't really feel like work, or formal. Anyway...) It's just a part time job, two days a week, with the option for me to go in on additional days if needed. Personally I think that part time work is the best kept secret! I get out of the house,I socialise with the locals, I earn additional income, and then I still have time to work around my house, walk in the forest, go to the library...study and online course... The people have been really nice. Like I said, it's a small firm, so they all work together, and all of them have an idea what all the others do, and my job is to pick up slack at busy times, and do odd jobs that require going into the CBD. So I am basically presented with an excellent opportunity to learn, a lot, about a whole range of things: conveyancing in Victoria, Melbourne CBD layout and landmarks, how Aussies do business, the superb postal system, the way bank cheques just work here, and general professional behaviour (I also learn where all the really good 'bulk food take away' places in St Kilda are! I've already sampled the fare of a certain pie shop, that sells the filling separately to take home, and the shop has been added to the Panda's mind map: pin - done!)

After applying for many posts online, and attending several events at Engineers Australia, I realised that my CV will not land me any of the jobs I want. It doesn't have local experience, it doesn't have projects, and it doesn't have internships or holiday work. So basically no stranger is going to hire me off the bat. In comes 'The Plan'...I'll work at the legal firm while doing an online course in the design of solar panel installations. Then, once I have completed that I will try the engineering job market again, armed this time with a local reference for my work ethic, and a relevant local course. I want to enter the renewable energy sector anyway, since I think that is the way the future is heading, regardless of the amount of kicking, screaming and heel dragging that politicians around the world do.

And in other news, our two 'Special Imports' are progressing well, one EOI submitted, one assessment being done. Can't wait to have them over with us!

So right now, life for the Panda is good :) 

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On 21/10/2015 at 10:30 PM, RedPanda said:

On Airbnb it's just called Dandenong Ranges| Selby.

 

We fell in love with that area the first time we stayed there Jan2014. If all goes to plan we'll own a house there one day.

 

 

I just read this again...wow...one year and three months later, we have a house here now. [Ok, technically it's in Tecoma, and we can only move in, in mid May, but close enough to make me one very, very happy little Red Panda!]

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How fabulous. Love your "let's try this another way" attitude. My husband is in the renewable energy sector (electronic engineer) as well. Ok if I pm you about your experience in the renewables job market?

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