The Australian story - so far.....

Well, I know this is very delayed as I've promised several times to get this blog updated and out there. I think the delay sums up our lives over the past 4 months - i.e. crazy busy!!  

The boat to Manley (photo credit to Dany!)

 

"Home" 

We knew the rental market in Sydney was cut-throat - and so it turned out to be. For every place we looked at, there were loads of other people looking and the prices are crazy. Fortunately, the pay is a bit better here, so things are affordable for us, but I pity less well off here. After a brief look around, we decided to plump for Erskinville/Newtown as this is on the train lines and is handy for living (i.e. cinema, cafes and food shopping!) It's quite close to the city and to Sydney park - where we experienced our first Kate Bush day thanks to Alison (March 85 fellow student nurse) & her daughter, Emily. For the uninitiated, around the world, people dress up as Kate Bush around her birthday and re-enact the Wuthering Heights video before "Running up that hill". Being near Newtown, about 1/3 of the Kate Bushes are not female but there were over 300 in total.

 

We've got a house that is not unlike our place in London, although trendier with bare brick walls and high skylights. Having said that, initially it was very very cold indoors but now that we are in spring it's nice. We're hoping that it will be nice and cool in the summer, but we'll see. After waiting for 3 months (not the 4-6 weeks we were promised) our container finally arrived having been stuck in Australian customs for over 6 weeks. At least Australia has IKEA and we can recommend their sofa beds as a result. We're still unpacking/sorting but starting to get there. One box got completely lost (we acquired someone elses and have returned it) but otherwise most things seem to have arrived in one piece.  

A Minah bird in our garden

Work  

In true Janice fashion, I have now 2 jobs and am studying. The first one I started was teaching student nurses at one of the universities - Australian Catholic University who apparently train the most nurses here. I'll mostly be doing postgrad (i.e. teaching qualified nurses as I have done previously,) however, I've also helped cover some 1st year teaching this semester which is very different for me. These students haven't yet stepped foot in a hospital but do so after this course. They are very very young and quite enthusiastic which is quite sweet. I've been co-teaching with a lovely colleague, Rebecca and we're hoping we're making a difference. I've also done some OSCE marking and essay marking (& I know remember why I don't like essay marking!) 

  I visited several intensive care units (ICUs) and plumped for working at the same hospital as Jonathan in the end as they gave me the most flexibility. It's early days but they have been very welcoming. I haven't worked in ICU as my main job for well over a decade but it's like working in someone else's kitchen - I know how to cook, but it's a different recipe and I can't find anything in the cupboards, but everyone seems to like my baking! I'm working part time but also have to redo their version of the ICU course which is a bit frustrating having originally trained in 1991, then done in an MSc in the same thing in 2018/19! But I'm playing the game and we'll see how it goes. 

My view on my way to work - yes VERY early mornings (that's the moon)

And I'm "studying" again - A diploma in Remedial Massage - as they don't recognise my UK qualifications (yes, this is an ongoing theme.) For some reason, the Australian system requires you to retrain in not-quite-as-good courses, to prove you can do what you can already do, but again, I'm playing the game. I've met some nice people as a result though, including Sarah & her 2 kids, Jessy & Jack who I spent a lovely 3 days in Jervis bay with (at Owen's place - who was also on our introductory massage weekend.) 

 Jonathan's been equally busy working in both ICU at the same hospital and in Waikato (yes, that's back in NZ) It's a long story but it seems to work well for now at least. He's also studying a biomedical ethics/law course so the pair of us seem to be head down in books revising or writing quite a lot of time at the moment. 

A rare photo of the lesser-photographed JB - on our way to Bundeena

A holiday! 

Yup - you heard it right - we're having a holiday very soon! We're coming over for the European ICU conference in Milan then having a few days in Annecy, France before getting the train to London for just over a week. We really don't have very long there but will try to catch up with some family and friends before flying back. I'll try to post on FB or somewhere equivalent for an open meet/pub session, probably at the Grove pub in Balham again. 

Wildlife  

As you might expect, we're getting to know the local wildlife a bit. So far we haven't had any snake encounters but I did get my first tick bite down in Jervis Bay. The local birds are quite exotic but friendly too. 

Cockatoo in between Bundeena & Miainbar

 

What with  working and unpacking, there hasn't been enough time for adventures yet. Floyd the kayak is waiting for his first Oz outing and is still in the crates! I did get the chance to read this absolutely brilliant book though which I highly recommend to anyone, not just kayakers. I'd followed Toby's journey of kayaking the regions of the shipping forecast with great interest.

I was lucky enough to paddle with Toby in both the UK and Jersey. The sense of adventure and the joy of traveling to unusual places are tinged with the sadness of losing him far too young. Katie, his sister has done an amazing job of putting it all together and as a previous non-kayaker, is now finishing off his challenge. 

So whilst we don't quite know what we'll be doing in the future, I'd like to think that some of Toby's enthusiasm to continue challenging yourself has rubbed off on me so I'm looking forward to some more adventures - whatever they may be.

As ever, please keep in touch - it's so lovely to hear from you. This blog is a way of reconnecting as an intro, but happy to launch into grand discussions on anything and everything!