Friday 14 September 2012

Some holiday planning



Do you like where you live?  


I had a chat with someone this week about choosing a place to live and bring up a family. 
It was a choice between Australia and Europe.



We spoke about the wonderful outdoor opportunities and health benefits of Australia. We touched on the  culture and proximity and such diversity of Europe. We thought about the cold, damp, dreary 'get me out of here' feelings of Northern Hemisphere Winters and then the fuzzy hair, 10 cold showers a day Summers in Queensland. 

There was no conclusion....


Well, maybe there was?

The conclusion was that there is no perfect place. 

We make the best decision based on our circumstances and the opportunities that we can take at that time.  I am grateful that I was given the choice of where to live and for now I chose Australia.
I enjoy the benefits that it gives, but  I feel that my real fortune is the link that I still have 'home'.

Every now and again I feel the need to strengthen that link and head back. I have written before about not wanting to let go of my history -  HERE and HERE.

Travelling and experiencing different cultures is an education far beyond the classroom. Yes there is the disruption of moving home and I'm sure for those that are constantly on the move there are numerous challenges. However, the chance to view life through a different lens is a real opportunity. 

So where am I going with this? 
Oh yes, -  flights have been booked and we are heading back home for Christmas!



Yes, it will be cold..... yes it will be grey....it might even snow - but I CAN'T WAIT!

There are so many things on the list of things that I want to do, places and people that I want to see it's almost daunting....but very exciting. There are theatre trips planned and booked, there are visits to old haunts up and down the length of the UK from the Lake District to London.  There's Paris, Amsterdam and anywhere else we can fit in....

In anticipation of a Christmas in Wales my girl has been fishing out her Welsh books and brushing up on her vocabulary.

We are flying through the re-cap of colours and days of the week and basics of naming things around the house but the daily struggle at the moment is the pronunciation of  "CH" and "LL".



We can be in fits of giggles when I try and correct her pronunciation for "cyllell" (knife). It's so difficult to try and even attempt to put into words how to get your tongue to the top of your mouth, behind your front teeth and then as your say "L" you need to blow! See how hard it is?

The other morning just as I was getting ready for work I could hear some strange noises from her room then she marched into the bathroom, looked me in the eye and without muttering another word just came out with a very slow  "cyll - ell". She has perseverance - I'll give her that!

She has set herself a goal of learning the words to the Welsh National Anthem. Her original goal was to learn how to say 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllandisiliogogogoch' ....we're working on it!

So I am in deep planning mode now.
How to fit about 5 months of 'stuff' to do into 5 weeks?
 I can think of worse things to do with my time...



13 Comments and thoughts:

  1. Fabulous news Beth. I know if I emigrated to another country I would need to visit 'home' at least once a year. There will always be something special about one's birthplace.
    It may be cold and bleak when you return but I'm fairly sure you will not mind one little bit!
    xx

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  2. Hi Beth,

    Quite honestly I don't miss England one bit. I have found my new home in Kuantan, Malaysia and I'm enjoying the most perfect life beyond my wildest dreams! Absolutely content where I am :-)

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  3. This was a great read Beth! Glad that you are all excited to go back home for Christmas!And as far as a choice between Australia and Europe is concerned - 'to each their own'.

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  4. I have come to the same conclusion having lived in three different places on a long term basis..no where is perfect..and yet they all are in their own way. It's so exciting for you to spend Christmas in Wales..have a wonderful journey. When I go over to NZ, after about three weeks I miss the clear bright light here in Australia even though I love NZ dearly.

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  5. Oh Beth this post resonates with me for so many reasons. I feel, like you, that while Australia is my home at the moment, I never want to let go of my roots. There is something so special about being "home" at Christmas time - I feel especially homesick for a northern hemisphere Christmas every year. I'm so happy that the three of you will have such a lovely trip. I look forward to hearing all about it on here. F xx

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  6. Have a wonderful trip, I think where ever we are in the world we are always going to be drawn to where our family and long term friends are. It is human nature as well that no one place ever meets our 100% expectations.

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  7. You bring a tear to my eye. Xxx

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  8. Oh I miss cold showers and frizzy hair in QLD...have just been to Orlando for a holiday and it made me terribly homesick for Oz...and especially the tropics...just loved that humid atmosphere and the sound of frogs croaking at night...I'm so happy for you Beth, that you're coming home for xmas...it will be wonderful for you to catch up with your family and friends...and five weeks will absolutely fly by. I'm already counting down the months till Feb when we visit Melbourne for a few weeks. Robx

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  9. Have a great trip Beth. Enjoy all the things you miss. Even the cold weather, because it's all good.
    Kylie x

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  10. I pop into your blog from time to time as I feel I relate to your sense of being away from one's homeland. I live on the mid-north coast of NSW, but Am originally from a small town on the south coast of Victoria, on the South Australian border. Okay, so it's not another hemisphere, but the weather is pretty much the same:-)We moved here for my husbands work, but I feel a pull to return down there some day.
    My daughter's best friend has literally JUST arrived in Italy for a 3 month exchange and I too would dearly love to travel. We are saving madly for a trip to France at the end of next year. I agree that such travel is more than what can be offered in the classroom. I think it must affect you as a human being and I want that for my two children. My daughter has been learning French for the last three years and speaks it beautifully! She too has the opportunity of a trip to Muret in Southern-ish France for a three week trip at the end of 2013 on which we plan to piggyback with the school for part of the way.
    We are just regular Australians and the world is a big place, but am I wrong to live on cheese sandwiches to give my children (and myself) the chance to experience the bigger things on this earth?
    Anyway, thank you for sharing.
    Helen

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  11. An interesting post. It's difficult to say where the perfect place to live would be. We have incessant rain here in the UK at the moment (I'm an hour south of the Lake District!) and I long for warm sunny days eating outdoors. Having lived abroad (in beautiful France)I can also understand how people can sometimes miss home too. I just enjoy travelling as much as I can to try to have the best of both worlds I suppose. You must be so excited about your trip.
    PS I'm pleased I stumbled across your lovely blog and I'm delighted to be your newest follower.
    http://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk/

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  12. I would take Australia because the sun there is more intense. That means that you will have better health. The light from the super is really good for you. The brighter the better. You may think it's not because of uvb but the damage uvb is not as bad as darkness.

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