Simple Pleasures
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Learning how to be
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.
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.
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…