Little World/Big World

Source: tumblr

It's weird-  no matter how far from home I go, I still don't feel like I'm somewhere else. I know in my mind I'm in oz, I can prove it to myself on a map or just by looking outside the window, but I'm still me and this is my present consciousness. So, even though things are different, part of me feels the same.

I can take ballet or yoga anywhere in the world, and while some things are different, the classes are fundamentally the same. People who speak in different languages than me or with different accents, people who've never set foot in America or heard of the state I live in-we're all unified when we come together to take a class. It doesn't feel any different than getting a new teacher at home would. I think I should revel in these constants as I start to feel as disconnected as I do right now.

I really do love exploring new places as a completely unnamed, "strange" person. Alone, unattatched to everything...it's cool. But, you can only go to the beach alone so many times before you just get plain lonely. Since I'm not attending uni or anything over here, I'm kind of in an odd spot for meeting people my age.  Someone fly over and be my companion. We can take on the world.

"Dahlin'" has quickly become my favorite aussie slang (it's just darling, but the way they pronounce it is very endearing). This post is becoming a a list of random thoughts, hope that's alright :p

It's so interesting communicating with my mom in a different way than I am used to. It almost feels like we're getting closer, because in reading and writing emails, I think we both say things we tended to keep to ourselves when we were living under the same roof.

I am feeling very small in our world at the moment--I don't really see that as a good or a bad thing. It just feels kind of funny, like I'm in limbo. It seems the "I moved to the other side of the world" existential crisis (as well as the jet lag) has come on a bit late, and it took me by surprise.

Still striving to be grateful every day though.

Love from this little heart on a tuesday evening,
xx Kim

Week 1 of Aussie Life

Phewwwwww! We have a lot to catch up on! Today I will have been in aussie for a week, and it seems like so much longer! The day I arrived, we explored a bit of the areas up and down the coastline, and I took this picture from a lookout. (I realize the picture doesn't really fit on this blog layout but I can't be bothered to figure out how to fix it and I also believe the pictures deserve to be full sized!)

Bonus points if you noticed the Aussie flag!

Most of the week was spent sleeping, settling in, picking up the kiddos from school, and other necessary tasks. On wednesday I started to feel really run down, because I felt like I hadn't had a single second to just sit and think to myself! When so much is going on around you, and you're trying to take everything in, it gets really overwhelming. Yesterday (friday) I had pretty much all day to myself and I feel wayy way better for it. 

Origami time with the little man <3

FINALLY did some shopping! If you didn't know, there's a Target here in Australia- it's got completely different brands and everything from American Target, but it's pretty comparable in how good it is (I'm a Target enthusiast). The mall I went to had some great clothing stores, it seems like the fashion here is pretty awesome, in my opinion! 

My kinda sign!

I also went to Lush and maybe sort of, kind of, went a little bit crazy. Who can blame me when everything is so amazing?! I plan on reviewing some of the things I got on here once I've used them for a while.

Yesterday I also went for my first run in aus to a ridiculously beautiful park with a lake. Let me tell you, the US needs to take notes on Australian parks and playgrounds! The park I went to today was not only beautiful, but it also had playground-style (think presidential fitness tests in elementary school) exercise equipment every 80 feet or so down the pathway.  It was so fun just walking down and trying all of them out! Talk about promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle! 

I think it's cool that Aussie trees are different than American trees. I'm thrilling, I know.

Check out dat sky tho

Greeeeeeeeeeennnnnnn

That's a lot of pictures, but so much has happened! For now I'll leave this.

So far, Australia has proved to be an incredible place, but who really doubted that? It is really interesting seeing a completely different way of life, but it is also interesting to see similarities where I didn't expect to see them. If you get the chance to come here, do it. I'll say that about anywhere I go, because life really isn't meant to be lived in one place, but it's still valid!

Have an amazing weekend! Sending my love to everyone back home and all around the world

xx Kim

pssssssst; you can also follow my blog on bloglovin, which is a site that makes it a bit easier to see all the blogs you want to read, in my opinion. Follow my blog with Bloglovin here.

On to the Other Side of the World...

I mentioned in my last post that I was moving "to the other side of the world"... and I wasn't even exaggerating a little bit!

Yup, I've been pretty restless for a over half a year now- after I decided I wasn't going back to university for my second year, I set out to find a new plan for the year ahead of me. Obviously, new plans that involve things you've never even thought about doing before take a bit of time to really come together, and mine (finally) has. I can tell you 100% honestly that there were many, many times when I felt hopeless and just plain stupid for exploring such seemingly unattainable territory.

Now, on to the good stuff:
A week from this coming thursday, on the 20th of March, I will get on an airplane (or two, or three). I will not arrive at my destination until the 22nd, due to the length of the journey(s) and time zone changes!
For the next six months, I will be living with a beautiful family in (/on? it's been said both ways, so I'm not entirely sure) Gold Coast, Australia. I will be their au pair, or in simpler terms, live-in nanny. Why did I suddenly decide to become an au pair? Well, when I was left with nothing to do this fall, one of my friends told me that her sister was looking into it, and that I should maybe do some research. I love kids, I love travelling, I want to help people; the au pair thing just seemed to fit. I searched for a really long time before I found my particular host family (which I tend to just call "my family"... that seems kind of weird, but I can't help it!) I'm not really sure how much information is too much to post onto a public blog, regardless of the fact that not many people will read this, but there are two children, one girl and one boy, aged 6 and 8. They are so so darling and I can't wait to meet them :) I'll post more information whenever it feels alright to do so.

Gold Coast is a very vacation-y town about an hour south of Brisbane. It's Australia's #1 retirement destination and averages 300 sunny days per year (poor me! NOT.) It is also known for it's gorgeous beaches. It will be fall when I arrive, and I will be there through the fall, winter, and early spring at least, but the lowest temperatures of the winter are said to be a mild 10 degrees Celsius, about 50 degrees Farenheit. Average temperatures around this time of year are still 80 (F), so even though it's not "summer" it's warm weather :)

Here's the video I made about my move, give it a watch if you'd like!

So, as of now, this is what my life is focused around. I'm still putting off packing, it's a big, big job, but I WILL get it done, obviously! I feel like a lot of people think I'm not excited enough about this, but in all honestly, I just don't think I'll believe it's really happening until I'm on the plane or actually THERE. I've dreamt about it for so long, it just seems like another part of the daydream!

Maybe the lesson here is that life can be a daydream if you make it. (CHEEEEESE, I know, I'm an expert at the extra cheese.)

So 'til there are more adventures/observations to be documented, have good days, weeks, months, lives... what's YOUR daydream?

xx Kim