Aussies have a famous reputation for kicking off their flip-flops (or "thongs" as they call them) and diving into the surf without a care in the World. After being here a fortnight I understand why. They are surrounded on all sides by deadly/poisonous/venomous critters and instead of keeping them on red alert all day every day (which is what I've been on) it's somehow lent them an air of nonchalance. The first time I saw a white-tail spider my boyfriend went "Yeah....that's deadly". Completely cool with it.
Walking through The Bush yesterday on a bit of an exploration we had to carry a stick and bang it on the ground in the long grass to scare away any spiders or snakes near our feet. This is not considered normal behaviour anywhere else. It's so tiring having to look up in the air for dangly things, in front of you for webs and down at your feet for nippy little arachnids/reptiles all at the same time. No wonder the Aussies are so chilled, they're exhausted from protecting their lives on a daily basis!
Everyone here must also be tired of trying to work out what will kill them and what won't. A tiny white-tail could poison you with a bite. The huge chunky huntsman spider is harmless. I'm all for equal opportunities though, and I treat all spiders with the same reaction, venomous or not....
Victoria x
Monday, 28 March 2011
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Love(ly) in a Hot Climate
So I knew I'd be up against some pretty tough stuff over here. Dealing with missing my family, my home, my friends. Getting used to a whole new area, learning my way around, trying not to lose my beloved Yorkshire accent, meeting hoardes of important new people, having to make good first impressions. One thing I didn't budget for in my emotional allowance of dealing with Tough Stuff is.... looking good! I've lived for a week without a hairdryer in a country that has more humidity per square inch than anywhere else! I look like I've denounced the hairbrush and actually want to look like this.
It started badly when, after nearly a month of not seeing my boyfriend (he came over to Oz before me to set things up) I had great plans of looking beautiful and lovely when he first set eyes on me when picking me up at the airport. I figured I'd pop some make-up on during the last hour of my flight, neaten and freshen myself up and I'd all be set to show him just what he'd been missing. But, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. Have you ever tried to look fragrant and attractive after travelling 10,511miles across the World over 38 long, sleep-deprived, dehydrating hours?! I could barely stand upright I was so exhausted. Stepping off the plane into 26degree heat didn't help either. Glamourous huh.
All women need a beauty routine, and I haven't fallen properly into mine yet. Consequently I'm somewhere between looking 12yrs old with not enough make-up and flat hair and like I've slept in what I had on the day before. I wasn't able to bring everything out of my wardrobe back home so I made do with basic essentials. However I've ended up looking basic, rather than essential.
All my jewellery has been sat in my drawers in the absence of anywhere to put it, and I've been forgetting about it and venturing out with a distinct lack of bling. So today I bought a couple of earring stands and displayed them right on my dressing table. No more excuses to not have pretty ears. Hey, it's a start.
So, in a country full of tall, bronzed, slim, trendy women and where it is illegal to be fat and ugly (well it nearly is, haven't you seen Neighbours?) my plan is to work on getting back my English charm and showing Australia just how we British girls do it ;)
Victoria x
P.S. If anybody is planning on a long-haul flight, these tips are invaluable...
http://www.ehow.com/how_2363557_look-good-after-long-flight.html
It started badly when, after nearly a month of not seeing my boyfriend (he came over to Oz before me to set things up) I had great plans of looking beautiful and lovely when he first set eyes on me when picking me up at the airport. I figured I'd pop some make-up on during the last hour of my flight, neaten and freshen myself up and I'd all be set to show him just what he'd been missing. But, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. Have you ever tried to look fragrant and attractive after travelling 10,511miles across the World over 38 long, sleep-deprived, dehydrating hours?! I could barely stand upright I was so exhausted. Stepping off the plane into 26degree heat didn't help either. Glamourous huh.
All women need a beauty routine, and I haven't fallen properly into mine yet. Consequently I'm somewhere between looking 12yrs old with not enough make-up and flat hair and like I've slept in what I had on the day before. I wasn't able to bring everything out of my wardrobe back home so I made do with basic essentials. However I've ended up looking basic, rather than essential.
All my jewellery has been sat in my drawers in the absence of anywhere to put it, and I've been forgetting about it and venturing out with a distinct lack of bling. So today I bought a couple of earring stands and displayed them right on my dressing table. No more excuses to not have pretty ears. Hey, it's a start.
So, in a country full of tall, bronzed, slim, trendy women and where it is illegal to be fat and ugly (well it nearly is, haven't you seen Neighbours?) my plan is to work on getting back my English charm and showing Australia just how we British girls do it ;)
Victoria x
P.S. If anybody is planning on a long-haul flight, these tips are invaluable...
http://www.ehow.com/how_2363557_look-good-after-long-flight.html
Monday, 21 March 2011
Yorkshire Puddings in Oz
Being over here means I'm missing my family loads; Mum, Dad and my sisters Jenn, Katie and Helen. Everything would be set if they all decided to be as potty as me and move here! They would all love it, but I've a feeling a few characteristics of Aussie life would, as us Yorkshire folk say, "put them about a bit" (i.e. make them uncomfortable)....
Mum would LOVE: The sunshine, the regular 35degree heat during the Summer months, the clear blue skies....
Mum would HATE: The insects and creepy crawlies that generally mind their own business but can sometimes be deadly...
Dad would LOVE: The culture, seeing how the other half of the World lives, bustling about in their history.
Dad would HATE: The lack of choice in teabags. No Tetleys, no Typhoo and definately no PG Tips!
Jenn would LOVE: The fact that there are platypus' hanging around in places.
Jenn would HATE: The fact that these platypus' are venomous.
Katie would LOVE: Collecting wierd stuff. Huge pinecones, crazy coloured beetles, wild flowers.
