Welcome 2010!

Hello readers! I have been MIA for way too long now. I asure you that I now have a renewed focus on my blog for 2010. I figure if I can at least write something one time per week, that would be sufficient, but if I am to seriously have a blog, it can't be this once per month stuff that I have been pulling since this was created!

Well... who wants to take bets on if I will stick to this promise? Any takers? :)

Anway, I would like to start off my first blog of 2010 by doing a quick copy and paste of something I have already written. Some of you may have received this same letter in the mail already, but I feel it very accurately recaps my life in 2009 and my goals and outlook for the future and thus has a very valid place here, on this blog, as I try to bring my focus back to it.

I hope you enjoy and I hope you have had a splendid start to 2010 as we come to the end of the first month.

Dearest Friends and Family,

My apologies for this letter coming to you so late. I knew there was no hope in getting this out in time for Christmas, so think of this as more of a “here’s to a great 2010” letter.

I’d like to take a second to reflect on and recap the happenings of 2009 before looking to the bright future that will be 2010. 2009 was one hell of year for most of us. The economy was in the dumps (and kind of still is), stress was high, and our pocketbooks and spirits were sometimes low. However, I learned and experienced a lot in 2009 and I hope to carry those lessons with me into 2010 to make this the best year yet!

2009 started with a really, really big question for Chris and I’s future…what was next? He was graduating in May and therefore, no more student visa. We had discussed me moving to Australia before, but now it was time to seriously think about how we would make it happen. We had timelines to figure out, money to save, and bills to pay. We finally settled on me getting a 1 year working holiday visa and coming over in mid-October, which, as most of you know, is what happened. Money was the BIG factor as I really had none to spare. So first order of business à moving somewhere cheaper! I lived in downtown Minneapolis from June 2007 until June 2009 and loved every minute of it! I had a big fancy apartment with great amenities, my friends all lived really close, and I was 3 blocks from work. It was great, but with one huge problem – I couldn’t afford it! Chris’s family came to visit in early May to see him graduate from Concordia University in St. Paul. They also got to meet my family for the first time in our 5 year relationship. Upon their departure though, it was down to business. We packed everything up, sent 80% of my ‘stuff’ home to be stored at mom and dad’s and moved the remaining 20% to a wonderful little house in a northern suburb called Fridley owned by one of my very generous co-workers at Target. I rented a bedroom from her for the months of June through the end of September. It was totally worth it! In those 4 months, I was able to save enough to get my overused credit cards mostly paid off and pay for my own plane ticket, travelers insurance, and visa with some money to spare. I think most importantly though, since I was no longer living 3 blocks from work, I was forced to leave work at a reasonable time (thank you roomie!). The 2 plus years I was working at Target were absolutely great, don’t get me wrong, I learned a ton, got some really great experience for my resume, and met some of the best people ever, however, it really took its toll on me. To be quite honest, I was burnt out. Chris left to go back to Australia at the beginning of June, so I had the entire summer of 2009 to myself to really reflect on what I wanted in life. I started with this fact: I was 24 and a workaholic.

I knew this is not what I wanted in life. I did know that I wanted to be with Chris and that he was in Australia indefinitely, but I also had this huge looming cloud of sadness over my head at the thought of leaving my friends and family. I just didn’t know if I could do it! Also, I like to think I have an adventurous spirit, but to be honest, I HATE change! For example, every time they would gather us at work to announce that someone was leaving the team due to a promotion or leaving the company I would get an enormous sense of dread…’oh no… we are losing the one person that knew everything that was going on….the new person is going to be SO difficult to train in….what if they can’t hack it….what if I can’t hack it???’ I realized though….everything always turned out all right, so what was I so scared of? I had a good chat with my lovely parents and to my huge relief they supported me 110% to go to Australia. They said I needed to be happy and if that was what would make me happy at this stage in my life than to go for it. I absolutely could not have made that decision without their love and support and for that I am eternally grateful to them. (love you mom and dad!)

