Ready Already…
21Mar10
(posted by stuartgrant)Practice Packing:
Watching David and Kathryn pack up their house over the last two months did NOT make us envious! They have had to pack 12 years’ worth of stuff (technical term) into 3 x 30kg bags (yes, Aydin, who weighs 25kg, gets 30kg of checked-in luggage…). Luckily they discovered that sending a 20kg box of, say, books to Australia only costs about AU$80.
Well, we’ve been starting our own culling of the useless junk we’ve acquired over the last year, and packing the rest into our bags (limited to 20kg for us! Not fair!).
Why are we finished packing when we have two weeks left over here, you ask? Well, to be honest it’s probably excitement to be home as much as it is an attempt to be organised. We knew for a fact that we wouldn’t be able to fit everything in our packs, so we had to see what needed posting. We’re getting rid of lots of our clothes – having a limited wardrobe for 12 months really wears out your threads! – and we drank the 2kg coffee that I brought over here. But we’ve been fanatical customers of the Book Depository and bought/received 15-20 books since arriving here (!), and despite our whingeing about the local fashion, we’ve also managed to buy some new clothes.
We’ve been pretty brutal with our wardrobes – most of it is being given away or thrown out (possible the former, followed by the latter). And the books, along with some other random stuff, is in the box you can see above. We’re hoping it’s under the 10kg postal limit!
The rest somehow fit into our packs! It’s a miracle. But… now we have to unpack everything so we can continue living normally for the next 2 weeks!
Going home?
The thought of going home is very strange. It’s a similar feeling to when we were preparing to come over here – excitement mixed with apprehension (both to be expected), but also a strange sense of really not knowing what to expect upon arrival. We haven’t been here long enough to expect reverse culture shock to be a problem, but we’re sure that some things will seem unfamiliar. It would be nice if that unfamiliarity became a kind of inspiration to get the most out of being back in Australia, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Running Out.
A funny observation I made yesterday is everything is running out just in time for us to go home:
- the coffee I bought in London;
- the Vegemite my Mum sent with Humf back in October;
- the T2 teas that Fred bought for us (also delivered by Humf);
- the usability of our camera (need one of those tiny screwdrivers…);
- our patience with our semi-functional laptop (claiming on Harvey Norman warranty as soon as we get back!);
- even our money is running out precisely on time!
Aah, but talking about going home won’t make it come any faster! So I’ll sign off now.
Cheers
Stu.
Tags: culture shock, travelling
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3 comments so far for “Ready Already…”
22Mar 2010 at 1:40 am :
Hi Stu an Elly
this must be THE earliest and most organized you’ve ever been!!! My how things have changed (tho we think it’s more indicative of yr excitement to be home!) We are also getting excited about seeing you! We’ll also send some money soon to help yr leaving. Dad and I are on Bruny Island this week for some R&R – gotta get our strength up for all the celebrating about to happen!!! Love and hugs to you both.
22Mar 2010 at 3:24 am :
Yo boggy and boggy-sista!
Can I just warn you, that you probably WILL suffer from reverse culture shock arriving back in Aus? I experienced this coming back from Costa Rica after only 4 weeks there!!! It’s not so much unfamiliarity with the ways of Australia, more the crappy things you forget about when you’re looking forward to going home! I became very cynical of Westerners, and Australian culture in particular, and it took me a while to adjust.
So my advice to you is to be aware that you might have a similar (or more concentrated) experience! And try to stay focused on the positives of Australia – sounds like you’re doing that already.Maybe you won’t have this experience, but there you go!
Very much looking forward to catching up with you guys in Melbourne after Easter! Hope you enjoy the rest of your time there and love it!
Love Heth
xox
22Mar 2010 at 3:25 pm :
Hey youse, thanks for the comments.
Heth – you’re no doubt right that we’ll experience lots of “whoa, I didn’t remember THAT happening in Australia…!”, and some of that will be negative. I suppose when I said we wouldn’t experience reverse culture shock I meant in comparison to a) the experience David and Kathryn will have, having been here for 12 years (!), and also b) our experience of culture shock in the first place, which was long and drawn out and moderately painful at times… I think anything we experience in Australia won’t be that severe or last very long. BUT, I take your point. Not everything is ‘Straya is going to feel “right”.
Chars
Stu.