Katie would HATE: Sunburn. She's a delicate creature is my sister, even sat indoors she'd begin to pinken.
Helen would LOVE: The abundance of hunky Australian men. There's something about the accent...
Helen would HATE: Nothing, she'd love it all!
I definately think they should up sticks and stay here for a while like me :)
Victoria x
Mum would LOVE: The sunshine, the regular 35degree heat during the Summer months, the clear blue skies....
Mum would HATE: The insects and creepy crawlies that generally mind their own business but can sometimes be deadly...
Dad would LOVE: The culture, seeing how the other half of the World lives, bustling about in their history.
Dad would HATE: The lack of choice in teabags. No Tetleys, no Typhoo and definately no PG Tips!
Jenn would LOVE: The fact that there are platypus' hanging around in places.
Jenn would HATE: The fact that these platypus' are venomous.
Katie would LOVE: Collecting wierd stuff. Huge pinecones, crazy coloured beetles, wild flowers.
Katie would HATE: Sunburn. She's a delicate creature is my sister, even sat indoors she'd begin to pinken.
Helen would LOVE: The abundance of hunky Australian men. There's something about the accent...
Helen would HATE: Nothing, she'd love it all!
I definately think they should up sticks and stay here for a while like me :)
Victoria x
Weekend in Melbourne...
After this weekends visit I understand why Melbourne is high on the list of places people want to visit before they shuffle off this mortal coil. It's simply phenomenal.
I started off in St Kilda, South Melbourne, to meet my boyfriend's brother. We all walked along the beach with gelato cones (I chose coconut and tiramisu, divine) and saw the sunset. I'm not normally a fan of beaches - getting sand in places I can't even name, sweating so much that my mascara ends up somewhere near my ears - it's all very tiring. But at sunset it's a different story.
At the end of the main pier was a small boardwalk next to a penguin colony with rocks all heaped on top of each other with gaps for the little fellas to wander between. After the Sun had gone down a small crowd of us had gathered quietly waiting....and waiting....before a couple Little Penguins swam to shore, flapped onto the beach and did a comical little dash under the boardwalk and into the rocks. Was hilarious and extremely cute! Didn't get no photos this time but will be back!
Now here's where it gets silly. Driving through Melbourne I was excited to be told we were headed to Pin Oak Court. Nothing special about that you may think until you realise its other name is RAMSEY STREET!! I was just imagining Dr Karl Kennedy wandering around being generally amazing when who should come on the radio....Kylie Minogue. All I needed was Jason Donovan to stroll down the road and I could've died a happy woman. Pin Oak Ct/Ramsey St was smaller than I imagined but it's immensely cool and beautifully kept, even for someone who doesn't watch Neighbours.
A visit to Melbourne city itself was a bit of an experience. Huge skyscrapers, beautiful sunshine, happy residents looking trendy sipping wine and having lunch on the sidewalk restaurants. We strolled along holding hands and thinking everything around us looked like something from a film....it's difficult not to be seduced by it all.
Victoria x
Friday, 18 March 2011
G'day!
Greetings from Victoria! If ever there was a good reason for moving halfway around the World it's to live in an entire State named after yourself. Narcissistic I know, but you'd do it if you could...
When I left University in 2009 I had two things at my disposal. My 2:1 degree in English Literature and Language, and my eyelashes, both of which I went on to flutter at prospective employees in the hope of making my way in the real world. It's through a job I eventually landed that I met a guy who originates from Geelong, Australia, and when life, as it often does, decided to barge into my plans I simply changed my course and bought a one-way ticket to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. So here I am in Geelong.
The 24hr flight from England was somewhat lengthened by problems with the plane's engine. Not exactly calm inducing when you think about everything else I was dealing with at that moment. Leaving my family and friends, flying alone, anxious to be met at the destination Airport correctly, what time the free bar on the plane would open... Luckily I could calm myself with some films playing on the headrest screen of the seat in front of mine. Watched The King's Speech starring Colin Firth. Big fan of Colin Firth. Also big fan of any water he happens to be near that may turn his shirt see-through (The King's Speech therefore no patch on Pride and Prejudice).
I'm hoping to record all my new adventures via this blog so I can look back one day and be proud of how fearless I was in my youth. Fearless or foolish, it remains to be seen. But pessimism is not my particular bag right now, and I'm enjoying my can-do attitude that I apply to nearly everything I do thesedays. The only thing I can't do is deal with huntsman spiders just yet, having met my very first Australian arachnid recently. But I'll work on it...
Victoria x
When I left University in 2009 I had two things at my disposal. My 2:1 degree in English Literature and Language, and my eyelashes, both of which I went on to flutter at prospective employees in the hope of making my way in the real world. It's through a job I eventually landed that I met a guy who originates from Geelong, Australia, and when life, as it often does, decided to barge into my plans I simply changed my course and bought a one-way ticket to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. So here I am in Geelong.
The 24hr flight from England was somewhat lengthened by problems with the plane's engine. Not exactly calm inducing when you think about everything else I was dealing with at that moment. Leaving my family and friends, flying alone, anxious to be met at the destination Airport correctly, what time the free bar on the plane would open... Luckily I could calm myself with some films playing on the headrest screen of the seat in front of mine. Watched The King's Speech starring Colin Firth. Big fan of Colin Firth. Also big fan of any water he happens to be near that may turn his shirt see-through (The King's Speech therefore no patch on Pride and Prejudice).
I'm hoping to record all my new adventures via this blog so I can look back one day and be proud of how fearless I was in my youth. Fearless or foolish, it remains to be seen. But pessimism is not my particular bag right now, and I'm enjoying my can-do attitude that I apply to nearly everything I do thesedays. The only thing I can't do is deal with huntsman spiders just yet, having met my very first Australian arachnid recently. But I'll work on it...
Victoria x
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