Australia: Living la Vida Expata

Moving to Australia this year is my third stint as an expat in a new country. While I adapt well and have a ball no matter where my host country is, I can't help but miss home during the holidays. Two years ago it was Thanksgiving in Tokyo where my fellow American expats and I threw a grand feast for our Aussie and Japanese friends with a turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and other must-haves. This year it was spending the Fourth of July in Australia. Since our Independence Day lied on a Friday here in the middle of winter, everyone went to work like it was any other day - quite a contrasting vibe from back home with pool parties, barbecues, or a drunken weekend at the beach. Luckily our American friends living in Melbourne threw a Taxation Without Representation party with some American nibblies like burritos and chili and of course a keg of beer. The party (and everyone's American accent) made us feel a little more at home, especially American Brian.

For the past four months, I've met quite a few Yanks living Down Under - some came here for work, some married an Aussie, some are refugees escaping the boredom of middle America. But whatever their stories, we all have one thing in common: living the expat life. There are over 60,000 Americans living in Australia whose total population is just over 21 million. Although 60,000 isn't a big number, there is certainly no lacking in the support department. Besides the US Embassy (for immigration issues), it is easy to find various support groups (one of which is the American Women's Association that my friend Annie belongs to), online forums, blogs, tax advisors, employment help, and so much more - all with a mission to facilitate Americans living in a foreign country. Although Justin and I are usually bumbling our way through without the help of any aforementioned groups, we find it pretty easy to adjust to the Aussie way of life. And now that the end of the financial year has passed (June 30th), we are quickly discovering that just because we are foreigners, we cannot escape paying income taxes here. In case I forgot to mention, Justin also found a job a month ago at a competing bank. Our offices are only a block away from each other which makes lunch-time rendezvous very convenient.

Aussie word of the day:
Chook means chicken.
Example: Pamela Anderson blasted KFC for their mistreatment of chooks while shooting Australia's Big Brother for which is ironically sponsored by KFC.

Pictures: July 4th party. Weekend trip down the Great Ocean Road to enjoy the magnificence of the Twelve (now Eight) Apostles, Grotto, and London Bridge (which fell down in 1990 leaving a couple tourists stranded on a cliff). A must-drive and must-see when visiting Victoria.