Amazingly enough...with 2 weeks to go until we spend our first night in Melbourne...we are currently in Austria on a skiing holiday with hubby's family.
It is seriously the most strange thing...up until the moment we left for Austria last Thursday, all our thoughts and efforts have been surrounding our impending immigration. But since we arrived in this wintery wonderland, it is like our immigration is the most distant thing on our minds. I have for the most part not spoken or thought of it in days!! And when I do remember for a moment, I feel completely panicked...like I have forgotten the most important event in our lives...only weeks away now. It is almost like a guilty feeling...weird!!
I can hardly believe that we are so close to our immigration now...I am feeling really scared and panicked. Nothing more I can do to prepare our family for this huge change...it is now out of my control and we need to go with flow from here on out. I am not so good with feeling out of control...but I am trying my best to just relax. I still have some major emotional moments...guess I can forgive myself for that...it is such a huge thing I cannot just sail through it calmly.
A funny thing that happened the other day. We were signing the kids up for Kindergarten Ski School. The lady asked which country we were from...and before I could answer she guessed "Australia"!! And then when I hesitated she said "South Africa". So I answered that she was right on both accounts! She herself in Aussie! And she said she thought my accent sounded a bit Australian. Was so funny! But nice at the same time.
A
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Sunday, 12 January 2014
A home without personality is an empty place...
So the container left on Thursday. It is now Monday and the past few days spent in our house has been somewhat strange.
We have lived here for almost 5 years in this house. Made so many memories...but goodness me...take away the personality - in the form of decorations, photos, stuff etc - and you are really left with a shell of what once was.
Everything is echoey and we keep opening cupboards to get stuff that is no longer in there. Really mind warping stuff! Funny to think of all our things bobbing away on the ocean soon...quite unbelievable really. Sometimes I wonder if I have fully wrapped my mind around things yet...
We stuck around at home over the weekend. People were fetching things we had sold, and some popped by for a visit to say goodbye. In between people we were all going stir crazy...kids only have a backpack each of toys. They were really forced to be innovative...and I played so many games of hide and go seek...think we are clean out of new hiding places now.
It feels like a new kind of limbo now...we playing the waiting game. Thank goodness it won't be too long. We are off on holiday on Thursday night...and this week is packed full of visiting and finalising the last few things. So hopefully it will be a better week.
Speaking of wrapping up the last few things...I had better get a move on with that.
We have lived here for almost 5 years in this house. Made so many memories...but goodness me...take away the personality - in the form of decorations, photos, stuff etc - and you are really left with a shell of what once was.
Everything is echoey and we keep opening cupboards to get stuff that is no longer in there. Really mind warping stuff! Funny to think of all our things bobbing away on the ocean soon...quite unbelievable really. Sometimes I wonder if I have fully wrapped my mind around things yet...
We stuck around at home over the weekend. People were fetching things we had sold, and some popped by for a visit to say goodbye. In between people we were all going stir crazy...kids only have a backpack each of toys. They were really forced to be innovative...and I played so many games of hide and go seek...think we are clean out of new hiding places now.
It feels like a new kind of limbo now...we playing the waiting game. Thank goodness it won't be too long. We are off on holiday on Thursday night...and this week is packed full of visiting and finalising the last few things. So hopefully it will be a better week.
Speaking of wrapping up the last few things...I had better get a move on with that.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
The Story up until today 9th January 2014...
We decided in November 2012 that we no longer felt South Africa was the place we wanted to raise our children.
Immigration was something we had been discussing since we were married...but it became more serious once we had kids. We started to view things differently...be more concerned about things that never concerned us before.
Finally hubby was not happy in his working environment and was considering leaving. So we decided after a lot of prayer and endless talking and talking that we would start the process to immigrate to Australia.
On the 5th January 2013 we both wrote the IELTS English Test to prove proficiency in English. This was the first of many steps towards lodging an application for the skilled visa we were hoping to secure.
We decided not to go with a migration agent in order to save money. Our application was a very straight forward one...no expected issues. So I spent hours on the immigration website, printed the manuals...read them and reread them and highlighted important notes. I joined an immigration forum, from which I had so much valuable help and information...it was one of the best things we did along this process. Not only a source of support from others who understood but also gained from the personal experiences of others who had gone before us.
