When not to settle...

SURPRISE!!! It's a double whammy... lucky for you, hey? What can I say, the girl is on a roll. Besides, this is just a quick one. I need to warn you though, it could've been a momentary thing, but indulge me for a few minutes, while I share...

Yesterday Ti and I decided to do the scenic Spit to Manly coastal walk. Imagine being presented with beautiful landscapes of the city surrounds and discovering new ocean views and little secluded beaches, not to mention the lush fauna and flora that draped the very well mapped out path for 10km. So like all good walkers who come prepared, at one point you want to take a break, sit somewhere with a nice view and have a bit of a snack and refuel on some liquids that will keep your juices going until you reach your destination. It goes without saying that when you are ready for that break in the journey, one goes on a quest to find the 'perfect' spot that gives you a peek into 'God's window'. Anyways, to cut a long story short, Ti and I discover what we thought was the 'window' to take that breather - to soak it all in and enjoy being one with nature. The spot had a nice narrow view of the north, south and middle head but some parts of the view was obstructed by branches and trees. When we were done with our break, we literally took just a couple of steps continuing along the same path and voila - there, on a silver platter, God presented uninterrupted vast panoramic views of the same thing with a ledge on the window for what would have made THE most 'perfect' spot to take that break. True story! The silence was broken by our uncontrollable laughter... firstly at our own stupidity and secondly at the people that were trailing behind us (before we took the break) who must have thought that we were two nimrods  - squeezing ourselves into a 'little' nook when not even a meter away, nature presented itself in all its glory on a perfect stage setting. And the best part - it happened to us further down the trail again. Doh! What is the lesson to be learned? Expect the unexpected sometimes... dont' just settle for the first thing that comes along!

Oh how we laughed and laughed... cos we all know what followed later as we watched the bokke go down to our Ozzie counterparts ;(

Come take a walk on the 'wild' side with us! 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart, head & guts of moving downunder...: Living in 'Pleasantville'...

Heart, head & guts of moving downunder...: Living in 'Pleasantville'...: Hello World!! Miss us? Remember us? Ha, so you thought you had heard the last of us, right? Fat chance of that happening. I have been 'gat...

Living in 'Pleasantville'...

Hello World!!

Miss us? Remember us? Ha, so you thought you had heard the last of us, right? Fat chance of that happening. I have been 'gathering', as we woman know how best to do (or procrastinating). Yes, so it has been a while since we last spoke and a lot has happened, I am simply testing the theory of 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' or is it a case of 'out of sight, out of mind', which by the messages I can tell, we have a fan base (thanks moms)! Anyway, before you continue, make sure you're nice and comfy and have a couple of minutes on the clock, you gonna be a while...

So first up I want you to think of the band 'Kool(io) and the gang', which most of you should know are famous for the song 'Celebrate good times - come on, it's a celebration!' Got it? Singing it in your head? Nice. Now you can start to feel the groove of where I am going to take you... I always considered myself an old soul (referencing Kool(io), is proof of that) - but jokes aside, to cope or to start anew as one would say, you almost have to take a step back and get in touch with appreciating the simple things in life. Whether it's a simple embrace, a warm smile, hearing a familiar song that gets your toes tapping or takes you back to a special moment, seeing the sunrise and set, hearing the pitter patter of the rain, looking forward to walks on the beach or getting messages (in all forms - email, bbm, facebook, twitter, sms, mms etc.) and lest not forget hearing and seeing familiar voices and faces on skype - when it comes to the crux of it all, it's really all about celebrating - celebrating LOVE, LIFE and PEOPLE! It hasn't hurt either that we have had our 'pair of aces' - Shell and Kev (our new BFF's) who have been our pillars of strength and guardian angels, taking us under their wing and introducing us to a great new extended family of friends. And of course the ultimate pleasure lies in being able to just get lost in the pure innocence of my little nephew. We are constantly amazed at how Callum, in his young life, can know so much and it is through him that we have been able to see the wonder and birth of everything anew.

