An Aussie Dream

Most people have that American Dream. America or the United States is one of the most influential and powerful country in the world, no doubt about it. They're ranked top from TV Shows to Designer Clothes etc.

I for one had been strongly influenced by their colonialism despite being a full blooded Filipino, but I never had that dream. On contrary, what I have is an Australian dream.

Sydney Opera House

I have been fascinated with the down under Australia. Trivia: Do you know that back then Australia had been a home for 162,000 convicts? These convicts were transported by the British government between 1788 and 1868. The main reason was not to overcrowd the British local prison thus resulting them to make Australia a home base for all other hulks.

Road Signs

Australia had that same weather condition as to the Philippines except for the awful humidity and regular typhoons. What made me love Australia more is how they take good care of their environment and wild animals. They let the animals live the way they should live and they also have that kind of respect among all creatures, human, animals, insects.

The Bridge

So when the opportunity came for me to be invited in Australia for work I took it. Despite going to miss Dada for a couple of weeks, I submitted my passport and had my visa processed.

It was then a very uncomfortable 7-hour flight being in the regular seats of Philippine Airlines. My legs really hurt with the small space between the front seat. So I suggest if you will be traveling international might as well do an upgrade to Business Class. When we landed it is already night time, Australia is 2 hours ahead from the Philippines. I was picked up at the airport and was driven to Waterloo, New South Wales where I’d be spending my entire stay in AU. It was a 30-min drive from Sydney Airport and the place is really nice. One thing that I’ve noticed is that doors do not have locks, well except for the main door. They said that if you are living in an apartment, (here we call it condominiums) Fire & Safety Department would not grant you an approval to operate unless you remove those locks. That is for safety. Well, I guess it is. I mean God forbid that if there’s a fire and you have some elderly at home then they may end up being unable to open those doors right?! Or they may get stuck.

Kingsgrove bench at the Train Station

Moving on, my first order of business there was to visit Sydney Opera House. I recall being able to watch something about it in National Geographic talking about expanding it below not on top. Cool right?!

Harbor

So following morning, I prep myself to meet some people in the Mailing House office. There were a lot of Filipino there, my kababayans. Some are Chinese, others are Americans and of course Australians. They were all really nice. I guess you are being exchanged with politeness if you treat them with politeness. On my first day, I already received a lot of invites for picnic and barbeques. In Australia, Mall operates only until 5 pm except Thursdays when they have this thing called, Midnight Shopping. I guess the owner of the company I work for is also nice because they sometimes allow their employees with 2-hour lunch to do their groceries and what-not. Malls may be opened until 5pm but consolation to that are Mini-Groceries and some other kiosks are opened until 10pm. In addition to this, malls are also close during Sundays. I guess this is why parks, picnics and cookouts are hosted on weekends. This is another thing that I loved about Australia. If you close down shopping malls earlier and with no weekend operations then that would mean more time with the family. Spending it in parks, and more quality time. Nice right?!

Park Performer

Luring you to come inside the Tent

So finally, that day came when I was able to visit Sydney Opera House. I got really teary eyed. It was a dream come true for me. And yes, I am melodramatic like that. The ambiance, the cold summer breeze and I was there seated at the staircase. It was a blissful moment. I came to a pause and had an apparition of who I wanted to be, what I wanted to do and how do I go about doing it. It is the feeling of day dreaming. One more thing that amused me are those text cards hung around the SOH. Good words from people who’ve been there, famous people who had performed there and also some pictures. SOH had been the mark of AU, from Finding Nemo and other movies that will showcase AU, It is always about SOH, and I was really delighted that I had that experience to be there. It was an opportunity that I will never forget.

 

I was hoping to go back to AU and be able to tag Dada along. At the end of the day, I wanted to be with her and share with her that great experience I had in AU. Maybe, we can live there also. Hehehe

How about you? Where is your international dream destination?