We're Moving Again!!!

Hellllo fam!

That's right - more changes are coming! But we aren't moving... not exactly. We've given Blogger a go and it doesn't seem to fit our amateur blogging needs, so we're transitioning over to Wordpress. All of our previously published posts are already on Wordpress in a way that that we think is more visually appealing and accessible, so hop on over and replace your previous link to this blog with this new one:

http://blankslate301.wordpress.com

As before, we recommend that the best way to stay in touch and keep up with new posts is to subscribe with your email address. That way you won't miss a moment of our crazy Australian adventure! If you scroll to the bottom of the main page there's an option for you to "Follow blog via email." Click that and input your email - easy!

Cheers, Linnea & Osh

Blank Slate

Dear future houseguests, 

It's been a long time coming but we're finally ready to introduce our new apartment to the world. All of the furniture is finally here and after some long nights and a lot of laughs, it's all assembled and in one piece. It was a long road to settle in to our home away from home, and we hope that this post will help you understand a bit more about what our daily life looks like and shed some light on the process for anyone thinking of moving to Australia as well.

Some of you already know that when we landed, we didn’t have a long-term place to live. At the time, we were booked to stay in Tom’s apartment through Air Bnb. If anyone finds themselves in the Melbourne area, you’re of course welcome to stay with us but if that doesn’t work out, Tom’s place is a fantastic alternative. He was a lovely host and we were greeted to Tim Tams and Australian wine upon our arrival. Tom’s place is in Carlton, a suburb just north of the main CBD (central business district) of Melbourne. It is best known for the bustling Lygon street, filled with cafes, restaurants, shops and parks. Once we were settled it was time to find our new apartment. This led to Linnea spending hours online booking appointments for showings and compiling detailed schedules of showings, travel times and suburbs. In less than a week we’d seen almost twenty different apartments across the city and northern suburbs. Something interesting about Australia – individual apartments (or flats) are leased by brokers, not the landlords. This means the application process is lengthy and competitive. It also means that full buildings can have apartments owned by many different landlords, instead of a central building authority like in Canada.  

In the middle of this process we were fortunate enough to meet up with a fellow Queen’s alum and current teacher working here in the city who recommended renting from a landlord directly. Well as the legend goes, later that night Oshaen casually went online and found one apartment on Gumtree (the Australian Kijiji) and we went right over to meet the landlord. Matt and his wife Heather turned out to be lovely and although the apartment was undergoing renovations at the time, he reviewed our application and accepted us that night. Hopefully you readers can appreciate the irony of this situation – one of us spent hours planning and researching and the other went with what she felt and it turned out to be the best option. We truly are each other’s yin and yang.

Once the new floors, blinds and paint went in, all that was left to do was find some furniture. For this we took to Gumtree again and purchased everything used. Our apartment is a chic little nook that we look forward coming home to every afternoon. We spent a lot of time hunting down reasonably priced furniture and home essentials that respected our blush / gray colour scheme. We have two carpeted bedrooms, an open concept kitchen/living room with beautiful, large windows and a spacious balcony awaiting summer nights. This past weekend we made a trip out to a local plant shop and bought some plants to liven the space up! Neither of us have a particularly green thumb (or not yet at least), so we figured what better way to learn about plant parenting then diving right into it!? Not only do our new succulents and little Kauri Pine tree give our space character, but they compliment the pink quite nicely. The only thing our perfect little home is missing is some wall art. Also, a side note about our eat in kitchen: the bar is made from an old diving board because Matt was a professional diver. Cool, right?

We originally hoped to settle in Carlton or Fitzroy - up and coming neighbourhoods on the edge of the heart of the city. Both of these neighbourhoods appeal to young crowds and are packed with unique shops and culturally diverse restaurants. We imagined ourselves living in a hip, central part of the city that also made traveling for work easy. Now that we’ve settled in Brunswick East - a neighbourhood twenty minutes North East from the CBD - we couldn’t imagine living anywhere else! Brunswick East is it’s own little hipster universe with heaps of second hand vintage stores and tucked away bars. Our apartment building is located at the cross section of two major streets, making it easy for us to find shopping or entertainment by foot.

We’re living our best lives as twenty-three year old women in a charming Aussie apartment with blush pink décor. We can't wait to show it off - enjoy some quality photography by the ever talented Oshaen. Laugh as you will… we love our new home!  All we’re missing are friends to share the space. Now all that’s left is for you to be our guest – hope to see you soon...

Much love,

Osh & Linnea

Marsupials are Friends Too

Hello from the two of us and our newest furry friend!

