Simple Pleasures

3 min readOct 16, 2021

Learning how to be

La Peruse Beach, Sydney Australia. There is seafoam green water surrounding white rocks. It is the edge of the cliff. — La Perouse Beach, Sydney, Australia. Photo by Kelly Burns

I’m still finding my footing here in Australia.

I’ve fallen in love with the Western Corellas. Today I scratched a semi-trained Corella on the head. He seemed to know the word, “Scratch,” and leaned in closer to climb down to my hands from his perch for a relaxing pet on the head.

This is a photo of an Australian Kookaburra bird. The bird is black and white colored with spots on its side. They are known for making wild laughing sounds which resemble a chimpanzee. — (Laughing) Kookaburra, Sydney, Australia. Photo by Kelly Burns

I’ve seen (and heard) the wild and laughing Kookaburras in the yard nearby. I’ve been in the middle of a loud and violent thunderstorm with lightning.

I’ve marveled at the many Street Libraries in New South Wales and I am excited about the books I will soon explore.

This is a photo of a lavender colored Street Library in Sydney, Australia. There are many books inside and the idea is to take a book and leave a book. — Street Library, Sydney, Australia. Photo by Kelly Burns

This is a photo of another Street Library in Sydney, Australia. The box is small about 3 feet by 2 feet. It has multi colors on the outside and it is attractive. The colors are yellow, purple and green. — Street Library 2. Sydney, Australia. Photo by Kelly Burns

I’ve been successfully identified by random Australians as an American in passing for simply saying two words in an elevator:

“Are you from the states?” She asked me.

“Yes,” I replied.

I wonder. How can they tell?It seems I will never be able to give myself away. It will all be revealed once I open my mouth and speak.

Perhaps I will play a new game of being the silent one. This way, it will be assumed that I am not the outlier and I can blend in better.

I’ve managed to get quite a bit of running in. Since we have recently come out of a lockdown, there are more people out exercising. I look forward to my morning and afternoon runs.

I’ve applied for my Partner Visa and I am awaiting word from the Department of Home Affairs. The waiting makes me a little anxious as I cannot travel even if the borders open up soon, because I am on a visitor visa until December.

Sometimes at night, I toss and turn as I am worried about returning home to see my family in the states, and with the 23–30 processing time, I am not sure how long it will be until I see my family. This…