So we passed our English tests, hubby with flying colours. We worked through the process of the skills assessment, we gathered all the unabridged documents. It was a lot of work...very time consuming. After all of this we were finally ready to request an invitation to apply for the visa. This was the 21st April 2013. We received our invite shortly afterwards and then lodged our application and paid (gulp) the huge visa charge. 3 weeks later we were contacted by a case officer working on our visa and on the 28 May 2013 we were granted our Permanent Residency Visa. It was a really good day :)
After that we started to plan a trip to Australia. We needed to activate our visa, and we also wanted to see the country before we took the final leap and moved there for good. In September we had the holiday of a lifetime and visited there.
From the moment we stepped on Australian ground I was totally in love with it. It was world's away from the life we knew in South Africa. I noticed constantly the types of freedoms people have there that we don't have living in South Africa. Barbeques in the park after dark, walks on the beach alone without looking over your shoulder, no electric fences, no security bars, self service checkouts...things that were hard to fathom. Aside from all that, the friendliness of the Australians...and they are so kind to children. This trip made a huge impact on us. When we left after an amazing trip we truly were reluctant to come back to SA.
But came back we had to. We were still unsure as to when we would make the big move. A few months of limbo and finally at the end of November we decided to get on with it. Hubby resigned and we started our plans to leave End Jan/ Beg Feb 2014.
Since then...it has been a blur of sorting household items, doing flight bookings, looking for accommodation, etc etc. Things just seemed to fall into place, we got the routing we wanted for the flights, my cousin contacted me out of nowhere to offer us his flat to rent in Melbourne which was in the exact area we were looking in. This enabled us to enrol our daughter into her first year of school...without a rental we would have not been able to do that. This took a huge load off our minds. Having a rental meant we had a floor layout to work with to decide what furniture to take and leave. We have booked a Self store in SA to store our extra things that we still want and when we are ready and have moved into a bigger place in a year or so we will send them on.
Finally we get to today...after a few weeks of sorting and throwing out and selling stuff...yesterday everything we were taking was packed by the Container company. Today the container arrived, everything was loaded and it drove away...now on it's long journey across the ocean to the land of Oz. Very poignant but exciting moment for us. Our flight to Melbourne via Sydney leaves on the 3rd February...my 31st Birthday. I think it will be a rather auspicious birthday for me...bittersweet...but definitely memorable. Kids are beyond excited and play "Australia" themed games everyday!
Emotionally...this has been quite a crazy time. We are both very sure about our decision, that has never come into question. But it is undoubtedly hugely difficult to say goodbye to family and friends. Many mixed reactions throughout this whole process from various people. Some supportive and understanding, others upset and resentful. This decision does not only affect us, but also those who care for us.
Personally, I have had many moments of wondering if we are out of our skulls to be doing this. Moments where I have cried and cried into my pillow thinking of everyone we leave behind. Despite all this, I still truly believe in our decision and the reasons behind it.
First and foremost, we want a fairer future for our kiddies. A chance to get a great education, a chance to study anything you want based on how hard you have worked to achieve the results needed for that. We want a safer environment where our children can be children and not know of evil and danger from such a young age. My 4 year old often asks me if we are safe from the bad guys. You try protect them...but it is a fact you have to be on high alert in this country. We want to be able to enjoy the outdoors, go on hikes in lonely forests, go for walks on lonely beaches...etc etc.
Aside from the benefits for our children. As time has passed and bad experiences have mounted up hubby and I have started to feel bitter about things here. It is a horrible feeling to actually feel twisted up inside, and with everything more that happens it twists you even more. That is not the feeling we want to have, we are not those kinds of people. It will be good for us to distance ourselves from the things that make us feel that way.
What a beautiful country we will be leaving...and that in itself is so sad. A country you love but feel you must leave. And in all honesty, there is no perfect place. Australia will have it's problems too, it has it's crime. However, we are looking forward now. This is a new adventure for our little family, a new country and a new life. Starting again from scratch, applying the things we have learnt so far. We see this as a grand opportunity that we cannot pass up.
"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore" - Christopher Columbus.
Onwards and upwards we go :)
Immigration was something we had been discussing since we were married...but it became more serious once we had kids. We started to view things differently...be more concerned about things that never concerned us before.
Finally hubby was not happy in his working environment and was considering leaving. So we decided after a lot of prayer and endless talking and talking that we would start the process to immigrate to Australia.
On the 5th January 2013 we both wrote the IELTS English Test to prove proficiency in English. This was the first of many steps towards lodging an application for the skilled visa we were hoping to secure.
