This is a walk in the park

A few Mondays ago was a public holiday here in Perth, Labour Day. I did enjoy my day off after a brief (several hour) stop into the office.
After the office, I walked up into King's Park, which is the largest inner-city park in the world at 1,000+ acres, including bigger than Central Park in NYC. King's Park sits on top of Mount Eliza (more like a big hill) and overlooks the Swan River, the city of Perth, and surrounding areas. I must have spent 4 hours in the park, and still want to go back for more. Here are some views from / in the park.

There were many people out and about in the park; families having picnics, people walking/running/biking, lots of kids, many tourists taking photos, people sunbathing, looking at the war memorials, eating at the cafes, etc. The weather could not have been more perfect, with the sun shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky, but the extreme heat of the past month fading into the 70s and 80s, with a nice breeze. Even with a lot of people enjoying the park (it is supposedly the most visited spot in Western Australia), upon a little exploration there were many footpaths winding through very remote areas of the park.

I just walked. I didn't listen to my iPod, I didn't talk on the phone, I didn't text or check Facebook. I just walked and listened and was alone with my thoughts, which I haven't done in a really long time and I would bet it's something you haven't done in awhile either.

The natural surroundings brought back some memories from when I was a northwoods girl instead of a city girl (or when I'm pretending to be a northwoods girl when on vacation). Things like being on the boat on Lake Metonga with mom and Nick and hearing the trees rustle when the wind blows through. Childhood memories of being on the back of my dad's 4-wheeler and Tracey on Grandpa Fred's going through some piece of land they wanted to buy, and feeling the sunlight trickling through the trees like a natural strobe light (shade, sun, shade, sun).

There's nothing wrong with feeling a little nostalgia now and again....I don't think I would be a normal person if I didn't ever have feelings of isolation under these circumstances. It is not lost on me that I put down my boss as my "in case of emergency" contact. It's funny but my walk in the park was fabulous and a little lonely at the same time. My solitude is not unique to Perth, I was alone in Chicago too (as far as being away from family), but I had a great social circle of friends. The circumstances do make me feel it a little deeper.

Back to my life in Perth - I don't want this post to worry my parents! I still love it here. I still know I made the right decision, for many reasons that I'll elaborate on in my next blog. Cheers for now.

Testing new blogging app

I wanted to post a few pictures from my phone and see how the blog turns out. So this is a quick test run (and might make up for the fact that my last 2 blogs were like novels).

Here's a sad sight from Cott Beach:)



Also here's a pic of the sunset over the Claremont showgrouds during Good Vibes music festival. Some of the few clouds since I arrived.




Ah and here is an uninspired night photo of my hotel (and home for 23 days).



Ok, time to post and see how it looks.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Perth Australia

First Two Weeks…..Time to Make the Donuts

My first day, of course, was more like a half day with arrival and a quick tour with co-workers (see previous blog). Thursday I was up pretty early (jetlag!) and went out and about in the city for the first time. My first goal was buy a Smart Rider pass for the public transport system, TransPerth. Why was that first? Not only could I then get around the city easily without coins ($5 is the lowest form of paper bill, everything smaller is coinage), but also for the simple reason that they open first in the morning. My second task was to get a cell phone – can’t do much these days without one! This ended up being the hardest part of the day. It was literally easier to get into the country than to get a cell phone plan. Telstra took my passport, credit card, check card with my picture on it, my visa approval letter, and my IL driver’s license. All they needed at Immigration was my passport and a cute smile, and they let me in for 4 years! Even opening Australian bank accounts was also MUCH simpler. The rest of the day was spent sightseeing, mapping out my commute to work from the hotel, etc. Sightseeing around Perth was so much fun – the City is situated on the beautiful Swan River, which then runs to the port of Fremantle and the gateway to the Indian Ocean.

That evening, a director in my group brought my computer over to my hotel and bought me a drink at the bar so we could discuss the project I would be helping him with when I started work on Monday. No rest for the weary! (or is it wicked?)

Friday, I was able to meet a friend of a friend (a girl from Minnesota!) who has lived in Perth for several years. I spent the day with her, got a tour of the coastline and got to see the Indian Ocean for the very first time! She took me to my first fish and chips in Perth, and we were able to sit outside at a harbour (Hillarys) and enjoy the endless sunshine. Friday night I trained back into the city and had my first apartment viewing. I loved the place and the girl I would be rooming with was nice, but, of course, felt that I should see a few more before making a decision. I had a few more appointments on Saturday morning, but realized after a few dumpy places and weird roommate situations that I definitely should go with my gut instinct and rent the first place!

