This is something I have seen on other blogs. I don’t plan on doing it every week, but today I don’t have much to write about and wanted to at least post something (for those certain someones…you know who you are!) so here you go:
Look where they went to play!
There was one birthday in particular, I will guess that it was maybe my 9th or 10th, that my family still talks about. Since it is in February, there was always a chance of snow, but this year was the one that sticks out in our memories. My mom’s white Celica got stuck in a snowbank on the way to pick up my cake and we had to cancel my bowling party, I was one unhappy little girl. That day, I wished for a springtime birthday.
Winter to me always meant 3 big holidays (Hanukkah, New Year’s & my birthday of course), having to shovel the driveway with a flimsy red plastic shovel, building a snow fort out of the huge pile of snow the snowplow pushed directly in front of our house, since we were smack dab in the middle of the court, and sleeping with my fingers crossed in hopes of school being cancelled the next day. Winter was also having my mom repeatedly telling me to wear a winter hat, gloves and snow boots. Every morning before school, we had the same argument, and I usually left the house with a wet head, jacket unzipped and anything but snow boots. This was just our routine. It also meant waiting for the windows to defrost, for the car to warm up, or even for it to start. I remember rolling down the windows so we could see out when we didn’t have enough time to defrost them.
Winter for me this year? I think I wore a “winter coat” 4-5 times. My kids wear winter hats, but no jackets, only zip-up sweatshirts (jumpers.) Snow boots do not exist here…they do have “gum boots” but they are only for rainy days. Gloves? Nah, we don’t need them either. The coldest it has been was 2c (33.8) when we were outside, it did get below zero but that was very early in the morning and we were still asleep. It does not stay that cold (2-5) all day either, it usually “fines up” to 10-12 (50-53.6) by the afternoon.
So here I sit, in the middle of the winter *(give or take a few days, I am not sure of the exact middle) with no threat of snow, ice, a snow day, or the possibility of building Frosty. Oh and did I mention it is JULY?
….of Nigel, (my favorite barky dog!) while watching Bolt
….of my nephews, when seeing some older boys throwing a ball in the pool, laughing and splashing
….of my sister, when I see myself in a restaurant bathroom mirror, I am noticing more and more of our resemblances
….of the early 90’s, while watching Cameron & Craig play Super Mario Bros on Wii
….of my homestate, while watching The Wrestler
….of natural beauty, at the darkest blue-black sky and the brightest full moon hung over the bay at 6am in a quiet house
….of true friendship, with a person also from another country, while living so far from our homes
….of my mother, hearing Cameron tell me “nevermind” the exact same way she says it
….of my future (hopefully), seeing a mom and her teenage son talk over dinner, seeming to be enjoying each others company
….of how much I miss my country, not seeing fireworks to commemorate the birth of America on the 4th of July
….of progress, when Jake’s dinner didn’t consist of anything with peanut butter, and instead he had chicken
….of how grown up Cameron is getting, while spending the morning with just him swimming, and just having fun
….of how much this little family of four has experienced together, looking back over the past 10 months
Our house is attached on one side to our neighbor’s house, I guess you could call it a duplex. Thankfully, the owners only use it as a summer house so they are rarely there. I say thankfully because I fear they would have to wear earplugs from all the noise in our house. What with the kids yelling, me yelling (uh – only sometimes?), and just the noise of living, I am pretty sure we are a loud house. I was pleased to see my neighbor Ian outside today (pronounced EYE-in) and meet his puppy, Archie (say: AHHchie). I had forgotten his name and asked, then replied by saying my name. Then he said "yes, alright Tanya." This is the 3rd person who has mistaken my name for Tanya (and pronounced it TANya like the color tan, not Tanya rhyming with on).
Am I saying my name wrong? My own name that I have had for 35 years, have I been pronouncing it wrong all these years? I told my German friend about this and she said that the way I say the D sort of has a T sound to it. Once again, I am shaking my head wondering: how am I supposed to say MY OWN DAMN NAME.