So, well over our 3 month milestone (I know, can you believe it - I am even surprising myself), the above is true and has carried us through. It's been a journey. A celebratory journey. Finally flying the coop and settling into our own nest, the Saladin's have 'gone solo'. It's official, we 'live-in' the 'Ivy' league. No, seriously, we do - how do I know - well that's the name of our apartment building - IVY ;) I can tell you the day our container arrived it felt like Christmas and a welcome home party all wrapped up into one. It was so nice to be surrounded by familiar things, our own things and for the girl in me to have more choice of clothes to wear! We are now comfortable and settled in our new home, with no more looming boxes to be unpacked (thank goodness) and we have my two lifelines live and working - Foxtel (Oz version of Dstv) and broadband. Our apartment is nestled in the burbs of St Ives (otherwise known as 'Little South Africa'), a replica of any one of Johannesburg's established suburbs surrounded by a forest of trees. We are situated within walking distance to my sister, the bus stop and the local 'village' - our shopping centre, and are also conveniently located just 14km from the city and 14km to the nearest beach, which sounds very close - but given the speed limits it will take you between 20- 30 minutes to get there.

Overall life in Australia has treated us well so far. It's different. Someone once told me that different does not necessarily equal good or bad, its sometimes just that - different, with the potential to be great if you embrace it. It helps to not constantly compare and yearn for what you had back home. The key is to just simply accept things for what they are. We had and maybe we still have the illusion that this should be like living in 'Pleasantville'. From the stories we heard before we came about how regulated the Ozzies are and how nothing ever happens, we have high expectations, but just like everywhere else in the world, its all relative. Bad things do happen and people do break the law. Somehow we have a fear of an unknown 'ozzie god' that may strike us at anytime if we put a foot wrong, so we can't help but laugh at ourselves when we suddenly shocked seeing people daring to travel faster than the speed limit and then, if you are me, you think this country is so strict, you are really taken aback when the bus driver allows more people on the bus than there are seats (they can stand, of course they can - duh). I have also discovered the menaces in this society. It's not the youth or the punks, its the purple hair brigade. I am not sure whether it's because they near the end of their tether and just don't care or if they feel a sense of entitlement but they are the ones causing a ruckus, stealing parking bays and pushing in lines and then having the audacity to let one rip - bad enough to cause more damage to an already damaged ozone layer.

And so, life has started to normalise. Other than the BIG unpack...

• My sister and I went to see Mary Poppins - just LOVED it, it never gets old (even tried to get a job being an usher or something at the theater - but alas all positions were taken)
• We did a walking tour of the city and discovered some very interesting tales, like did you know scenes from Superman and The Matrix were filmed in Martin Place in the city? or that it costs the city $20 million per year to upkeep the Opera House?
• We have fast become lovers of banana bread and raisin toast (it's an ozzy thang)
• After more than 15 years of driving, we need more than one driving lesson to take the test... ai caramba, watch this space
• We are jazz lovers! We indulged in the Manly 'cool surf, hot jazz' festival
• We have been supporting our boys in the Ruggers!!! Go bokke... and we LOVE hearing our national anthem and seeing our flag - our blood is and always will be green and gold!!!

Anyway, I will leave you with my final realisation... that to be 'settled' is not a single declaration of one's state of being but rather a constant goal we strive to achieve within each and every situation.

With that, I would like to welcome you to our new home!!! We are so glad you could make it... Champagne anyone?  

The not so terrible 2's...

G'day peeps

I am happy to report that we are well and completely settled... I wish - just practising ;) Sounds good, doesn't it? I heard you all breathe a sigh of relief and mutter 'thank goodnesses' below your breath, considering it is the number one burning question on everyone's mind!! Well, while I am not totally sure when one knows exactly when one is 'settled', I can say that we are moving into a new phase - which I like to call, wait for it - Phase 2.  Original - I know. 


So you probably wondering what phase 1 was all about, yeah? From my experience (cos I am experienced now) ;) phase 1 is (read this longest sentence in the whole world - fast) making the biggest and hardest decision ever, taking the leap of faith in packing up and selling everything, saying 'later' to everybody and getting on that jet plane and then landing in a new country we would like to eventually call home, camp out with family until we find a crib of our own and slowly settle into a new routine that takes us from holiday mode to the reality of our new normal (and now.... breathe).