We decided not to go with a migration agent in order to save money. Our application was a very straight forward one...no expected issues. So I spent hours on the immigration website, printed the manuals...read them and reread them and highlighted important notes. I joined an immigration forum, from which I had so much valuable help and information...it was one of the best things we did along this process. Not only a source of support from others who understood but also gained from the personal experiences of others who had gone before us.
So we passed our English tests, hubby with flying colours. We worked through the process of the skills assessment, we gathered all the unabridged documents. It was a lot of work...very time consuming. After all of this we were finally ready to request an invitation to apply for the visa. This was the 21st April 2013. We received our invite shortly afterwards and then lodged our application and paid (gulp) the huge visa charge. 3 weeks later we were contacted by a case officer working on our visa and on the 28 May 2013 we were granted our Permanent Residency Visa. It was a really good day :)
After that we started to plan a trip to Australia. We needed to activate our visa, and we also wanted to see the country before we took the final leap and moved there for good. In September we had the holiday of a lifetime and visited there.
From the moment we stepped on Australian ground I was totally in love with it. It was world's away from the life we knew in South Africa. I noticed constantly the types of freedoms people have there that we don't have living in South Africa. Barbeques in the park after dark, walks on the beach alone without looking over your shoulder, no electric fences, no security bars, self service checkouts...things that were hard to fathom. Aside from all that, the friendliness of the Australians...and they are so kind to children. This trip made a huge impact on us. When we left after an amazing trip we truly were reluctant to come back to SA.
But came back we had to. We were still unsure as to when we would make the big move. A few months of limbo and finally at the end of November we decided to get on with it. Hubby resigned and we started our plans to leave End Jan/ Beg Feb 2014.
Since then...it has been a blur of sorting household items, doing flight bookings, looking for accommodation, etc etc. Things just seemed to fall into place, we got the routing we wanted for the flights, my cousin contacted me out of nowhere to offer us his flat to rent in Melbourne which was in the exact area we were looking in. This enabled us to enrol our daughter into her first year of school...without a rental we would have not been able to do that. This took a huge load off our minds. Having a rental meant we had a floor layout to work with to decide what furniture to take and leave. We have booked a Self store in SA to store our extra things that we still want and when we are ready and have moved into a bigger place in a year or so we will send them on.
Finally we get to today...after a few weeks of sorting and throwing out and selling stuff...yesterday everything we were taking was packed by the Container company. Today the container arrived, everything was loaded and it drove away...now on it's long journey across the ocean to the land of Oz. Very poignant but exciting moment for us. Our flight to Melbourne via Sydney leaves on the 3rd February...my 31st Birthday. I think it will be a rather auspicious birthday for me...bittersweet...but definitely memorable. Kids are beyond excited and play "Australia" themed games everyday!
Emotionally...this has been quite a crazy time. We are both very sure about our decision, that has never come into question. But it is undoubtedly hugely difficult to say goodbye to family and friends. Many mixed reactions throughout this whole process from various people. Some supportive and understanding, others upset and resentful. This decision does not only affect us, but also those who care for us.
Personally, I have had many moments of wondering if we are out of our skulls to be doing this. Moments where I have cried and cried into my pillow thinking of everyone we leave behind. Despite all this, I still truly believe in our decision and the reasons behind it.
First and foremost, we want a fairer future for our kiddies. A chance to get a great education, a chance to study anything you want based on how hard you have worked to achieve the results needed for that. We want a safer environment where our children can be children and not know of evil and danger from such a young age. My 4 year old often asks me if we are safe from the bad guys. You try protect them...but it is a fact you have to be on high alert in this country. We want to be able to enjoy the outdoors, go on hikes in lonely forests, go for walks on lonely beaches...etc etc.
Aside from the benefits for our children. As time has passed and bad experiences have mounted up hubby and I have started to feel bitter about things here. It is a horrible feeling to actually feel twisted up inside, and with everything more that happens it twists you even more. That is not the feeling we want to have, we are not those kinds of people. It will be good for us to distance ourselves from the things that make us feel that way.
What a beautiful country we will be leaving...and that in itself is so sad. A country you love but feel you must leave. And in all honesty, there is no perfect place. Australia will have it's problems too, it has it's crime. However, we are looking forward now. This is a new adventure for our little family, a new country and a new life. Starting again from scratch, applying the things we have learnt so far. We see this as a grand opportunity that we cannot pass up.
"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore" - Christopher Columbus.
Onwards and upwards we go :)
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