Back to School

Here's something from a few weeks ago... before I had internet and could post from home.

I’ve been back in Sydney for nearly 2 months now. Definitely enough time to get over the culture shock that I was suffering when I last posted and time to catch up with everyone, settle into my new home with my sister and get back to work. Sydney is an amazing city and I’m really happy to be back here. I seem to fall in love with the place a little more every day.

A little back tracking is in order so...

Christmas was lots of fun up at my mum and dad’s place with my crazy nieces and nephew running amuck in true Christmas spirit. Photo frames seemed to be everyone’s gift idea for me this year which was perfect. I’m actually copying my photos, all 39 CDs, onto my computer at the moment so I can go through them all and print out an album. I have the feeling this will take a while.

New Year’s Eve was also great. I went up to the Gold Coast with a group of friends for a week of relaxation after a hard year relaxing. Between enjoying a cold beer, catching the beach and putting on a New Year’s party, we all had a great time and I get the feeling this will become an annual event.

After a few months of being ready to go back to work, I started the freak out in the last weeks, which I’d already pushed back so I could spend more time at the Gold Coast. I finally got back to work and have been having fun since. It was really nice to go back to the same product and group and to be able to contribute, almost, from day one.

Another big thing that’s happened is that I’ve moved in my one of my sisters. I’ve been here a few weeks now, and I have to say, it’s absolutely awesome living with her. She... we have a great house and it’s nice to be hang out her. She’s a total workaholic, like the rest of the family, but we still get to eat together and watch excessive amounts of Battlestar Galactica and Heroes. An added bonus is that she lives in the Portuguese part of Sydney, so I still get the chance to speak Spanish... my Portuguese is terrible, so I just speak Spanish, but people still seem to understand.

Speaking of Spanish, my good friends Ben and Dan, who came and visited in Salvador de Bahia in Brasil, took me to an asado (BBQ) that the South American Society organise every Friday night and it was awesome - great food and then a live band playing Salsa and Meringue. A definite stop for the Spanish club I’m trying to get together... so far we’ve only watched Volver and eaten Japanese.

I have an appointment with an immigration lawyer about Aura’s visa this week, which I hope will go well. It seems ridiculous to me to see a lawyer about a tourist visa, but given the outcome last time, I think it’s worth it. Aura should be out here June and July and I think I’ll go back with her for a little while too. Being apart sucks, but we’re coping pretty well.

Not a lot has changed in the last year and I’ve realised that’s one of the things I like about coming home after time away. The fact that it doesn’t change that much is what makes home home. Everyday away was an adventure in some way, and I loved every minute of it (at least in retrospect), but it’s really great to be home again. I know I’ll be packing up again one day, but for now I’m just happy to sit around with my friends and family and be thankful for their company.