Ramen Noodles and Lizards

We decided to come to Australia to do something different, to see how another part of the world lived. After being in Las Vegas for a while, we were ready for a change of pace. Yes - moving halfway across the globe was a bit extreme, but we were ready for something big. Besides, we concluded, living and working here would provide us with much more experience and insight than an extended holiday ever could. And it has, although in more ways than I ever dreamt.

Of course, we couldn’t have predicted Mouse’s ankle injury and subsequent three-week hospital stay. I was excited to experience the Australian healthcare system as a nurse, but never thought we would end up on the other side of things. It was good for me, being the family member, seeing patient care from a different point of view. And it was a lesson in patience and tolerance for Mouse, being on bed-rest for the entirety of his stay, in a ward-style room with three roommates, all over the age of eighty. He received great care, though, and is slowly on the mend, which is the best we could hope for.

But living in a foreign country and learning a new culture is less about the big events and more about everyday life. Things are just different here. I’m forever shaking my head either out of befuddlement or amusement. There are lizards everywhere - big lizards, little lizards all over the place; you see them hanging out on the sidewalk and scampering around doorways. All shops close early, even the grocery store. No one seems to know what brewed coffee is. Swiffer Sweepers don’t exist. There are no goldfish crackers or string cheese. No one, not even the specialty butcher, sells bone-in chicken breasts. I’m fairly certain there is a public holiday every other weekend. And everything is ridiculously expensive! ($20 for two six-inch Subway subs is just plain crazy!)

I expected things to be different, though. (Except for the astronomically high cost of things - that has taken me by surprise.) We wouldn’t have bothered coming here for more of the same. What I didn’t expect was how much our entire lifestyle would change; it has become much more simple and sparse. We traded our spacious two-bedroom townhouse for a very small, one-bedroom apartment. We have been scouring thrift stores and online classifieds for used furniture and other necessities. We actually have to budget. I feel like I’m in college again, eating ramen noodles for lunch and constantly worrying about being broke. This might not sound fun, but it is. It’s been unexpected, but it’s refreshing to be out of our comfort zone and is providing a new perspective on life. And isn’t that what I was looking for, after all?