The majority of people I've told have been excited for me, some quite envious, some openly so - and a tiny minority of people who, as a response to my news, explained why THEY couldn't be doing the same thing. Isn't that interesting. That some people see my next chapter as a threat to their own lives?
The cats have now got their quarantine booked in - ten whole days together in Melbourne, with a flight then on 14 January up to Brisbane when I'll get to see them. So in all, they're leaving me early on 2 January and I won't see them until the 14 - a whole 12 days of flights, take-offs, landings, new smells and people and maybe not even seeing each other when they're in quarantine! I do hope they'll be OK. They've got used to me working away Monday to Friday over the past 3 years, with their lovely cat-sitter visiting them twice a day - thank you, Sally. But how will they be when there's NOTHING familiar? And when I pick them up, I'll have to buy new pet carriers because my belongings will still be in transit - so again, it won't smell of our house. But I suppose they'll have me, that should be enough!
I applied for a job last week - in QLD, obviously. And as a Deputy Principal. I'm not sure if I'd maybe be over-qualified but it could be a good way to learn the QLD rules and what's different from the English system. The closing date is really far away - 18 October - that's a long lead-in time? I've re-drafted my covering letter and application paragraphs, so fingers crossed. I'm continuing to check off items on my month-by-month "to do" list.... September and October are relatively quiet in comparison to November and December! And it's amazing how many little things come to mind - what will I do with things like the hoover, the carpet shampooer and the handheld Dyson, when I'm not allowed to take anything with dust/dirt/earth etc into the country? Answer - give them away to family and friends who haven't got one/need a spare! And what about the wine, beer, cider I have in my wine racks at home? The removal firm's guidelines say I can't take alcohol into the country, because I'd have to pay duty on them.... OK, so I drink it or give it away!!
The photo above is of a fantastic beach in Caloundra, very close to two of my cousins in Golden Beach. I stayed there in Jan/Feb 2017 and found it had changed and improved since my earlier memories of it. It really is the place I want to be and to set up my new life.And the photo to the right is of a beach called Currimundi, which is where I learned to swim in the sea as a child. When I went back in Jan/Feb 2017, it was exactly as I remembered it. There were lots of families there enjoying the weekend, and teaching their children to swim. Full circle, then?
When I've tried to explain my plans to move back, I often say "it's the smell". There's a beachside plant in QLD called banksia, lots of them growing wild along the sand dunes. It has a particular smell - a bit like rosemary but stronger and more like eucalyptus I think. It's the smell that I think of first, when I think of my homeland. And soon - 110 days - that smell will not be a memory, it will be an every day smell. I'm so very lucky - and I know it.
#Australia #memories #childhood #Caloundra #cats #quarantine #GoldenBeach #Currimundi #Queensland #education #jobs #BigMove
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