By August, I was ready to set the ball in motion. I told Target that I had bought a plane ticket to Australia and my last day was going to be September 30th. I was scared to death! I’ve never really had to quit a good job… it usually just worked out that I was graduating (from high school, SWCC, or ISU) and moving somewhere else and thus had to quit… an easy excuse since it wasn’t really expected of me to stay. I guess this was a similar situation, but so, so, so much harder. I had a little moment of anxiety before I put in my notice… did I really want to leave a really good job? Would I ever make enough money to cover my bills? What if I couldn’t find a job once I got to Australia? I’m really good at working myself into a little ball of stress! Well, plane ticket was already bought so I was going, ready or not.

Those last weeks flew by and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to my Minnesota ‘family.’ There were lots of laughs, lots of tears, and lots of memories made. You know who you are and please know that I truly, truly miss you all! Dad came up to Minneapolis on Thursday October 1st and moved me home to Iowa on October 2nd. During a stop at a gas station in southern Minnesota, when I tried to buy us each a to-go cappuccino, my father so graciously said he would pay as I was now “unemployed and homeless.” Holy s***! Talk about freaking me out, thanks dad! This was the first time in my working life that I didn’t have the next job lined up and the first time since I moved away to college in August of 2003 that I was moving back in with mom and dad. This was the first time in my life that I didn’t really have a plan!

Anyway…I spent the first 17 days of October spending the last bits of time with my friends and family. It went way too quick. I know I did not get to see everyone I wanted to see, nor did I get to spend as much time as I would have liked with those that I did get to see. I barely had time to unpack before I was repacking what I could fit into my 2 new giant suitcases that I bought for this new chapter of my life. If you know what my closet looked like, then you will not be surprised to hear that despite my best efforts… I ended up with 3 suitcases, a huge backpack, and a rolling carry-on busting at the seams, instead of my planned 2 suitcases and light carry-on. Very wishful thinking.

I arrived in Australia on October 19th (my lil bro’s 18th birthday!) and flew head first into my new life. First up, after finding Chris in the very busy Sydney airport, was climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. AMAZING! This was a little surprise from my lovely boyfriend…a kind of belated anniversary gift since we did not get to spend it together.

I arrived in Canberra on Tuesday night, October 20th, to a very warm and loving welcome of Chris’s mom, dad, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law. I think knowing that I was automatically going to have a great support system and people that cared about me here made this decision a lot easier. I hit the ground running and was going on job interviews 2 days later. I ended up having about 4 job offers from retailers at the major city shopping center, but while this line of work may have better supported my experience and education, I was looking for a little bit of a change and, to be honest, more money than a retailer could offer. I interviewed with a recruitment agency on the 22nd and had a call from them the following Wednesday wondering if I could temp for them for a few days. At the end of my 3 days temping, I had a job offer as a team coordinator with Kowalski Recruitment, a locally, family owned recruitment agency. It is such a drastic change from the large corporation that Target is; I work with 7 other people. My job is basically to find qualified people to apply for job openings, set up interviews, and inform the candidates of the outcome. As a stipulation of my visa, I am only allowed to work for a business for 6 months at a time, so I am on a contract through the beginning of May. I feel so fortunate to have found a good job so quickly and am forever thankful to the Kowalski family for taking a chance on the ‘American’ girl.
The holidays were definitely unusual. The Kimptons very graciously held a Thanksgiving dinner for me to make me feel more at home. It was DELICIOUS food and we played the same games that my family plays, but for some reason it just didn’t quite feel the same when it was 100 degrees outside. For Christmas, Lorraine and Andy (Chris’s parents) were so excited to have all the children and significant others finally home for Christmas that they took us on a big trip to Northern Queensland to a resort in Noosa, right on the beach. So this was Christmas day for me:

I heard there were blizzards at home….at least you had a white Christmas, right?

