OTHER SIDE . . . an one
Sydney. We actually ran out of clothes on the flight, and she toddled through Australian customs, smelling of sick, in just her underwear. The perfect way to start an exchange tour! The excitement of a new country helped with the jet lag, and within the first week we had stroked a koala and fed a Joey in his mother’s pouch. Within a month we had our house, and the kids were in school. The first night we spent in the house we met our first ‘deadly 60’ in the form of a rather small spider in the garage – a red back. I, of course, frantically ran round to next door, asking them to come and inspect all the spiders in the house. I then made her go back and get her super-dooper spider killing spray, which I promptly bought 2 cans of the next day. We also had a few cockroaches in the house. These are ‘normal’ in Australia, even in clean houses, not to mention massive. Our stuff took two months to arrive from the UK, which made peeling potatoes interesting, but the ‘patch’ rallied around and we soon had cupboards full of kitchen stuff, and doonas (duvets) for our beds.
So here we are, two months into our Australian adventure. Our new neighbours and friends are getting used to John being a stay-at-home dad, and his rather strong geordie accent. He has even been invited to a few mummy lunches. The kids are starting to sound as if they are asking a question every time they speak, and football is now called soccer; rugby now football. The sight of a kangaroo is still really exciting, but I do not squeal out loud any more. Men in thongs (flipflops) does not make me giggle, and I now realise that no-one uses the phrase “you great galah” in general speak.
What have we learnt as a family so far? Well, the kindness and support of other military families is a worldwide phenomenon, not just a UK one. We were taken under people’s wings to help us settle, got us through emergencies and were just basically great. There were a few times we would have quite happily got back on that aeroplane and gone home, but the women and men on the patch got us through it. So, if you have got to the end of my ramblings, can I ask that you help re-pay the favour? When you see a random family move in opposite; either foreign or UK – take a minute to go chat. Let them know that you can help, and that you know what they are going through. Doesn’t mean that you will be lifelong friends forever, but your act of kindness will stay with them forever.
Envoy Winter 2014
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