Spring Break and Bluebottles

The kids have been on Spring Break for nearly three weeks, but to say they're "on vacation" might be stretching it a bit. During most of their school holiday, the kids have been cooped up at home, trying to keep themselves entertained while I cleaned, unpacked, and cleaned some more.

Being reunited with all of their toys and books has certainly helped to occupy them. The plethora of large cardboard boxes alone provided four solid days of imaginative play. But they were starting to get antsy and get on each others' nerves, so last Sunday we packed up our towels, books, sunscreen, and snacks and headed to the beach.

It's hard to believe that we have lived in Brisbane for over 3 months and we only just went to the beach. (Although to be fair, it was winter when we moved here.) As soon as we arrived, the kids immediately jumped into their standard beach routines: 1) squirm and whine when sunscreen is applied; 2) run around, getting a lot of sand on the blanket that we just spread out; and then 3) Tru digs a big hole while Oo heads for the water.

There are SO MANY amazing beaches to choose from around here. We have the Sunshine Coast one hour to the north of us, and the Gold Coast just one hour south. Ask a dozen people around here for the name of their favorite beach, and you're sure to get a dozen different answers. Rather than spending several hours online researching our best options (as I am apt to do), we decided to head to a beach Adrian visited before our move here: Surfers Paradise.

As you can guess from the name (and see in the pictures above), Surfers Paradise is rough and not easy to swim in. But that didn't matter, we didn't really go there to swim. Oo wanted to ride some waves, and Tru mostly just wanted to dig, cool off when he got hot, then dig some more. This works out well for Adrian and I — he enjoys spending time in the waves, while I prefer to lie on the blanket, reading a magazine. When Adrian wants to take a break, Oo enjoys playing in the sand... for a little while... until she gets bored and wants to go back in the water.

The weather was perfect! We stayed until the tide went out, and then we combed the beach for interesting seashells. Oo and a new friend (she makes friends wherever she goes!) found a live mussel on the beach, which Oo named Doris.

Doris wasn't the only sea critter to be found that day. I happened upon this:

An Aussie gentleman informed me that this is a bluebottle and that it has a nasty sting. And then he laughed heartily as he said that everything in Australia is out to kill us humans. (A bluebottle, by the way, is probably better known to Americans by its other name: Portuguese man o' war.) Truth be told, a sting from this little guy would not have killed us. Deaths from bluebottles are extremely rare and usually the result of an allergic reaction. Also interesting to note: a bluebottle is not a jellyfish. And where jellyfish stings are eased by applying vinegar, vinegar makes a bluebottle's venom more toxic and a little sting can turn into a big problem.

Does swimming with bluebottles nearby worry me? A little. However, the Aussie I spoke to on the beach changed his tune and said that the pain from a bluebottle sting is really not much different than that from a bee. Do I enjoy bee stings? No, but that doesn't keep me from gardening. I figure that as long as we always swim within sight of a lifeguard, we'll be fine. Australian lifeguards are the best in the world!

As for Doris the Mussel...not a lifeguard in the world could've saved her.

Unbeknownst to us, Miss Oo smuggled the poor creature home in the bag of seashells. Spending the day in the sun tends to make a person sleepy, so by the time we were back home, Oo was too wiped out to remember her new pet. In that bag is where Doris remained... for four days. It wasn't until Thursday, during a Skype call with my mom, that Doris was discovered. Oo was happily showing off her seashells, when she let the cat (and Doris) out of the bag.

I was miffed about Oo's covert attempt to have a new pet, but thankful that the house hadn't begun to stink from Doris's demise. Oo insisted that Doris was still alive, and so she dropped her into a clear plastic cup filled with tap water and a sprinkle of table salt. I watched Doris for a while, but I never saw her budge. Still, Oo was adamant that was Doris was alive, and so she proudly placed her new pet on the desk of her bedroom.

Oo was right. Doris was still alive. This wasn't confirmed, however, until the next morning... when Doris was dead. Officially dead. Her body was pale, and it was poking straight out of her shell like the tongue of a bratty kid. Poor Doris. She's fertilizer in the garden now.

When There's No Place Like Home

I would apologize for not writing in a while, but that would be silly.

It's not like I'm slacking in my duties. As much as I enjoy sharing the nifty stuff we see and do here in Australia, my job is to build a life and home for my family so that we can settle in and enjoy our time here. And yet, as the days have turned into weeks and the weeks into a month, the guilt I have felt for not blogging (and for not returning many of your emails) has been eating away at me.

