I finally got my working visa on the 9th of January so I asked my boss if I can already start working the next day. I was getting bored in the empty house with nothing to do. So January 10, 2007 marked my first day of work in Australia.
We still didn't have a car that time so Hubby and I had to walk to the office everyday for 20 minutes (2km). It was nice to walk in the mornings. We always leave the house at around 7.30am and we would reach the office just before 8am. At this time, it is still cool and even if we were walking on the sidewalk of a busy road, the air we breathe was still fresh and smelled of trees and flowers and green grass.
Going home was a different story especially in the months of summer. As the days are still longer, it is still very bright and hot at 5.30pm or 6pm. So our very kind colleagues would take turns in driving us home. Sometimes Hubby and I were already too embarrassed that we decided to be the last ones to leave the office so that we can just walk home.
We walked everyday to the office for 6 months and at that time I realized that we were indeed very fit and lean. I didn't have my stomach bulge anymore and I can already fit back into my old jeans and I still needed to wear a belt to keep it from falling off!
I remember being alone and crying on some occassions while sitting on the cold floor. I still didn't have my working visa then so I had to stay at home while Hubby went to work. The house was very big and empty (except for a bed and a fridge). It was always very quiet. I had no one to talk to.
I remember asking myself why I'm here and sitting on the floor when I had a chair to sit on in Cebu? I think it's normal for every expat who's just starting to settle in a new place to feel this way in the beginning. But at the time I thought it was a very sad experience being far from the comforts of home.
When I first bought groceries in Australia, I was really surprised to see how BIG the vegetables were. In my whole life so far, I've never seen such BIG eggplants, bell peppers (which they call capsicum), chillies, tomatoes and even the chicken drumstick to name a few. That time I figured, everything was just so BIG I would only need one piece of eggplant to cook for 2 or more people, whereas if I do that in Cebu, I would have needed 2 or more eggplants (for example).
The photos below will show our delight in seeing the BIG grocery items.