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I have not travelled extensively. I know there are so many amazing places in this world I have yet to see. But for right now I have fallen in love with the Royal Botanic Gardens in South Yarra. It is only a 5 minute drive and is just the most beautiful place. We have been there before, had picnics, walked around, had pre-dinner hors d’oerves with my in-laws, and wandered around to check things out. It could have something to do with the nice weather we had on Saturday (sunny & in the 50’s in winter?) but this day made me realize how wonderful of a place it is. We had planned several times to go to the Children’s Garden but never made it – until now.
I am amazed by the plants, how well-maintained everything is, and how much open space there is just to run around and spend a day. We don’t have a blade of grass on our property and I miss my backyard in Massachusetts, but I am happy to walk, bike or drive to the RBG, my newest favorite place to be.
I had a meeting with Cameron’s teacher yesterday, they called it a “parent interview” which is the same as a parent/teacher conference. We had a nice talk about Cameron’s progress, etc. I asked her if there is any issue with Cameron’s accent, or if any of the kids notice he is different, she said not in any way. She then went on to tell me that the other day he said something so Australian, and not just the words, but the way he said it (of course she could not remember what it was at the time) so apparently he is fitting right in. I wonder how it will be for him when we go back to the States.
Yesterday I was listening to Cameron and Jake talk while they were playing, and apparently Cameron understands Jake better than even I do. Jake was saying something and I could not figure out what it was, Cameron asked him what and after Jake repeated it, he understood. The bond of brothers!
The last couple of times I have been asked where I am from, they haven’t automatically assumed that I am from Canada – finally! I don’t think I sound Canadian? Not that there’s anything wrong with that…..
Ta-maah-toe and pa-taah-toe, it just feels so pretentious to say those words that way and I have to draw the line somewhere. I doubt people from England or Australia living in the US are changing the way they say those words, right? And the letter Z? It is pronounced ZEE, not ZED. I’m sticking with that one as well.
Who knew that there was more to Australian language than just “G’day Mate”, and “put a shrimp on the barbie!” The funny thing: they don’t even call them shrimp, they are all called prawns.
Reports of Aliens in Australia
I don’t know if there are aliens or not, but I certainly don’t want to find out.
Father’s Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in June in the US. For me, it always was celebrated with a family barbeque, running around with the kids, my dad would thank us for the obligatory shirts, and it would be nice to just be together. This year? Australia celebrates Father’s Day on the first Sunday in September. I scoured the internet and could not find a reason for this, just another strange thing that leaves me shaking my head. So Happy Father’s Day to my dad & dad in law, we miss & love you!
I met a girl from Michigan and from the moment she heard I was from NJ she has called me Jersey Girl. Hey, I’ll take that for a nickname!! She related a story about a friend of hers from South Jersey who was reluctant to answer when asked about where she was from, expecting the jokes but Michigan girl reminded her: the Aussies have no idea – all they know is New Jersey, not North or South. Love it!
When looking out the window, really look out the window. See what is out there, and remember that the blue water, the sand, and the palm fronds blowing in the wind will not always be in your view. Every morning you look outside and see people running by, cycling past, walking towards the water in speedos, and it doesn’t phase you anymore. It is just part of your day – before putting the coffee on you look outside to see what’s going on. But I don’t think you even see how amazing it all is anymore. Yes, we are on the opposite side of the world, away from everything we have ever known, but at the same time we are here. In this beautiful place where people come to take vacations. This is your home for only a short time, so really take a look and see what is out there, across the street.
Before you know it you will be back in America, where the grass is green, the squirrels run up the trees, and the vibrant colors of the fall leaves make you wonder how you lived without it for a few years. There will be snowmen to make, friends to see again, shopping centers to peruse, favorite foods to eat again. It’s all going to go by in a flash, so appreciate this time, and just take everything for what it is.
Don’t huff and puff while waiting for your coffee to be made, while thinking “Dunkin Donuts is so much faster, I can’t believe how slow these people are!” Enjoy your surroundings, smile at the little girl sitting quietly with her parents as they have a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast. Enjoy the smells of the fresh baked muffins, listen to the sounds of people talking, laughing, rustling the morning paper. Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Slow down. Take it all in, because you will not be living here forever. You know the famous saying “stop and smell the roses” so stop, bend down, close your eyes and take a deep breath of the world around you.
