Comments on Florida Girl in Sydney: Two Year Expativersary

I have some of the same feelings you have describe...

2009-07-23T20:19:45.506+10:00

I have some of the same feelings you have described beautifully about my first year here downunder.
My homestate is the same as yours.

2 days after my 1 year mark I found myself answering a question about how long I'd been here with an actual day count..367 days I blurted out like Rainman's sister...The woman looked stunned and said it sounded like I was counting the days of a prison sentence. I laughed in an odd way and tried to explain about my 1 year thingy 2 days ago that's how I know and her blank stare made me stop and say no more.
Sad and funny...well to me. Happy day 730 to you FL girl !

Marvin- Thanks! Blues- Double thanks girlfriend.

2009-07-14T09:39:39.432+10:00

Marvin- Thanks!

Blues- Double thanks girlfriend.

Great uplifting post. And your boys are just freak...

2009-07-14T05:31:39.369+10:00

Great uplifting post. And your boys are just freaking adorable.

Congrats on your anniversary! Seems like you left ...

2009-07-14T02:52:32.054+10:00

Congrats on your anniversary! Seems like you left only days ago, doesn't it.

Kristie- Got it! We went to Surfers Paradise last...

2009-07-07T14:20:31.439+10:00

Kristie- Got it! We went to Surfers Paradise last year-- it totally reminded me of Florida!

Catherine- Thanks, I know-- and I'm glad I'm finally enjoying it more!

Anonymous- Well maybe when I'm having a rough time I need to talk to you so you can remind me of how quickly the time passes and how great it is to be here??? I often wonder how it will be when we move back-- I guess nothing is easy.

I just had my two years and sadly had to return to...

2009-07-07T04:43:33.415+10:00

I just had my two years and sadly had to return to the us. I boarded teh flight kicking and screaming as we were meant to stay 3 and sadly the economy and big business turned out years to two. I miss it and I have only been in the states for 3 days. I don't know where home is and we've even talked we might like to move on our own back to australia. It's an amazing place!!! Enjoy it while your there as I miss it all ready! I watch your blog and now with envy from the states I will still watch it, posted before but can't find my password to put in my blog name.
ENJOY!!! Wish I was there!

Happy Expativersary! What great photos. Sydney i...

2009-07-01T21:18:50.033+10:00

Happy Expativersary! What great photos. Sydney is truly a beautiful city. You are very fortunate to have this experience.

We just got on a plane to return to the US. We hope to be back very soon - this time to stay a lot longer then 7 months.

Laura, I was just a visitor on vaction. We were ...

2009-07-01T02:10:57.033+10:00

Laura,

I was just a visitor on vaction. We were there for 2 weeks. 5 days in Sydney, 4 in Melbourne, 2 in Surfer's Paradise and the remaining 3 in Brisbane. Loved every minute of it. Sydney was by far my favorite!

Marketing Mama- Thanks! JD- We will probably be h...

2009-06-30T18:28:57.617+10:00

Marketing Mama- Thanks!

JD- We will probably be here another 2-3 years, of course that's just really a guess. I agree, regardless of how hard it's been, it's a great thing for us.

Ian- Yes to all of that.

Thoma Gallery- Thomas, you are one of the loves of my life. Miss you. So glad I finally sent you a link to my blog... as you can probably tell I'm a little self-conscious about it and don't tell many people that I actually really know. Kisses my pumpkin.

Kristie- Did you live here or just visit-- I'm still confused about that...

Danielle- Thanks!

Jcpk- Did you eat sausage rolls when you were here???

Freeman- Guesstimate would be 2-3 years more, but who knows. Yes, the first year was crazy, and probably the rest will fly by-- hope I get to do as much as possible, it's not easy with 2 little ones... as you know.

Capt Dumbass- Totally!

The idea of moving off to a foreign country is exc...

2009-06-30T01:28:10.646+10:00

The idea of moving off to a foreign country is exciting and romantic, but the reality of doing it must be quite different.

I can identify with this. My first year away in Ox...

2009-06-29T21:25:44.096+10:00

I can identify with this. My first year away in Oxford, I was miserable. I found everything incredibly difficult, found people hostile and passive aggressive. But when the time came to leave Britain a few years later I was devastated to have to go.

Lovely post.

