Happy Anniversary to ME!!!

Yup! It’s officially my 1st year here in Australia. I could still remember the day when I arrived at Melbourne. It was 6 AM of July 6, 2007; Very cold and very gloomy. My first Aussie breakfast at Tullamarine Airport was just ok. Not much of a change. I just had a bottle of orange juice. hehehe

The drive going to Geelong was a “crash course” to Australia. The roads, the driving culture, the houses, the people and the community were just like I imagined. As soon as I arrived “home”, the cold weather just went through my bones. It was 3˚C, the coldest for Geelong in 3 years.

My room was ok. It has a heater; the floors got carpet, a small refrigerator, a very comfortable bed and a cabinet enough for my clothes and things. I know its way better than what I had back in Davao but I still prefer my old room.

My first few nights were horrible as I really missed my family and friends. I sometimes wake up on cold nights, crying as I have lost a lot. But my uncle and auntie were kind enough to lend me a spare PC and allowed me to configure their broadband connection to be shared among the computer users at home. That way, I have come to communicate with family and friends and minimized the loneliness.

Food was also a big leap as I tried to eat whatever they would have on their table. My first month was crazy as I had lamb on almost every meal. Lamb on sandwiches, lamb on every dinner and the kitchen smells like lamb. Uncle has just this farmer friend who supplied us with heaps of lamb that practically occupied their 6 foot freezer. Rice was also minimized as it was substituted with chips or spuds.

Job hunting was crazy. Though I got substantial amount of experience and legible to work anywhere in Oz, employers were just too “technical”, that I should have at least a “local” experience. It was discouraging but with patience, luck and blessings from the Lord, I got the job that’s fit for me.

It was a good learning experience for me with their English which was way different from my “American influenced English”. Aussies just had their way of pronouncing words; like they omit or replace some letters when they say some common words. Example: Ever will become “Evah”, No will sound like “Nowr” and What will sound like “Wha”. They also have unique way of making nicknames. Usually, they get the first syllable of the word and add “A” or an “O”. Example: Richardson will become “Richo”. Registration will become “Rego”. McDonald’s will become “Macca”.

Spelling is not much of an issue here as long as you can be understood. They also have some weird way of naming things. Things like bicycle is named as “Push bike” (I pedal with it, not pushing it hehe) and toilet for “differently-abled” persons is named as “Disabled Toilet” (I’m still waiting for that to be “Enabled” so it can be used)

Cultural diversity in Australia has also helped me in understanding diverse cultures and the respect each culture deserves. Though there are minimal cases of racism, I never felt much different as my uncle has told me that 5% of each race has rednecks. I guess, people who happen to experience this happen to be in the wrong time and in the wrong place.

I’m still learning and I’m still trying to cope up with the changes here. I hope next year would be better as signs of having a good life are slowly showing within the small gaps. I hope and I pray to get things on a roll without so much hiccups.