My plan was to blog in the evenings. Not every night, of course, but every few nights I would sit down and fire off a few words and pictures. I figured it would be a great way to keep a record of our adventure here, as well as keep friends and family close to us. I also intended to email friends and family either in the evening or in the morning while I had my coffee. When the kids were in school I would finally begin a regular exercise routine, keep the house clean and stocked, and explore the cafes and fun spots in the city.

But I failed to take into account the words of wisdom you see up there in my profile picture:

What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it is supposed to be.

Before the move, I was too consumed with all the details of moving. I didn't have a moment to read up on how to live life as an expat or how to help my kids adjust to all the changes. Nope, instead I boarded that plane pretty sure that life would be a breeze from that moment on... because nothing, absolutely nothing, could be as exhausting as trying to empty a house that I've lived in for 13 years as a pack rat.

If I had to offer an apology for not blogging, if I had to explain my spotty online presence (sometimes posting a quick photo on Facebook, and yet taking forever to respond to my email), it would be, ironically: I'm exhausted. So those evenings when I was going to be doing all that blogging... yeah, I'm in bed sleeping... usually by 9:00.

That picture in my head of how I'd spend my days and evenings... a lovely picture, but a bit naive. Adjusting to life in a different country — even when the cultural and language differences are very subtle — can be very challenging at times.

When you're driving down the street, all the store names are unfamiliar. What do they sell at Harvey Norman or David Jones or Bob Jane? Bob Jane?!? When you ask a clerk for bathroom caulk or banana peppers, why do they look at you like you have two heads? Because here, peppers are called "capsicum" and caulk is called "sealant." (Plus, if you say "caulk" to a Brit or Aussie, it sounds to them like you're asking for a certain part of the male anatomy... you know, the one that rhymes with "clock.") And how are you supposed to help your child with their homework when you had no idea that "horse" really and truly rhymes with "sauce?"

It's those little things that make life here interesting, and it's those little things that I really want to share with all of you. But those little things can weigh heavy like big things when they come in large numbers. And rather than being funny, they can be like the straw that broke the camel's back when they come on the heels of a true challenge.

I promised myself that I wouldn't blog about the big challenges I/we have faced in the past two months. And so I won't. I don't want to dwell on the negative, and I don't want to record the tough spots so that I can reread and relive them again and again. Yet, I also feel like I can't suddenly resume blogging about the fun stuff without feeling a bit phony. I guess the purpose of this blog post is to acknowledge, without going into detail, that it has not been easy. And perhaps I can use this as an opportunity to answer, briefly but honestly, some of the questions you have been asking:

Are we settling in?
We have a routine, but the house doesn't feel like home. It's empty and echo-y and the bare floors are cold. Things are expensive here, so rather than shop, we prefer to wait for our furniture. We found out this week, that our shipping container left a port in Taiwan on Aug. 17 and should land in Australia on Sept. 5. Whew! It's good to know it's finally on its way after spending two months somewhere in the States.

Are the kids enjoying school?
Yes, and no. They are starting to make friends, but the new friendships are not yet comforting. There are areas in the curriculum that are too easy for them, and others that are providing them with a manageable challenge. Thankfully, there is pressure on them both to improve their handwriting as well as their reading aloud with emphasis and clarity.

What are we enjoying the most?
The animals! We love finding little lizards in our yard and big lizards in the parks. We love the birds — even if they can be a bit too noisy at times — they come in so many different colors and sizes. And we love the different bugs, just as long as they are not inside the house!

Am I meeting people?
I've made friends with a few moms from school, but the friendships are still in that courting stage when they feel really fragile and you're not sure what's acceptable. One thing that can be an issue with making friends with school moms is that you have to be sure that everyone's kids get along. Since I usually see these friends on school grounds at the end of the day, the suggestion comes up to go to a park. The mums can have a chat, and the kids can play. But if the kids' personalities clash, I spend more time settling disagreements and calming hot tempers than I spend actually having an adult conversation. Annoying, awkward and no fun.

What do we miss the most?
Adrian and I miss satellite radio in our cars (they don't have satellite radio in Australia), and we all miss having a couch to sit/sleep on in front of the TV. But most of all, we miss our friends. I especially miss the ones that I can say absolutely anything to, the ones that I can laugh with until I snort and then laugh with some more until my face hurts and I'm crossing my legs, trying not to pee my pants. Yes, that's what I miss the most.