Living with someone is almost a given in Perth – I was shocked at how expensive everything is here! Living alone was just out of the question. The girl I’m moving in with is from the UK, a 35 year old teacher (teaches ESL), and has been here 4 years. It will be good to meet people outside of work and have someone to have a glass of wine with on the patio or by the pool. Now I’m just excited to move in and actually get my life in order. I can’t move in until March 11, so the Partner of my group has generously offered to pay for the extra 10 days in the hotel, meaning I don’t have to move in with a co-worker or pay for a separate short term apartment! Just to give you readers an idea of cost here, an apartment WITH a roommate that is somewhat close to the city is around $1,100 per month (that’s my share only). 

Saturday afternoon I headed up to my new immediate boss’ house in the northern suburbs of Perth. She and her kids picked me up at the train station. Her two children were so cute with their Aussie accents! We basically hung out all afternoon, Vic and I drank mango sorbet and champagne concoctions (yum!) and got to know each other better, and then the whole family (and me) played in the pool for awhile before dinner of homemade wood-fired pizzas with all sorts of toppings. Needless to say, I was exhausted after a full day of fun and was sound asleep by 11pm on my first Saturday night in Perth. Don’t judge. Well you are allowed to judge me only if you have also recently moved by yourself to a foreign country with a 14 hour time difference. I thought not! 

Sunday I was invited to go with a co-worker to an outdoor music festival called Good Vibrations (Good Vibes). I’ve arrived smack in the middle of their summer festival season, good timing on my part! A few acts I saw included the Ting Tings, Mike Posner, Kelis, and Faithless (think Trainspotting).  

Monday (21 Feb) was my first day in the office. It has been great to meet my new co-workers, and also get started on a project right away. Already, there are a lot of differences that are glaring…..first and most surprising is how differently the company operates here (IT systems, expense systems, everything). Granted, we are separate legal entities but I was not prepared for the vast differences. One example is that the office in Perth (and all around Australia) has an open floorplan, NOT cubicles. It is meant to promote collaboration, but to an American it feels very alien. I feel very “out there” when I’m in the office, partly because lots of people have to walk by where I’m seated, and partly because I feel like people are looking at me. That may be true – it’s a very small office compared to Chicago (only a few hundred people vs. a few thousand) and I very well might be the only American. Being the only person with a certain accent tends to make one very self-aware, at least to someone who has only had a “Wisconsin” accent. Or I’m being paranoid, which is also likely. I don’t want to bore all my readers with work stuff…..but if you’re interested just let me know!

My second weekend here was very relaxed – went to Cottesloe Beach and got into the Indian Ocean! Well not all the way in, as the surf is a little more forceful than the lakes of Wisconsin. I’m not a great swimmer but I hope I can get better while I’m here. I was invited over to (yet another) co-worker’s house for burgers and beers on Saturday night, and had a great time. Sunday was very relaxed but I was able to spend some time in Fremantle for the first time, which is full of shops and restaurants. A co-worker (same one from Good Vibes) took me and we ended up at Little Creatures, a brewery and restaurant for lunch and drinks. We didn’t have a full-fledged Sunday Funday this week, but drinking on Sundays is very popular here and I’ll be partaking in many! Here they call it “Sunday Session,” a term that I LOVE!

I really can’t say enough about the group of people that I’m lucky enough to work with here in Perth. They’ve really taken me under their wing(s) and definitely make an effort to get me “out and about”. Although as most of you know, I can take care of myself; but it does take awhile to meet people. So I’m very pleased to be welcomed by this awesome group of internationals (Aussie, Malaysian, South African, Irish, British, Scottish, French….that’s just what I can think of right now). I’ll update you soon on any new developments!

Sorry still no pictures - just haven't had time for downloading stuff onto my work computer (which is a sensitive area). Just imagine my pain that I haven't had iTunes in almost 3 weeks!

Some things are worth the wait (like me)

There has been a lot of action in my life since my last blog. After a few weeks of waiting, I got the call on Monday, Feb 7 that my visa cleared. (I guess I should get used to the accepted international format of 07 Feb 11). Those of you that know me well, know that I’m not that, well, excitable. I don’t react often with squealing or giggles. But let me tell you that I actually jumped around my (empty) condo after I got the call from Australia!

