In stark contrast to the Top 25 things I miss about the States, here is a list of things I have grown to love about a different (albeit slight) culture. Oz is a Western civilized country, but with different priorities than that of my home country. Some of these are better and some are just different. Regardless, as we near the first anniversary of our adventure here I can honestly say it's already been a wonderful experience and we have learned a lot about our family, our values, our world and our priorities.
1. Laid Back lifestyle. No worries pretty much sums up the collective persona of Queensland, and possibly the rest of Australia.
2. Work - life balance...it actually exists in Oz.
3. Public transportation. I love being able to catch a train into the city and then back home after a night out, and it affords us the option of having only one car.
4. The beaches. You can drive about 45 minutes and be on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
5. Thai food and Indian Food.
6. A focus on the environment - it's just accepted as a way of life here. Aussies and their government actually care about their impact on the future of our globe...I wish America would have a wake up call about this!
7. The parks. They are everywhere and they are taken care of.
8. The smell of the rainforest. I'll never be able to describe it or forget it, but it is fresh and peppery and feels clean and lovely all at the same time.
9. The way they talk and finally being able to decipher between an Aussie and an English accent (gasp!).
10. A personal trend towards eating healthier. Gone are the days of boxed dinners and processed food for the most part. I miss the convenience, but feel so much better about what my family is putting in their bodies!
11. Rounding - everything is rounded to the nearest 0.5 cents. You know what that means? No more pennies! Brilliant in this day and age.
12. Private health cover actually covers things like chiropractic, acupuncture, pilates and massage. Awesome!
13. An active lifestyle. Although with kids it's a little harder to embrace fully as Cory and I would love to learn to surf, spend time kayaking, SUP-ing, biking, etc. It is really a lifestyle here - people walk to school, bike to work, and generally stay more active than any place I've lived in the States.
14. Learning new great sayings like "I'll get it sorted" (I'll figure it out), full on" (Really stressful, really busy, really full weekend, etc.), and "chockers" (packed).
15. Having the only two different letters of the alphabet in my last name. In Oz, we would spell Heitzmann like this "Haych-E-I-T-zed-M-A-double N"
16. Morning and afternoon tea.
17. The safety. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had even the slightest feeling of unease, either at home or in public. They go to extremes with their firearms and weapons laws, which I think is, well, extreme. But there is something to be said about knowing how few people even possess personal guns here. It is so nice not to feel like there is a "crazy" at every park, train station, parking lot, etc. when you are 1. a woman, and 2. a mom.
18. Abbreviations - sunglasses = sunnies; breakfast = brekkie; McDonalds = Macca's; Christmas = Chrissie; university = uni, as in "she's a uni student"; BBQ = barbie; Brisbane = Brissie; football = footy. The list goes on and on.
19. The cappuccinos.
20. The adventure! The number of things there are to do around Brisbane and in Australia is staggering. Our list of things we want to see, do and try while we are over here is a mile long...err a kilometer long. We have been to dozens of beaches, fed wild dolphins, hiked through rainforest, 4x4'd on islands, held koalas and petted kangaroos. An adventure for sure.
21. Almost no traffic - at least no compared to Houston. I'm always surprised when I run into it.
22. Sparkling wine (champagne) - it's very popular over here and isn't just saved for special occasions!
23. Not having to sit through a million commercials on TV. I especially don't miss the pharmaceutical company commercials or the political ads. You also don't get the ultra-cheesy local automobile and mattress company ads as much over here. Obviously there are still commercials, but nothing like the 5 minutes you have to sit through between segments of your favorite TV show back home.
24. Making new friends from all over the world.
25. Being with my family more.
We are so thankful and humbled by this experience of living overseas. The thought occurred to me the other day that if we pack it in after our 4 years are up, and come back to settle in the States, it will only be a few short years before this whole other-worldly experience will seem like nothing more than a dream. If indeed that is our path, then I want to soak up every last minute of being here in Oz and pray that the lessons I have learned and will learn while I'm here will not vanish the second we step back into a fast-paced life in America. On the other hand, who knows where our journey will take us next...maybe it will be to another place with more life lessons waiting for us there. Only God knows for sure, and I will rest in that.
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