Harads Down Under

Our family adventures in moving to the other side of Earth

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Living The Dream

It was school trivia night when we realized that we had accomplished what we had been so hopeful of achieving.

We are sitting at a table with friends we could spend every day with.  Empty wine bottles outnumbered people.  There were many familiar faces throughout the room, the MC was fun and engaging, and everyone was having a great time.

And so it was time for Men At Work.

Forget Advance Australia Fair or Waltzing Matilda, Down Under endures as the unofficial Australian anthem, and there we were with a few hundred of our countrymen belting it out for all we were worth.   

We weren’t visitors, we had become a part of this wonderful community on this big, wonderful and weird island.

And that’s what we had truly hoped to achieve.  We didn’t want to just see the sights and travel in a different corner of the world, we wanted to be a part of something.  

And we were.

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Ten Things We Won’t Miss About Australia

1. Bugs, especially the giant roaches that cover the outside of our house (and the way too many who make their inside!)  We’re not fans of the fearless flies or mozzies, either.

2. Bats

3. Bad Mexican Food

4. Spiders, Jellies, Snakes, Crocs, and everything else that can kill you. (Well, the crocs are kinda neat from a distance.)

5. "Are you American or Canadian?”

6. Unspecialized medicine and the healthcare referral system

7. Cricket

8. The letter “haich”

9. Cockroaches

10.  $100 Thanksgiving turkeys

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One final trip, before we head back to the Northern Hemisphere - Lake Taupo, on the North Island of New Zealand.

It was good to get away for year-end, and rest a bit before kicking off a January that’s jam-packed with moving and a massive list of to-dos.

Like any New Zealand visit, there was tons of amazing scenery and heaps of adventure.  We enjoyed daily hikes, visiting geothermal pools, whitewater rafting, watching a sheep dog at work on a farm, and zip-lining above the forest.

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Parker achieved her 10 countries before 10 years old. Here’s her list: 10. New Zealand 9. Hong Kong 8. Thailand 7. Viet Nam 6. Indonesia (Bali) 5. Fiji 4. Italy 3. France 2. Australia 1. Mexico Not bad for an American girl!

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One of our favorite people (and most-definitely Tallulah's favorite person) is Justine, our dog walker. To say farewell, we joined Justine and the pack on their morning walk at a nearby reserve atop of some oceanside cliffs. We've never seen Tallulah happier! She was so excited to show us all of her friends, including Daisy, the crazy Jug, and her BFF Milo, a Fox Terrier. Was fun seeing another half dozen walkers arrive with an additional 30 dogs or so. We will most definitely miss all our furry friends and Justine!

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Took us two years, but we finally rallied for a swim at Clovelly, the popular 'concrete beach' that is three beaches south of Bondi. Neat place!

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It's our love's 2nd birthday! We celebrated with a great outing to the dog beach, where she had a ton of fun. Then it was off to a shopping spree at the pet store and a chicken cake to celebrate!

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This is what bittersweet tastes like

We will be moving back to the USA to our beloved San Francisco on January 11, 2018. To answer a few questions: Yes, the puppy will be going with a specialized “jet pet” carrier service - but no, not on our flight. We don’t get to pick her up until the 12th. :-(

No, we don’t have a place to live yet.

No, we won’t have all of our stuff yet. It’ll be on the container ship and take about 4-6 weeks.

Yes, we will rent a short-term furnished place.

No, we will not buy a house right away. Unless one falls in our lap. Even so, without a track record of employment, there is no $$$$ mortgage for us.

Yes, we intend to live in the Marina again.

No, we don’t know what Mitchel will do for work. (Yes, he may start a business.)

Yes, Kris is continuing with her business.

No, we don’t know where the kids will go to school. They will repeat the last few months of 4th and 7th grades.

Yes, we are trying for public school if we can get one we like.

Yes, we are sad to leave Sydney, our friends, our home and Bondi!

Yes, we are excited to return to San Francisco. That should pretty much wrap up the basics. Any other questions? :-)

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Rugby. Possibly the most interesting “Oz” thing we added to the repertoire. We enjoyed learning the game and the culture of it is a whole world in and of itself. Danny had to learn from scratch and did an incredible job as the coach pointed out above and parents told us. We’re hoping he will keep playing in California.

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Kris took a few days to escape to Melbourne to find out what al the fuss is about. Yes, we went before, but it’s a different trip on your own. Enjoyed some delicious food - nice dinners! - and unseasonably warm temps made it more delightful. Went to the theatre as Melbourne folks so - Book of Mormon! A nice time, but I feel like the city would get small fast if you stayed too long! Meanwhile, I will have a bit more of the tasty cuisine.

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SACS isn't an international school, but it does have a healthy number of expat students (including us). We had a blast catching up with a couple former classmates! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Danny's friend Best and his family in Bangkok, and Parker was thrilled to have a play date with Tong in Hong Kong!

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Welcome to country #10! 1. Mexico 2. Australia 3. France 4. Italy (and the Vatican?) 5. Fiji 6. New Zealand 7. Indonesia 8. Vietnam 9. Thailand 10. Hong Kong

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Parker's favorite dog (not counting Tallulah) is this black staffie who lives up the street. It's Betty !! We've known Betty since she was a little puppy and she always has lots of licks to give from her big head!

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What do you reckon this bug is? About the size of a $2 gold coin.

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Term 3 Award ceremony today. Parker played cello in her strings group and won the Life award for her efforts at school. (They give awards based on the school's values).

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Continuing our trend of making our own costume for the annual Book Week parade, Parker and Mommy recreated Isabelle from the American Girl book series (and it matches the doll).  This T-shirt started blank and we glittered, glues, and drew our way to this near-perfect replica!  Parks is pictured above with her good friend Ruby.  

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Date night for us the past few times has developed into visiting two establishments during one evening out.  We want dinner at the small Italian restaurants, but the wait is long.  So we put our name in and seek out a bar for a drink.  We’ve had incredible luck!  Our favorite combos so far have been drinks at Fred’s in Paddo (Paddingtion) followed by dinner at an all time favorite 10 Williams (incredible pasta served in a delightfully cozy Victorian home than has a vibe of New York City’s Greenwich Village with a touch of SF)!  Then in Darlo (Darlinghurst) we found a delightful new French wine bar called Black Bottle (a play on the blue bottle jellyfish here in Oz), designed for exactly what we needed.  Have a glass of wine and pick a cheese or an hors d’oeuvres from the display.  Delicious!  Then on to another favorite Mozzerella Bar where they make the (pictured above) cacio e pepe delivered straight from the parmesan wheel.  After dinner out here we like to drop into Kartusch (see other post related to this) for a ‘pick your slice’ of cake.