Popular Post OnYellowBrickRd Posted October 1, 2013 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hi guysYes, I know that I have been very quiet on the forum for a while. The following post will be very candid but I urge you to read it all the way to the end. We have been in Australia now for 6 months. So far we have had the most fantastic, scary, crazy, difficult, amazing time of our lives.I love this place. I love being able to live again. I love that things work. I even enjoy TV!Has this been easy so far? NO!! I have experienced the most loneliness I ever have before. I have felt incompetent in my career and have consequently decided to make a change. I have felt like the new kid in high school, acutely aware of the stares of the "in crowd". And then I happily decided that I won't give in to teenage insecurities as I am well into my 30s and I actually have nothing to prove to anyone. ..and I like my own company. I have had to hold my little girl while she sobbed over missing her grandparents while wiping away my own tears. I have had to try to explain why we moved away from her cousin and why we are not going back again. I have had to watch my husband go to a job he doesn't really want to do in order to put food on the table. I have had to adjust to DIFFERENT.I have also been outside more in the last 6 months than for most of my adult life. I have learned how to approach strangers without seeming desperate for company. I have learned to slow down and to appreciate a life with a lot less stress. I have learned to accept the fact that I will always suck at Aussie trivia shows. I have learned how to travel without stress - how to keep to the speed limit or use public transport. I have learned to laugh at the little things most Saffas stress about before moving. I have learned to live a life of appreciation and gratitude. I realize that I still have a long way to go before I will feel completely at home, but to be honest, I feel more at home here than I have in a very long time un RSA. Hubby and I always try to do the right thing and it is refreshing to live in a law abiding country where this is the norm...rather than the exception. To those of you who are still busy with the moving process, read as much as you can about your new life. Don't only focus on the application. Prepare yourself for a change in plans...often. You probably won't live where you think you will (suburb). There is only so much you can see on Google earth. You might have to change careers. Your kids might have to attend a different school to the one that you chose online. My best advice would be to take things one day at a time. You will feel overwhelmed at times, but I promise- things get easier. Make sure that you and your partner are on the same page, because you will need to hold each other up through difficult times. Remember that you are doing the best thing for yourself and your family to ensure a better future. Australia is not heaven but, compared to RSA, it sure feels like a suburb of heaven some days.I wish you well on your journeys. 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmellyN Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Glad to hear you guys are ok! Think about you guys often. We are flying out in just less than 3wks on the 21/10. So a big shock still. We knew it was coming, but now that it is here reality has sunk in. We have experienced a lot of what you talk about here in RSA because we moved away from our family to rural & hence "lost" most of them then already. Weirdly enough we do all the calling & now that everyone has heard we are going they are calling for the 1st time in 7yrs!! All these things we are preparing ourselves & the kiddies for will not prepare us for the day we step of the plane after leaving our home (that we built & own) behind. It's a worry for sure, but things are just ludicrous here in this country. Stay strong, dig deep! Know that you are in our thoughts. ;-)x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 (((Hugs)))You are both such an inspiration, I hope you know how much everyone here is rooting for you.I hope the skies clear soon and things settle down in a way that makes you feel at home.Sterkte, dink baie aan julle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 ...everyone here is rooting for you.Firstly thank you for the kind words but now for your first Aussie slang lesson. Avoid using the word "root" when speaking to the Aussie's. To "root" or "rooting" (the way all Saffa's pronounce it) has a very different meaning in Aus.Let's just say that without it we would not have children. Here they pronounce it the same as the Americans - route (rout) which can refer to driving routes or routers that give you Internet.Imagine my bosses glee the first time I used the word rooter in the office. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clover Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Well Done to the both of you !Time does make things easier ! Be proud of yourselves for the decision you have made for your daughter. You are wonderful parents, keep that in mind everytime things get challenging, remember the reason for you being there !Hang in there both of you, and keep us posted, journalling is theurapeutic ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chzaau Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Just out of interest, you guys live in quite a small town if mind serves correctly. Do you think that if you maybe started out in one of the cities it might have been easier, by that I mean for instance a wider variety of work opportunities, more people to meet, maybe even more South Africans etc. Also OYBR you went over as a teacher, did you find a job teaching or when you say a career change what is it that you have changed your career to ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Bwahaha! Oops...How do they say the equivalent thing then? We're thinking of you? Wish you all the best?Party goed kan mens net nie vertaal nie. Even if it's just cultural Well... at the very least I hope it made you smile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion25 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 HI OnYellowBrickRoadI loved your post and could so relate to it, my husband also took a menial job at first to start earning $$$ but now is back in his profession, I found meeting moms at school was a big help in getting to know people.This move is not easy but when you do it with the attitude of there is no turning back you make it work. May the next 6 months - 60 years be all you dreamed it would be.PS: Where are you located?T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 ...PS: Where are you located?She lives with me (on the Sunshine Coast) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnYellowBrickRd Posted October 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Just out of interest, you guys live in quite a small town if mind serves correctly. Do you think that if you maybe started out in one of the cities it might have been easier, by that I mean for instance a wider variety of work opportunities, more people to meet, maybe even more South Africans etc. Also OYBR you went over as a teacher, did you find a job teaching or when you say a career change what is it that you have changed your career to ? Hi ChzaauYup, we are in a small town on the Sunshine Coast. I am so glad we are though. I don't think being in the city would have been easier. City people in general seem to be even less social than rural folk. We are not exactly in "Gat-sonder-water". Think "Ballito" with a Knysna feel.There are definitely more work opportunities in the cities, but we wanted to improve our lives and living here has definitely done that. (And, frankly, I am gatvol of living in a city). We have actually met MANY South Africans, but it took a while and we had to separate the wheat from the chaff.Yup, I am an experienced high school teacher. I did some relief work (because permanent jobs are scarce as hens' teeth) and HATED every second of it . I am tired of trying to teach manners to other people's kids to my own little girls detriment. I am emotionally exhausted after a day at school and have decided that I have had enough. I am planning to do a course in Adult English Training so it involves a career change, although not TOO drastic.Thank you all for your support. You guys are fantastic!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 OYBR - that sounds fantastic, I think that's a great plan!!! I hope you can get into a course really quickly, and move from the teens to the adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBrough Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I am glad to hear that you are slowly adjusting. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Just on the subject of teaching here, I have 3 friends who taught here in Australia and everyone of them battled. Two left the profession totally and the last one is weighing up her options of a change...makes a person wonder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBrough Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Our visa is all based on my wife's teaching qualification. We have already discussed that she probably will never teach in Oz but rather pursue a PA type job so she can study further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinierkie Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Thanks for the post. My hubby and I have been following both OYBR and HEOJJ posts since we started our process.Your posts are always very helpful and informative.We are planning on leaving for Melbourne early march 2014 so it is helpful to know what to expect. I am however under no illusion that it will be exactly the same because each person and their circumstances differ. Feeling very excited and stressed at the same time but reading your posts helps to settle my nerves. Also, your posts reiterate the fact that we should not think that the hard part is over and get a major shock when we get there and have to go through the settling down phase.@OYBR: Good luck with the adjustment and settling into your new life and the career change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrissyMissy Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 thanks for your honest and informed message - I think people tend to think life is going to be one way, but then midway through the process you have to change it all.....Best of luck with the rest of your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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