When the prospect of moving to Australia first came up after my wedding, like any new bride and a girl who has never traveled outside India i was really happy and excited. We have all seen scenic foreign locations in our movies, breathtaking monuments and not to miss all those branded shops where one can spend all day just looking at clothes :) So from the get go i was really excited to visit Australia. As known initially it was supposed to be a 3-6 month stay and i was determined to make the most of it.
I was being sent off tearfully from the airport by my parents, my best friend and in laws, i was putting on a brave face and all smiles to them but i was sad and upset and also a little scared to travel alone for the next 12 -16 hours which included a transit at Malaysia. And to make matters worse i was time and again advised to be careful of thieves in Malaysian airport where reportedly ppl have lost cameras and laptop bags. So needless to say i sat clutching my bag in the airport, after a 4 hour flight of movie watching from India. I was well past my routine sleep cycle and was falling asleep even as I walked. I finally found the gate, got empty seats near it, put my bag as a headrest (also had an arm around it) and slept for an hour or so. Then got into the 8hr flight to Australia.
It has hence been 3.5yrs in this foreign land. Do i love it? Yes i do.. Do i miss India? Oh yes i do :( Living in a country which is clean, has a system in place for everything, where you don't know who stays in the same floor as you in an apartment complex has its pros and cons. as listed below:
PROS:
- The roads are so clean. Even if there is an event like a marathon on the main roads, once its completed within the next one hour the roads are spic and span with no trace of an event being conducted there in the first place.
- The council system in place for kids and the libraries that allow you to take any number of books and DVDs is a blessing !!
- Public transport system is good and clean, on time with free trams for visitors and free rides throughout on some public occasions.
- People are early to rise and late to bed :) Helps me in starting to work as i know i am not the only one and wont feel like everyone else gets to sleep.
- People always give you a smile when you pass by :)
- If the holidays fall during the weekend you get a substitute the same week.
CONS:
- There are very few public holidays :-/
- If you live in an apartment, you don't get to see who stays in your floor and if by chance you see someone on the same floor as you do, all they do is give you a smile and look down to avoid any conversation.
- You don't form a friends circle with anybody other than your work colleagues. Nothing wrong with that its just that the husbands all talk about work all the time
- You miss your hometown, you miss your family, mom's food, best friends
- Unlike USA, cost of living is actually high. Everything here is imported and anything produced locally is also costly. Shopping here is waste of money (but who does that stop from shopping)
The list is endless.. Given a choice i would love to stay here but given a choice i would want to go back to Chennai as well.. Its just the need and situation that lets you take these decisions i suppose. But lets love, live and let live !!!
How women love endless shopping hours always amazes me. I have never liked to do it more than an hour at the max and that too I decide to go shopping only when I have something in mind as to what I wanna buy, be it an accessory that I might have to pick up by browsing numerous platform shops in Pondy Bazaar or a good dress in those big stores or malls. But I have gone only when I or a friend (Jannu) wanted to buy something. And it was always fun going with her, the comments we used to pass on other female shoppers, the frantic search for an atm in case our COMBINED cash reserve is all spent ;) , the constant bargaining for reducing the price even if it’s just for 5rs less, me walking away if I don’t get it reduced and Jannu saying I still want it and me convincing her that we will definitely find in nearby shops which we ultimately do. God I miss those days :’(
I have sincerely hated window shopping. My policy is, go into a shop only if you have to buy anything and never to just look at the stuff or compare prices. I used to detest going shopping with my folks when buying electronic goods/utensils/clothes. We used to go to all the big shops, enquire prices, look at all the models and come out empty handed. I couldn’t stand the look the sales person and his colleagues would give something my parents cleverly chose to ignore. “We have to make sure we buy the best” my dad would say :-/ and slowly I stopped accompanying them to shopping of any kind. It’s not them but I can’t stand the constant pestering of the people in the shops asking us what we want, what we are looking at etc. I know they are helping us out and their bosses will be mad if they don’t pounce on a customer the moment he/she enters the shop but please guys I prefer to be left alone!!! If I need anything I would definitely not hesitate to ask you! It only happens in India I guess (not sure of the other countries)
But Melbourne seems to be different. Imagine my surprise when I started loving shopping, the best part WINDOW SHOPPING!!! :) Yes, I just can’t stop myself from going into the shops just to have a look at them in spite of having nothing to buy… And believe me when I tell you, nobody is behind me asking me what I want, maybe an occasional and rare “Can I help you with anything” but that’s it. I have never gone shopping alone as I feel I will be terribly bored with nobody to talk to, but yesterday I took my first ever window shopping trip all by myself and I loved it. Going in and out of shops, taking my time to look at stuff, smiling at people for being courteous, enjoying the summer sun (which gave me the opportunity to wear my new coolers :P ) It was fun, I walked for a long time until the sun dehydrated me, and I decided it was time to get back home but not before I did some tiny shopping for myself ;) Yes I walked into Sportsgirl(http://www.sportsgirl.com.au/), a famous and costly shop here and to my surprise a sale was on. I got myself a cosmetic bag, a new wallet and a transparent nail polish. The best part of it all is – I got all the 3 for just $10 in total. Yippee!!! Attached pics of my mini loot :)
So all you girls who love shopping should definitely be here in Melbourne where there is a sale throughout the year
