Australian Adventure - Week 1

Tue, 22 November 2011

It's been a week since my arrival here in warm, sunny Brisbane. We actually live in Sandgate, a suburb.

I'm still getting used to a lot of things, familiarizing myself with my surroundings, remembering names of people & friends I'm introduced to and even getting used to just having my hubby around..and it truly is quite an overwhelming adventure! I got lotsa things whirring in this little head of mine that I'd just have to put bullet points in here and probably find the time (next time?! when?!) to expound on my thoughts.

• am amazed at how clean and fresh-smelling the surroundings are
• gotta remember to keep my seatbelt on 'immediately' when i get on the car
• am still quite disoriented while on the road coz they drive on the car's right hand side
• the road signs say 'keep left'..that also goes for the escalators in malls
• there are roadsigns with a kangaroo silhouette that means kangaroo crossing area (haven't seen a single one on any of our road trips, though)
• the malls are only open until 5pm (oh well, so much for window shopping now that I got the luxury of time)..but they're open until 9pm on Thursdays (yeheeeyyy!)
• enjoying the warm & sunny weather (it's summertime here) coz I get to wear my kinda clothing--sando, sleeveless, shorts, skirts & dresses!
• got quite a shock when I saw some shoppers at the grocery/mall with no slippers/shoes on and some males walking around topless!
• people don't usually bring umbrellas..oh yeah! good thing coz I hate bringing an umbrella around with me!
• am fascinated at the colossal trees around..not to mention the preeeety fiery flowery trees!
• the roads are beautiful (great for cruisin'!) and some parts feel like a roller-coaster ride
• our neighborhood is just soooo beautiful! most of the neighbors' houses look like beach-houses (may silong at stairs)
• the passing of the railroad train near our neighborhood sometimes give me a jolt at nighttime especially when we're already sleeping
• was startled the first night of my stay here...naalimpungatan yata ako...i stared really hard at my surroundings and at the person beside me...sabi ko sa isip ko, "asan ba ako? panaginip ba ito?"...and then I finally realized I'm in our bedroom and my dear hubby was sleeping while he held me in his arms...haayy...thank You, Lord!
• familiar stores/resto I've seen so far are the following: Pizza Hut, Dominos Pizza, 7-Eleven, Subway, McDonald's, KFC, Cibo
• walang unlimited gravy sa KFC...waaaaaaaaaaa! (take note: mejo malabnaw ang gravy nila dito sa AUS)
• their post office personnel are all standing up! they take your transaction and automatically encodes the details in a computer in front of them..and aside from sending mail/courier, they also accept ID photo transactions (we were in a hurry so I just wonder what other services they provide..hmmm)
• I've seen & experienced the 'great divide' on the way & quality of living as to how things are in the Philippines against how things are here in Australia..what may be considered a luxury in the Philippines is but commonplace here in Australia
• it is heartbreaking to see food go to waste (ex. bread)...breads here don't contain much preservatives so the shelf-life is short :-(
• apples and nectarines look the same! (especially the small ones)

....to be continued...