Cameron saying “Mommy, I have a secret to tell you.” With a look in his eye, and a little smirk on his face, then he bends down to my ear, pushes my hair aside and whispers “you are pretty.”
Webcamming with my sister & nephews today for the first time on our own, without it being a holiday or a birthday, her and I singing “Open, Shut them” along with Jake as he giggled in between the lyrics.
Having a house full of friends last night for dinner. Knowing enough people to fill our house, holding a new baby, being sad to see some of them leaving.
The overnight camp I went to as a kid had a reunion this weekend, some pictures were posted on Facebook, and this one, it just got me. This is one view that will always stay with me:
2564 Silver Road
Watching TV, noticing an American Flag, I don’t even know what show it was, all I saw were those stars and stripes. I miss seeing my flag all over the place.
Today was a rainy cloudy day in Melbourne, and I am thinking that if this is Winter, bring it on. I was driving around with my windows down in the car, I think people must think I am looney, they are all bundled up, and it is only 13c (55.4f). I feel like a bad mom not making my kids wear winter coats and hats, but come on! It is not cold enough!
Some more observations today, about the differences that you would never think of having to deal with: at the deli counter, I still have no idea what to ask for when ordering (200grams?) I don’t know, but today I resorted to just asking for 8 slices of Swiss cheese and felt safe with that. I bought a magazine (think Better Homes & Gardens, AU version) and ripped out some recipes – this is hard too, they call for grams and milliliters of things, opposed to cups, ounces, etc. Clothing sizes (8 is the smallest for women, go figure that one out) shoe sizes (39 = 8, I think?) And the DVD’s? They only work in DVD players bought here, so all our movies from the US don’t work in the DVD player we bought here, although we also got a Blu-Ray player, and they do work in that for some reason. No big deal I guess, but when we go back, and we have all these DVD’s from here, they probably won’t work. Then there is the iTunes gift card I got for Christmas. I can’t redeem it because I still have an American iTunes account, and I cannot change my account to Australian until I get an Australian credit card. Oh the red tape, it can drive you insane.
What else? All the terminology, I had to ask what a “skip” was – it is a garbage dumpster – huh? This one is gross – I can’t figure out why people are still using handkerchiefs as tissues – EW. I saw a guy blowing his nose and then rolling this raggedy cloth up and stuffing it in his pocket, I wouldn’t want to shake his hand. I’m all about being green, but come on. ONE LAST THING: (I was reminded of this from another blog) I miss being served water at restaurants with ice. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and in this case – a few cubes of ice floating in my water, as simple as it sounds is something I miss.
Figure this one out: Father’s Day in America: June 21
Father’s Day in Australia: September 6
All my life, I wanted a unique nickname. Something that just happened, not the obvious, but something cute. It never really happened. 99% of the people in my life call me Danielle, and some say Dan, while one family member was given the green-light to refer to me as Danny (you know who you are!) Well, 35 years of being referred to as Danielle has come to a screeching halt now that I am living in Australia. Simply put: Aussies love to shorten words. Brekkie, cuppa, arvo (afternoon), Bikkie (biscuits), Ta (thanks again), and chook (chicken). On top of these normal words, they shorten everyone’s names: Jeremy is Jez, Sharon is Shazza, Gary is Gaz, and so on and so forth. I have a friend Stacey who is Stace and there is a mom at school named Barbara who goes by Barb, but when said with an Australian accent sounds like Bob. Which brings me to my own nickname: Dan or Danny. Which is fine, but I am not used to complete strangers calling me that. And the way they pronounce it (like the a in apple…instead of the a in air) I just don’t respond to it. The other day at the gym, the trainer was calling my name and I didn’t turn around, a friend (a Manhattan girl!) said to him: “Her name is Danielle, she’s not going to answer to Dan.” The same day, a friend said “Bye, see you later Danny” (all this after I was complaining to her that I can’t stand the nickname situation) she said, “there is just no way I can stop myself from calling you Danny, sorry!” It must be in their genes.
* Edited to add: Would you believe, just today I was called D. Just the first letter of my name. Now you can’t shorten a name any more than that.
