We spent the first 6 months walking to work in the morning and either walking or hitching rides home in the afternoon until it was winter. We didn't mind walking in the cold too, but the rains were the damper. It was quite hard to walk on the wet ground and getting our shoes and feet all wet when we reach the office, so Hubby and I decided to get a car.
I've never bought a car before in my life and I'm not into them as well. So I left all the researching with Hubby. After days or weeks researching, he finally narrowed down the choices to Mitsubishi Colt, Toyota Yaris or a Honda __. Yes, all small cars because he wanted something fuel efficient plus there's only the two of us who will ride the car.
So one Saturday in June 2007, we went to the nearest Mitsubishi dealership, the Chadstone Mitsubishi, to do a test drive on the Colt. First, it was Hubby's turn to drive. We circled the nearby block and it was great! Then the salesman asked me to try too. I really didn't want to because I wasn't really confident about my driving yet, but he insisted. So we circled the same block again and I almost gave him and Hubby a heart attack that time. That's what he got from forcing me to do something! LOL!
We didn't have to test drive the other car choices anymore, because after I laid my eyes and hands on the Colt, I instantly fell in love with it and Hubby also felt the same. So we just proceeded with all the paperwork and the downpayment and after one week, we were able to get our "red-hot" Colt from Mitsubishi. And it was also just in time for our second wedding anniversary!
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.
We arrived in Melbourne in the middle of summer (January 2007) and for someone who hasn't really done any prior research to the Melbourne summer, I didn't anticipate how "cold" it can get in certain times of the day and especially at night.
I remember the day I arrived, Hubby was so excited to bring me around. So after just reaching the house from the airport and not even unpacking yet, he insisted we should go first to the Chadstone Shopping Centre. I was still groggy from the flight not having enough sleep but I agreed thinking I also needed something to cheer me up. That time I was already homesick.
From our house we walked for 10 minutes to reach the Mount Waverley train station and took the train going to Flinders Street (city). We went down at the Richmond station and changed to the Pakenham line. We went down at Huntingdale station and walked another 10 minutes to reach the shopping centre. The whole journey took us over an hour. (Later on I would realize that the Chadstone Shopping Centre is very near our house and it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to reach there by car.)
I really regreted not bringing any light jacket with me during this trip because on our way home from the shopping centre, it got very cold for me especially when we were walking and there's a breeze blowing. And also that night, I experienced first hand what "cold summer night" really is (temperature-wise of course).
I arrived in Melbourne on January 6, 2007 to start my life as an expat. My husband arrived three days earlier. I needed to stay behind in Cebu for a few more days to take care of some important matters and to say goodbye to my family. After a somewhat emotional time in the airport, I took an 8-hour plane ride from Manila to Melbourne and arrived there early in the morning.
The good thing about the company that hired us was that they've already organized a house for us to stay in and if we would have wanted, we could have had it fully-furnished with rental items. We just chose to rent a bed and a fridge until we can buy our own. So essentially, we started with an empty house.
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