Coming 'home' after our trip to Sydney and Melbourne, also came with a bit of a shock to the system: the holiday is over. Well at least for one of us - my husband started a contract position with one of the bigger companies in Brisbane. The shock to the system came as we were preparing for the first day at work, and realised work shirts don't iron themselves while hanging in the cupboard.
Wife suddenly have a bit less free time on her hands...
There's nothing like a bit of physical labour to get the mind going though, and I soon started musing about our recent experiences in this new country. We have seen three cities, met new people, and had a tiny peek into what life in Australia is about.
But... what does it really mean to 'live the dream'?
Life on the Gold Coast could certainly fit that description for many people: live in a spacious house with a garden, lots of waterways, beaches right next to parks with barbeque facilities open to anyone, and an extra two hours of sleep every day on the train to Brisbane. That is if you don't mind a slightly bumpy sleep, and sacrificing a bit of dignity. If you DO want to preserve last-mentioned, you get two hours of reading, working uncomfortably on a LAPtop, or daydreaming.
My view on Brisbane is unfortunately somewhat unreliable, as this is the first city that I got to experience in Australia (two years ago now), and would therefore always have that untouchable 'first-love' spot in my heart. It's not the biggest, not the bussiest, not the smallest, nor the richest, probably not the most of anything... but even strangers are friendly and they have a conservatory of music right next to a big park. That counts something in my books.
Now Sydney - there's one big and busy city! Everything seems to run on very oiled wheels - down to the double-decker, air-conditioned trains. I had the feeling there's a place for anyone and everyone SOMEwhere in that big hive, if you look long and hard enough. That feeling was confirmed one day as we waited for a train in one of the underground stations... As I was looking at the big adverts on the station wall, some movement on the tracks caught my eye. I looked more carefully... a rat! A track-rat, I guess you could call him. And judging by his size, he is quite a train wise creature, to have survived such a literal rat-race for that long!
On the opposite side of educational levels, you can take a stroll through Hyde Park, and at almost any hour of day you are bound to find creatures of a different kind: the kind that plays chess, in a park, for FUN. Moreover, you find some other creatures who find it entertaining to WATCH a game of chess in the park! And yes... I am one of them. You can not blame me when the game is accompanied by running commentary from one of the players:
And then there's Melbourne. City of street musicians, charming cafés and hidden alleyways. A city where you find streets lined with old buildings - proud, aristocratic buildings. Where you find rooftop cinemas, would-be and have-been artists literally painting the streets, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons aptly accompanying the changing weather of the moment. A city where street and art meets, where people still dream of becoming more than just another piece of mechanism in a big machine.
Wife suddenly have a bit less free time on her hands...
There's nothing like a bit of physical labour to get the mind going though, and I soon started musing about our recent experiences in this new country. We have seen three cities, met new people, and had a tiny peek into what life in Australia is about.
But... what does it really mean to 'live the dream'?
Life on the Gold Coast could certainly fit that description for many people: live in a spacious house with a garden, lots of waterways, beaches right next to parks with barbeque facilities open to anyone, and an extra two hours of sleep every day on the train to Brisbane. That is if you don't mind a slightly bumpy sleep, and sacrificing a bit of dignity. If you DO want to preserve last-mentioned, you get two hours of reading, working uncomfortably on a LAPtop, or daydreaming.
My view on Brisbane is unfortunately somewhat unreliable, as this is the first city that I got to experience in Australia (two years ago now), and would therefore always have that untouchable 'first-love' spot in my heart. It's not the biggest, not the bussiest, not the smallest, nor the richest, probably not the most of anything... but even strangers are friendly and they have a conservatory of music right next to a big park. That counts something in my books.
Now Sydney - there's one big and busy city! Everything seems to run on very oiled wheels - down to the double-decker, air-conditioned trains. I had the feeling there's a place for anyone and everyone SOMEwhere in that big hive, if you look long and hard enough. That feeling was confirmed one day as we waited for a train in one of the underground stations... As I was looking at the big adverts on the station wall, some movement on the tracks caught my eye. I looked more carefully... a rat! A track-rat, I guess you could call him. And judging by his size, he is quite a train wise creature, to have survived such a literal rat-race for that long!
On the opposite side of educational levels, you can take a stroll through Hyde Park, and at almost any hour of day you are bound to find creatures of a different kind: the kind that plays chess, in a park, for FUN. Moreover, you find some other creatures who find it entertaining to WATCH a game of chess in the park! And yes... I am one of them. You can not blame me when the game is accompanied by running commentary from one of the players:
Mamma Mia!!! That's a power move! Watch and learn, kids, watch and learn... Chess is easy! You want to take my pawn? You want to take it?? Yes! Push it, push it! ... What? You put me in check??
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| Chess players in Hyde Park, Sydney |
And then there's Melbourne. City of street musicians, charming cafés and hidden alleyways. A city where you find streets lined with old buildings - proud, aristocratic buildings. Where you find rooftop cinemas, would-be and have-been artists literally painting the streets, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons aptly accompanying the changing weather of the moment. A city where street and art meets, where people still dream of becoming more than just another piece of mechanism in a big machine.
Where are we going to end up? Where do we want to be? Where do we want to live our dream? At this moment, it is still a question that will be answered in due time. Maybe it has already been answered, we just don't know it yet.
Maybe part of the answer lies in the words of William Hennessy: Do what you love with all your might, and so find your place in the world - joyfully, abundantly and free from the guilt that you should be elsewhere, affirmed that you are actually where you belong.
(Loosely quoted)
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