How long are you guys planning to be here?

happy expativersary!!! The fortunate experience o...

2009-06-29T13:13:30.459+10:00

happy expativersary!!! The fortunate experience of living abroad is certainly something you'll always be able to treasure!!!
Cheers!

Well said!

2009-06-29T13:09:39.365+10:00

Well said!

Oh how I loved Sydney when we were there. I hope ...

2009-06-29T09:20:55.646+10:00

Oh how I loved Sydney when we were there. I hope to go back and visit again one day. What an awesome experience you are having!

Awesome. Love and miss you Kitten

2009-06-29T08:04:04.940+10:00

Awesome. Love and miss you Kitten

You've been here 2 years - we've been here...

2009-06-28T17:24:40.119+10:00

You've been here 2 years - we've been here 2 weeks. I have a 2 year contract which may become permanent - at the moment we are treating the whole thing as one big adventure, and we intend to get as much out of it as possible. Which is why we have rented an apartment with the quintissential view of The Bridge. I think that, however long you are here, you will look back on this time as one of learning and growth. Experiencing another culture, with its ups and downs, will give you and your boys a wider world view. That's gotta be a good thing.

So when are you coming home? What an amazing expe...

2009-06-28T04:41:06.732+10:00

So when are you coming home?

What an amazing experience. I envy you. And your kids are really going to reap the rewards. Living abroad just gives you such different and valuable perspective.

I guess it also can give you a love of Vegemite.

congrats!!! what an awesome experience. I've l...

2009-06-28T04:21:54.025+10:00

congrats!!! what an awesome experience. I've loved going along for the ride. thx for sharing it with us.

Mama Bird- We are on a four year visa, but it coul...

2009-06-27T21:24:50.138+10:00

Mama Bird- We are on a four year visa, but it could be longer-- it's hard to say. So what's your 5 year plan???

Gypsy- My happy place is being at Marshalls before xmas when they're loaded up with bargains... I'll be spending a lot of time there again this December! :)

Dina- Thanks, it's not easy to put yourself in someone else's shoes, but I'm glad you can appreciate that moving cross-world isn't all rainbows and puppy dogs.

PamelaRose- Thanks mama.

Jill- I totally do that on purpose.

Jenny- Surely you of all people don't need to be reminded, you're like a miracle expat-- you should give an expat clinic on positive attitude.

Ana- I invented it last year, haha.
Yes, I think there's definitely an advantage for people who have a set time frame, etc. We don't exactly, but probably more so than you?

Riesdownunder- So nice of you to say hi, you always wonder who's actually reading my dribble, so it's great when you speak up, I LOVE IT. Are you in Sydney?

Nicole- Good luck with your move, it's going to be a huge adventure!!!

Congratulations! I am starting my down under adven...

2009-06-27T13:47:23.820+10:00

Congratulations! I am starting my down under adventure on Thursday and moving my life to Melbourne!! Makes me feel a lot better after reading through your posts over the past year!

Hello Florida girl in Sydney! Happy Expativersary...

2009-06-27T11:36:21.589+10:00

Hello Florida girl in Sydney!
Happy Expativersary!
I came across your blog not long ago.. and I just LOVE it. We too, are from the US and have been here in Sydney for 6 months now. We have two young kids, year1 and year3 in school. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts on this experience. Your kids are adorable! I am not as computer savvy as you are and I sortof got reallly lazy about a flegling blog I started when we first got here... It's been sitting dormant for some time I am afraid.

sometimes I think it would be easier to appreciate...

2009-06-27T09:30:27.112+10:00

sometimes I think it would be easier to appreciate Australia if we were going to be here for a specific amount of time. I just feel like we're in limbo. We could be here for a year, or ten years, or forever. Just haven't figured it out yet. Happy Expativersary. BTW - did you just invent a new term, like Festivus?

There certainly are worse places to find yourself ...

2009-06-27T07:15:36.297+10:00

There certainly are worse places to find yourself in for a few years. Thanks for reminding me of that. Happy Expativersary!

I don't know how you do it- but you got me cry...

2009-06-27T06:52:32.306+10:00

I don't know how you do it- but you got me crying at my desk again. nice. very nice.

Well said.....as usual.

2009-06-27T06:27:35.413+10:00

Well said.....as usual.