The Global Mobility person wanted to check with my new team to make sure they didn’t need me right away (as if hopping on a flight the following day was an option!). After determining that they could wait a few weeks, I booked my ONE WAY ticket to Perth for the following Monday, leaving me 6 days to tie up all my loose ends. Shipping my items over, packing the rest of my belongings that I wanted to take with me in suitcases, and any other things to do in Chicago, etc. That was not an easy week. I’m still not quite sure how I got everything done. Not to mention I still wanted to see people. I was able to spend Saturday and Sunday in Madison with my Dad and Robin (who drove down to Madison from Rice Lake), my mom (who drove down from Crandon), and Tracey, Craig, and Grant. My new nephew Jackson is not quite here yet! (as of this writing, anyway). Then my mom drove me back to Chicago and we finished up my packing, chores, and cleaning the condo for my new renters to move in. (Here's a shout out to my awesome mom!) Thankfully the new renters didn’t want to move in until March 1, or I would’ve been homeless these last few weeks!

My flight left O’Hare at 6:30pm on Monday, Feb 14. I had a (too close for comfort) transfer in San Francisco, and just made my plane. Then I settled in for the long haul. Luckily I had an Ambien to assist me in this endeavour. Even so, this was a truly painful journey. However, I’ve continued my lucky streak of sitting next to cute guys on airplanes, and even scored his business card for my collection. Not really my type, but it feels good to know I’ve still got it. J

Unfortunately, Qantas did not allow enough time for Immigration and Customs in between my flights. Several other people and I all missed our connection to Perth (good to note for anyone coming to visit me). This caused me to use some international calls on my cell phone to contact my new boss and co-worker to delay their trip to the airport to pick me up. The delay did allow me to clean myself up and change clothes, which was badly needed. I really, really smelled. What is it about airplanes that does that? Finally, about 35 hours of travel later, I touched down in Perth. By then, everyone around me knew I was moving here and were so wonderful. People gave me lots of recommendations....however I was in such a fog by then that my brain didn't retain much.

It was a shock to literally walk off the plane and into two co-workers’ arms. Since the last leg was domestic, people can meet you at the gate! Victoria and Barbara were right there calling my name (side note – they go by Vic and Barb….everyone shortens their names here and I expect to be Trish in short order. And that’s ok by me, even though I don’t usually go by that in the work context. See, that's me being flexible.) It was also a shock to walk out of the airport and into 40C temperatures (104F!). That’s a little hot, but not out of the norm for summer here. Thankfully, the next few days didn’t quite get up to that temp (although still hot for this Wisconsin girl). Not only did Vic and Barb help me with my luggage from the airport and in the hotel, they also drove me around on a little tour of the city. After grabbing a few groceries to get me by and taking a little walk in the neighbourhood around my hotel, I basically crashed at like 8pm. Leading me to be wide awake at 3:30am! Everyday the jet lag has gotten a bit better, but it will likely take a few weeks to adjust completely. My next blog will focus more on what I’ve done in my first week here! More to come soon - and will be accompanied by some pictures.

Welcome to my blog!

I hope it's not too presumptuous for me to even have a blog - but I've been told that people might be interested in this whole process of moving to another country. Believe me, if you think moving to another state is complicated, try this! I'm definitely not the world's most talented writer, or else I would be a wealthy author. But I will try to blog on a (somewhat) regular basis, try to keep this entertaining (I've been told my FB posts are entertaining), and post pictures and other fun stuff that I am doing on this big adventure!

I'm still in Chicago right now, sitting in a practically empty condo. I've already moved most of my items into storage up in Crandon, WI. It was quite a mess in here as I tried to sort into 1) goodwill / give away 2) store 3) pack for Australia 4) ship to Australia. Here's my empty living room:

Unfortunately, the work visa delay has also caused me to keep a few items in my condo that I need to "live".....an air mattress, my wireless router, etc. (like you could live without internet access either, don't judge!) I will still have a load of stuff to take north when I actually leave (anticipated 2/14).

For the next few weeks I technically go back to work in Chicago....hoping to avoid actual work as much as possible. I don't think I should start any client work, but I might do some other work stuff. It's going to be strange to actually have to go back to real work when I get to Australia. Will I be good at my job there? What kind of differences will I face? Will people like me? The waiting game begins and many thoughts are swirling around this head of mine. I'll keep you posted.