So, there it is…a quick summary of 2009…well as quick as 3 pages single spaced can be I guess. Before I jump into plans for 2010, I would like to leave you with a few of the lessons I learned in 2009:
1. Chill out! Life does not have to be as complicated as I sometimes like to make it.
2. Work to live, don’t live to work.
3. Make the most of the time you have with friends and family…it is quality of the time, not the quantity that matters in the end.

So, looking forward to 2010!!! I will be turning a quarter of a century old this year…totally weird when said like that, but I’m looking forward to officially entering my ‘mid-twenties.’ I do not have any solid plans yet for this year and you know what… I am okay with that. What I do know is I will be coming home May 19th for a couple weeks to celebrate my dad’s birthday, my little brother’s high school graduation, and be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s weddings. I hope to see as many friends and family as possible as well so keep your calendars open!
Outside of this…only time will tell. Chris and I are just going to dedicate the year to saving money and taking little trips when we can. Without setting any definite parameters, I have set a few goals for 2010 that I would like to leave you with:

1. Live a more eco friendly life. I have always been interested in all things ‘green,’ but realized I haven’t really been doing all I can to make a difference. This needs to change…now!
2. Live a more healthy lifestyle (I’ve kind of fallen off the eat healthy/workout train and would like to get back on pronto)
3. Pay the last pesky amount off my credit card (and never use a credit card again!)
4. Learn something new…I’m thinking another language or a computer course of some sort.
5. Read something interesting… Chris bought me a book for Christmas called Dreaming of Dior. It shows pictures of designer clothing from the last 200 years that someone has in their personal collection and tells the history behind each piece. I loved that I was actually learning something while enjoying a really good read.
6. Don’t buy needless things!!! I want to have less of a focus on material possessions in my life… I only have the capacity of 3 suitcases to live out of anyway.

To all of my loved ones… I hope you are all well and happy. I wish you nothing but the absolute best in life in 2010 and beyond. Please keep in touch and check out my blog for a lot more pictures and stories. I am really trying to keep it up to date, with little success at this point, but I am going to do my best this year!

Much Love, Amanda

I'm back!!!

So... It has officially been over a month since I have last posted on here...My apologies, I totally suck at this. However, I have some time now, over this weekend, to catch you all up on my happenings. hmmm... so where to start???

A week from today it will have been 2 months since I left home. The time has absolutely flown by. Let's see... how can I summarize the month of November. Majority of the month was spent forming some sort of a routine. Getting back into the workforce proved to be harder I originally thought.

I have been working for a recruitment agency and learning a lot about HR and the recruiting process. I spend A LOT of my time on the phone...which is funny because I get a lot of people asking ME to repeat something because they can't understand what I am saying. haha! What a change, huh? I'm still trying to determine if this is an industry that I would like to pursue more, but as of yet... I'm thinking not. For every great phone conversation where I get to tell someone that they got a great job, I have to make 3-4 phone calls telling someone they didn't get a job. It's not very fun in that sense. However, it is a wonderful opportunity for now and I will be working there until the beginning of May.

One thing I have truly amazed by in the Australian workforce is their paid time off. Everyone works very hard when they are at work, but hardly anyone works past normal work hours. Also, in my 6 month contract I get 2 weeks paid holidays, and 8 paid national holidays. I don't know about all of you American readers, but this is more paid time off then I got in a whole year at Target. Crazy huh?

Well, also in November, we had a paid national holiday to celebrate the Melbourne Cup... yes, a day of horse racing...a paid holiday. Below are a couple of pics. It was a wonderful day and Nick's girlfriend Lucy was able to get us members seating which made a huge difference as it was a really, really hot miserable day.

Chris and I before going to the races.

Lucy and I at the races.

Guess what?!? I put $10 down on the winning horse and walked away with $135! This is me after collecting my winnings....check out the girl in the background with the sunburn!

