Hello from Melbourne!

I was planning on having more postings by this time, after 1 week in Melbourne, but I have to pay to use the internet in my serviced apartment, so uploading photos would be pricey.

I have to say, this is a gorgeous city. I made it through my first week of work, and I love everyone at work, everyone is so nice and helpful with getting me up to speed of company procedures. I am currently in the process of looking for a flat with, preferably to share with a roommate to save money.

I'm trying to upload photos to this blog, but it's not working right now. I'm at the State Library of Victoria and I don't think their wireless internet is the best.

While I love being here there are some adjustments that are hard to make. Remembering that people drive on the left hand side of the road is harder than I was expecting. I have nearly gotten clipped by a car turning left because I forgot to look to the right of me when crossing the street. Also in this city, they have a crazy rule for doing "hook turns" that doesn't make any sense at all. Basically you do a right-hand turn from the far left lane, which means you have to watch for cars trying to pass you on the right. It's freaky. I think it will be a while before I try my hand at driving soon!

Also I didn't realize how puritan we are in North America. Everywhere is written "toilets" instead of "washroom" or "restroom". I find it hard to get comfortable asking "where are the toilets?", it seems way to direct!

I haven't tried vegimite yet, and Melbourne weather is very unpredictable, it's been kind of cool since I got here. Everyone at work said the week just before I arrive was very hot, but lately it's been anywhere between 17-21C. The sky changes from overcast to sunny every day in a couple of hours. It can be cloudy and rainy in the morning, then warm and sunny in the afternoon, then cold and windy at night. But it's still better than 17cm of snow back in Canada :-)

One thing that is enjoyable is being the one with the foreign accent. As well the two things Aussies only seem to know about Canada are the Rocky Mountains and Niagara Falls. I think I disappoint about them because I live in such a boring area of the country!

What I will miss!

You know what, southern Ontario is a nice place. Ingersoll, my hometown, isn't a bustling place, but it's home. I'm going to miss seeing the community centre where I worked as a lifeguard in high school.

What I'm going to miss about Ingersoll/Woodstock:
- well it's home, it's where my family is. Going to miss walking around the corner to go visit my grandma.
- going to miss driving to Port Stanley and Grand Bend to the beaches in the summer time
- miss eating New Orlean's Pizza
- the colour of the leaves in the fall
- the fields of white snow in the winter


What I'm going to miss about London (the closest city with a night life)
- shopping at Whiteoaks and Masonville malls
- walking down Richmond street (Richmond "Row") in the summer with their cafes and trendy shops
- miss walking through the University of Western Ontario campus
- miss Garlic's restaurant
- the bars that provided much needed entertainment in the evenings on weekends when visiting my family in Ingersoll


Living somewhere for so long, you can begin to take things for granted, but yo

What I'm going to miss about Toronto:
I know, my Toronto friends are tired of my complaints of Toronto, because they are convinced it's "world class", but there are lots of things I will miss - and my list will avoid the use of words like "diversity", "tolerence", "multicultural".
- my first subway ride and streetcar rides were in Toronto, so I will miss them
- the Fringe Theatre Festival - the funnest thing ever! (Yes I know that wasn't proper english)
- walking through Rosedale
- walking through Yorkville (although too poor to shop there)
- the Beaches
- the Danforth for shopping
- the expanded Royal Ontario Museum
- going to to see the Toronto Raptors play at the Air Canada Centre
- Union Station, where my train has stopped numerous times, I love the building's architecture
- Buddies in Bad Times Theatre - my favorite gay bar
- the Gladstone hotel
- Dance Cave
- taking the ferry to the Toronto Islands



What I'm going to miss about Kingston:
- the beautiful limestone architecture of the buildings
- taking the ferry to Wolfe Island
- going to the beach at Sandbanks provincial park in the Summer
- the great restaurants for such a small city - Atomica, Olivea, Grizzly Grill, Woodenheads, Chien Noir, just to name a few
- gay night at the Grad Club
- playing volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee, with Kathryn, Neil, Jenelle, Melanie, Yannick and Sarah. You guys helped to make Kingston feel like home
- my friend Marc who has always been there while I had some hardships.
- working out at Premier Fitness, where I got into the best shape of my life!

One step closer

I booked my flight to Melbourne last night. I will be flying out on Qantas Wednesday Nov. 12th, and getting in to Melbourne at Friday morning. The long haul over the Pacific isn't something I'm looking forward to, it's a long time to be stuck in one seat!

I will be having a going away party in Toronto on Friday night November 7th at Straight nightclub at 553 Church Street. Can't wait to see my friends and say goodbye before I leave.



If you are in Toronto that night come on out for a drink :-)

I was driving back from Toronto last night to my parents down the 401, maybe it's because I know I will be moving soon, but on the drive I just seemed to appreciate the rolling hills, farmland and trees during the drive. It really is Canada's heartland.

I'm taking my Grandma out tonight for dinner to have some one-on-one time with her, because the next 2 weeks are going to be hectic.

Happy Halloween!

It's really happening!

Hey so this is my first blog on my process of moving to Australia, it will probably be sort of disjointed since I have a lot to do. Firstly, why am I choosing Australia? Well after a lot of thought after this past election, I feel like I need to get out and see the world. I would like to gain a world view and a view of Canada from another country's perspective. I figure the best way to do it is to look back from the other side of the world.

I chose Australia because in many ways it's like Canada's cousin. A vast country with a small population, former British colony, extreme climate, which most of the land is inhospitable. Being unilingual, it's great for me they speak english, and have a wonderful standard of living. Like Canadians hug the American border (yet seem to hate America, you'd think Canadians would want to get as far away as possible), Australians hug the coastline.

I've been just given an offer of employment by a fantastic Australian engineering company. I will be a facade engineer, designing commercial buildings for architects in Australia, Asia and the middle east. It only hit me once the recruiter sent me the company's offer. Up until then it has just felt like vague talk, but now things really have to get moving! I will most likely be starting work on November 17th.

So I have my updated passport, and just received my working-holiday visa, which only took 24 hours to get accepted online! I love the australian process. Now I need to get an international driver's license. The big things though that I need to do is sell my car, and find someone that wants my furniture that's in storage. Crazy times!

I will be moving to the beautiful city of Melbourne, in the state of Victoria. It's the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 3.8 million people. Another similarity to Canada, like Montreal and Toronto have a rivalry, so does Melbourne and Sydney. Montreal and Toronto competed to be the capital of the new country of Canada in 1867, and the Queen said screw you guys, it's going to be in Ottawa. Sydney and Melbourne competed to be the capitals at Australia's founding, and the Queen said the same thing to them, and built Canberra out of nowhere.

Sydney like Toronto is the financial hub, and the biggest city in the country. But from chatting with people online, and from reading forums, Sydney life is serious and work work work, like Toronto. Melbourne like Montreal has more history, and is more european and cosmopolitan. People see Melbourne, like Montreal as the cultural capital. I am so excited!

I will leave things there, and leave you with a few pics that I found on web of Melbourne so you get an idea of the city: