We arrived in our new host country on the 6th of January – full summer. Yes, in the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed.
One of our suitcases is lost, and we are surprised to see that so are dozens of others! I have never seen so many suitcases on the floor. After filling out the necessary forms to rescue our missing case, we make our way out to get our car.
As the sliding doors open we are hit by a wave of heat – 42 degrees Celsius! With this temperature and a huge number of cars lined up in the outdoor carpark, for a minute I am confused… Did we land in Las Vegas?
Slowly we managed to fit all our luggage, the pram, the two car seats and ourselves in the car –and set the GPS to our new temporary home.
I look out of the car window and see eucalyptus trees swaying in the wind silhouetted in a deep blue sky. The radio is playing “Stand by me”. The lyrics resonate with our mood:
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darling, darling stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me
I feel a sense of bittersweet nostalgia mixed with excitement and curiosity.
We left Europe in a Christmassy festive mood, after having said our goodbyes to our families.
My head is full of thoughts.
The most pounding thought is that we have moved to the end of the world… or almost. One of the farthest places on earth.
And a feeling of isolation emerges (The Big Island). The weird description is that here in Australia we are down under. And we literally are! This must be the reason for the headache I have had for the first few days. That, and the 9 hours’ time difference with Europe, from where we departed.
Newly arrived in a new city, a new country, a new culture.
Anyway, we decided to move, we packed and here we are.
We put away the initial feeling of disorientation to support our children. They are part of the reason we decided to move down here.
So Melbourne, here we come!
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