Ok, so the not so terrible 2's is officially here! At the 2 month review, we are entering phase 2. Everything literally came together over the last week with a little sense of murphy's humour as our container went from delayed to surprise - 'it's here' all the while we were holding our breath to hear about the application for the apartment, which really should've happened the other way around, as per the world according to Justine. Anyways, all is sorted now. The apartment was approved (YAY) - I went to go and collect the keys today and tomorrow our container will be delivered, so I have my work cut out for me for the rest of this week. We are taking a bit of an easy route as we will continue to consume the services of the 5-star b&b for our final week (thanks to our generous and gracious hosts shevin and kelly ;) who have been totally amazing), while I have the fun task of settling us in and by settling I mean, get our new pad all sorted and in a working comfortable living order before we move in. I figure the BIG move was enough trauma and moving twice - ai caramba - so we take it light and breezy in our own stride - with very little inconvenience and drama ;) The next time I will orientate you and take you on a tour as we have a virtual global (house) 'warming' of a different kind...


Other than that, we continue to enjoy the beauty and diversity of the surrounds we live in. I still can't believe that people actually live like this. 


Now is your time to sit back and continue to enjoy the journey as I take you through some of the highlights (the full photo albums are available on facebook to view):

• We did it... in less than an hour and a half - the 14km CITY2SURF fun walk, which was packed with loads of entertainment along the way...

 

 



 

• We visited the fish market, took a couple of ferries and explored Pyrmont...

 

 

 

• We enjoyed a Sunday morning walk to middle head - you know you live on the other side of the world when countries find Australia too far to invade - the world war 2 bunkers were never actually used to defend the city... After that we popped in at the regular Sunday organic food market, you just gotta love the whole tasting culture here!!

 

 

And then of course, I just need to share with you the sentiments of this little man, my nephew, who has wormed his way into our hearts. He is just so precious and my heart wants to burst open and consume the pure joy and excitement when this little guy claps his hands and screams 'YAY' as he is clearly impressed with himself... and I too would like to applaud the achievement of us reaching phase 2 of my ever developing milestone plan! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (CLAP)

Love you all and miss you lots!!
V (The Visitors )
*mwah*

Guest blog by Tino!

Introduction by Justine
This blog is written by this edition's guest blogger - Tino. I do not accept any responsibility for lack of detail, creativity or bad writing skills ;) Tino believes that blogs should be kept to a bare minimum, and follows the mantra that a picture is worth a thousand words! Please show him some of that South African hospitality we are so renowned for...


p.s. the above - heading, bold and underline - totally his idea - the structured accountant coming through - hehe ;)


A blog by Tino....
Last week Saturday, we prepared for the big game between the springboks and the wallabies. Kev scored us some tickets for the game, and together with our new mates Janice and Kev II, we caught a (special event) free bus from up the road which took us straight to the stadium. The mood on the bus was jovial with a good smattering of emigrants and locals! The vibe outside the stadium was great and we were in what we hoped would be a great tussle between the 2 big teams. However, as we all know, that is not what transpired.


Due to the heavy loss sufferred by the 'C team' Springbok side, we will not say anything more and leave it to some pic's taken at the game...

Just, Janice, Kev II and Kev

smoke from fireworks and not the evening fog!

a sea of yellow wallaby supporters

the wounded springboks retire back to barracks

On the Sunday, the morning looked promising and the sun was out so we decided what better way to spend the morning than 'hiking' along a beach and getting our feet in some sand and sea.

Narabeen beach

surfer making his way into the shark infested waters...!!

picturesque house with bonsai looking tree

a morning fix after a 3.5km walk

Justine waiting for her toasted banana bread (which is actually a cake)!

we bumped into this little Korean mini-me on the way back

Yesterday (Saturday) morning we explored the Italian suburbs of Leichhardt, Haberfield and Five Dock. This is the "Orange Grove" of Sydney, before all the Iti's wandered off to Bedfordview!

The bottom of Norton street - Ferrari flags in tow

 

Even some of the buildings had that village shutter look about them

Lunch - fresh Mozzarella, bread and sugo-di-frutta

(note the vespa)

The End!!