Sven's life in Oz

Just when you think you have settled into life in a city and it’s not that different to the last place you lived, you see that the weather tomorrow is predicted to be thirty-nine degrees and you remember that you live in a country where having a camp fire in the summer can land you in jail for fourteen years.  This time last year I set off from Blighty with nary a thought about where I would be one year hence, and here I am, mistakenly feeling as though I have been living here forever.

What a year! Who would have thought this is where I would be? Living alone on the wrong side of the planet nursing my sunburn on a balmy evening before a heatwave kicks in? Well, the sunburn might have been predictable – I am a Brit, after all – but who could have foreseen the rest? I will confess that for the past week or so I have been feeling a little homesick. Well, perhaps homesick isn’t the right word. Lately I have wondered: “what about my life here is so amazing that it wouldn’t be better with the friends I had all the time in England?”. I’m living the same life, working, playing, washing my clothes; I’m just doing it with fewer life-long friends around the corner. Why on Earth did  I bother? It’s easy to get into a funk when your Saturday night involves staying in to do your laundry.

Over the past year I have had some amazing times.  I drove the Manly ferry. I paraded in the Mardi Gras. I drove from Sydney to Melbourne down the Prince’s Highway. The other day I had lunch in Parliament House. I couldn’t have done any of these things in the UK. Very few Australians do any of these things and they have lived here all their lives.  But I still wonder sometimes why I am here and whether I wouldn’t be just as happy back in the UK with my old friends, family close by and a cold Christmas.

To celebrate my one year in Australia I went out onto Oxford Street. James had a prior engagement so I didn’t see him all day, and in the evening I arranged a tweet-up with Jason and Adam. If the hangover is anything to go by, it’s fair to say that a great time was had by all. (Adam doesn’t drink, so perhaps we shall have to find some other way to judge for him.) I spent my 366th day in Australia struggling between my bed and the kitchen as the Book of Revelations held a dress rehearsal in my skull. My vague recollections of the night before involve me dancing like a hooker on a stage, and a range of drinks, the majority of which I am quite certain I did not buy myself. I had a great time with a bunch of people I didn’t know this time last year.

When I finally recovered on Sunday, James and I hit the beach before having some afternoon drinks at a friend’s new place. While we were lying in the sunshine I told him all about the doubts I had been having about living here. He sympathised. Sometimes it can feel as though you are doing it for all the wrong reasons, but he will stick it out till he is eligible for his Australian passport and so will I. It’s nice to have options, and dual nationality is a pretty big opportunity. This past year has gone so quickly that the next three will be gone before you know it and we’ll be pledging our allegiance to the Queen before you know it. We just need to hang in there.

But while I was lying on the sand with the sun beating on my skin, I remembered why we had moved here. I was sitting in the sunshine with my best friend talking about nothing at all. Neither of us had a care in the world. We just had friends leave and we have more coming to stay. Having a job and rent and bills to pay doesn’t mean that the past year has been any less amazing. Having a Christmas on the beach doesn’t mean I don’t miss Christmas in the winter, and having new friends doesn’t mean I don’t miss my old ones. Life is change. Life is knowing that some things are just going to be hard, and getting on with your day anyway. Sometimes I just forget that I’m having the time of my life when I’m standing in the line at the supermarket, as though even the mundane should be filled with fun.

But then I lie on the beach in the middle of November and the rest of the world is quite literally miles away, and I remember that I am actually having the most brilliant time of my fucking life. And it’s pretty freakin’ awesome. And I wish you were all here, but you aren’t, and yes, it sucks, but I’m just loving it. Just…loving it.

Life is short. Here’s to the next year; it’s gone before you know it.