Chris and I were able to get away for a day a couple weeks ago and go to the coast for my first taste of the absolutely stunning beaches. The coast town of Bateman's Bay is about and 1 1/2 drive from Canberra through the most beautiful mountain range ever. It reminds me of the Black Hills of South Dakota - in the size of 'hills' and density of the forest, but with plants and trees of a more dessert climate. Most unusal but breathtakingly beautiful. Below are a few pics of our day:

Pretty Beach...really pretty isn't it?


Chris and I standing over the lookout over Merry Beach.

Me on the lookout over Merry Beach.

Breathtaking isn't it? Not a sign of civilization anywhere.

This is what the good ole' Aussie bushland looks like. Gum trees and dry grass.

Just watch out for snakes and spiders!

Me and my kangaroo friends on the beach.



You have to be careful when they have babies with them...this mama wasn't to happy about me getting very close.

This is Pebbley Beach...one of my favorite places on Earth!


See how the rain forest comes right up to the edge of the beach?! Amazing!

Chris hanging out with the local wildlife. There are parrots everywhere on this beach. They will come straight up to you and fly onto your hands if you have food.

I will write more soon...and this time I swear!!! I hope you enjoy my posts!

xoxo

Iowa Girl @ <3

Updates Since Arriving in Canberra

So..since I have been really horrible about getting on here and giving updates about what I've been doing, I thought I would write a quick posting of the activities I've been doing since I arrived.

So, here goes...

The trip from Sydney to Canberra (a 3 hour drive) was fairly uneventful. I saw my first glimpses of native wildlife though! ....in the form of a dead wombat and kangaroo on the side of the road. :(

I did get some glimpses of parrots and live kangaroos in the next couple days though, no worries!

The first week I was here was pretty low key...It took me a couple days to get adjusted to the time. I am currently 17 hours ahead of home in Iowa. Nick and Lucy (Chris's brother and his girlfriend) came over for dinner that very first night to see me. Uncle Chaz, whom I got to know the other two times I've been here came over for Sunday roast that weekend. Uncle Chaz is really just a very close family friend. Andy (Chris's dad) knows how to make a DELICIOUS roast. We had probably a little too much to drink that night too...there was champagne, white wine, red wine, and some sort of little desert wine called Muscat....like I said, a lot to drink.

Chris is playing on a baseball team here called the Bandits with his brother and a lot of his good friends. I've been going to every game if I can. They play 1 week night game and a game on Sunday afternoons. Lucy and I usually go and make up about 1/4 of the crowd during the week night games. Believe it or not...America's past time is not popular in the land down under, not at all. However, because it's not popular...everyone that plays is really, really good. On Chris's team in particular, everyone has been either signed in the MLB or has come to America to play college baseball. Chris has been doing amazing, playing short stop and pitching.

One week after I had been here, we had such a busy week!

On Monday night, I had my first go at playing rugby. I've seen some games played and even went to an Australia vs. South Africa game, but I have NEVER attempted to play. Nick and Lucy play on a coed social league on Monday nights and they needed some extra people, so Chris and I went. I should say first that it is spring here and it is not uncommon in spring for it to get up to 90 degrees during the day. That being said, this night was FREEZING!!! I was in just pants and a short sleeve t-shirt and it was unbearable....everyone wanted to be in the game just to warm up from running around. If you know me, you know I am fairly athletic, right??? Yeah, rugby is not really my thing...I was pretty sucky. I didn't really know the rules so I ended up just running around randomly and got the whistle blown on me a few times. I started to get it toward the end, but you know when you just aren't good and something so you just don't really like it? Yeah, that's me and rugby. :) However, it was good to get out there and meet some people. Nick and Lucy's friends were all really nice and I told them if they needed another sub sometime that I would gladly give it another try.

So that was Monday...On Tuesday, I spent the whole day at the mall interviewing with different retailers. (I'll get into the job search in a later post) After that, I walked to Nick and Lucy's house and went to the boys' game with Lucy. We only stuck around for 5 innings or so...the boys weren't playing too well. We later found out though that Chris pitched the last couple innings and won the game for them...just my luck. But anyway, Lucy and I went back to her place to watch this show (that I'm now hooked on called Packed to the Rafters) and have a glass of wine :)

The next day, Wednesday, I actually got a phone call at 9:30 in the morning when I was still in bed from a place called Kowalski Recruitment (not related to the grocery store for you Minnesotans reading) asking if I could come in and work reception for the day since there receptionist was sick. I had interviewed with them the week before and was hoping they could help me find a good job, so I jumped up, showered and went off to work. After working all day, we headed off to a delicious Indian restaurant called blue ginger for Nick's 26th birthday dinner with his and Lucy's family. It was really really fun with lots of good food, wine, and company. We didn't get home until after 11 so it was straight to bed. Especially because I had signed up to work at Kowalski again on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday was the only night of the week that we didn't have any plans, so we just did a lot of R&R. I was so tired from adjusting to working again. At this point, I had been off of work for pretty much a whole month.

Friday was off to work again and then I met up with Chris, Lorraine/Andy (Chris's mom and dad), and Nick/Lucy to see the Michael Jackson movie This Is It. Has anyone seen it??? SO GOOD! I was dancing and singing in my seat and all the way home :)

The weekend was really low-key which I was very grateful for...I was soooo tired after the busy week! On Sunday Andy, Lorraine, and I went to this little country town market and then to a winery before heading to Chris's baseball game. It was a very relaxing Sunday.

At the baseball game!

Enjoying some sparkling shiraz and dark chocolate at Gallagher Winery.

Well, that takes me up to this past week...the first week of November believe it or not! I had Monday off to just relax by myself and start this blog. Tuesday was a public holiday for (you American's will never believe this) the Melbourne Cup horse races. Australians get a paid holiday off of work for this day...UNBELIEVABLE! Anway, I'll write more about this past week and the Melbourne Cup day in a later posting.

Till then, thanks for reading!

xoxo

Amanda

The big surprise...

So, I told several people before I left that Chris had something up his sleeve...I had no idea what it was, but I knew he had spent quite a bit of money and I that he requested I get off the plane in Sydney rather than fly all the way through to Canberra.

Well...the big surprise was...drumroll please...We were not going home to Canberra. Instead, we were staying the night in a hotel in beautiful downtown Sydney and better yet, we were climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge the next morning!!!

Just to give you a little perspective as to what the bridge is and where it is located, look at the picture below. It is a huge steel structure that is one of the biggest bridges in the world. The very top of the top arch sits like 470 meters above the water. We climbed to the very center of the top arch where the flags are located on the picture below. It was by far the coolest thing I've ever done. It was an absolutely gorgeous day...not a cloud in the sky and very warm. You could see out to the ocean in the east and far out to the mountains in the west. Gorgeous, perfect, beautiful...and a wonderful welcome to Australia. Thank you Chris!

This is Sydney Harbor...you can see the Sydney Opera house in the background and the ocean beyond the land...think Finding Nemo

Here are a few pictures that were taken of us on the bridge:

This is 1/2 way up the arch in our wonderful climbing gear :)

Beautiful Sydney in the background.

Sydney Opera House in the background!

Chris hates this picture, but I happen to like it a lot!

We've reached the top!!

Heading to The Land Down Under

Hello friends and family! This blog has been a long time coming and I'm finally sitting down to put it together.

As most of you know...I left the United States on October 17th, 2009 to move to Australia to be with Chris and his family. The decision was defintely not an easy one...leaving my friends and family was the most difficult thing I have ever done. However...after a very uneventful/boring/long flight, I arrived safely in Sydney on October 19th. It has been a whirlwind since I arrived, but I've loved every moment of it.

In the next few postings will catch you up on all the happenings of the past 2 weeks!

Lots of love and thank you for reading,
Amanda Skye