Before leaving Canada, many people warned us about the danger of "falling in love" and never coming home. Well folks, it's happened... we're in love. In love with this wonderful country and all the marsupials it has to offer! Today we packed some snacks, hooked up a playlist and hopped in the car for our first Australian road trip. The destination: Ballarat, a town located an hour and a half from the city, best known for its history as a gold rush down in the 1850s. More specifically, we ventured out to Ballarat to visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park. The park is a privately owned tourist destination where visitors can interact with wildlife and learn more about the conservation and research efforts the park is involved in. We discovered that the wily Tasmanian Devil (pictured below) is one of the endangered species at the park and an example of their participation in breeding programs which is their main method of conservation.

Not only did we get to get our photos taken with both a sweet koala named Ella and a cuddly wombat named Georgie, but we also got to hold Georgie and meet both of her parents! It was a life changing experience and has since inspired us to adopt a wombat as a house pet. Interestingly, wombats have a two-inch thick plate made out of bone at the base of their backs that they use to defend against predators. If they encounter a threatening creature, they'll flatten their bodies onto the ground, wait for the predator to climb on top of them, and then forcefully thrust their rumps into the air. The impact is so powerful that it can fracture and break bones. This tactic is also used when wombats encounter vehicles. Often the mother will take the impact of a crash and lose her life but the babies in her pouch often live. We learned that if you find a marsupial on the side of the road or hit one it is important to check and see if anything in their pouches is still alive, as conservation authorities can usually artificially raise orphans. 

We also got up close and personal with our new friend Ella the koala. After some coaxing with eucalyptus and gum tree leaves she agreed to pose for a picture with us. We are happy to report that koalas are truly as soft, cuddly and wise up close as they appear to be from afar. What makes them so appealing? Maybe it’s because they sleep fourteen hours a day. Or maybe because the rest of their day consists of only resting, eating and four minutes of travelling. Either way, koalas seem to be living the dream. While koalas are not considered endangered yet, they face similar risks to their friends in wetlands and old growth forests across the world: urbanization and resulting habitat loss. Just a note from your friendly neighbourhood environmentalist and animal lover.

Another highlight of today was getting to feed and pet Australia’s most iconic animal – the kangaroo! True to their reputation they were inquisitive, friendly and somehow both energetic and lazy at the same time. With bags of kangaroo feed in hand we ventured out to meet the one hundred resident kangaroos that roam free in the park. They were happy to pose for selfies with us and even happier to have a snack from our hands. We are truly appreciative that the first kangaroos we got to meet were these soft, kind creatures and not kangaroos on the side of the road, which are unfortunately common once you get out of the city. We were even surprised with a rare glimpse of a joey peeking out of a pouch.

If you're enjoying our posts, feel free to leave us a comment on the webpage and tell us what you think about our adventures so far (scroll to the bottom of the page to view recent comments or comment yourself). We're also brainstorming interesting subjects or future posts and would love to write about experiences and subjects that you might interest you, so send some suggestions our way!

Most of us think of sunshine and beaches when we think of Australia, right!? Well it turns out they have rolling black clouds and fierce rainstorms every once in a while, too. We drove through five minutes of intense hail on the highway on our way home, but not before a "nourishing" stop at Macca's (that's Australian for McDonald's) to fuel our happily exhausted bodies. As much as we love the city of Melbourne, it was night to finally escape the concrete jungle and explore green landscape. We can't wait until the weather gets warmer so we can appreciate Australia's natural environment in all it's glory.

Most of us think of sunshine and beaches when we think of Australia, right!? Well it turns out they have rolling black clouds and fierce rainstorms every once in a while, too. We drove through five minutes of intense hail on the highway on our way home, but not before a nourishing stop at Macca’s (that’s Australia for McDonald’s) to fuel our happily exhausted bodies. As much as we love the city of Melbourne, it was nice to finally escape the concrete jungle and explore green landscape. We can’t wait until the weather gets warmer so we can appreciate Australia’s natural environment in all it's glory!

We've already agreed that this is just the beginning of many trips to wildlife parks around Australia and if you plan on visiting us, you better believe that you're moment to feed a hungry kangaroo or cuddle a sleepy wombat is coming.

Much love,

Linnea & Oshaen

Monday Musings

Happy Monday!

Things Down Under are great - Linnea and I loving our new apartment and embracing our inner Aussie. But you better believe that we miss all of our loved ones back home (yes - that means you). 

The more I think about it, the more I truly believe that the most valuable experiences are the ones that challenge us the most. They not only teach us to appreciate what we have, but also respect ourselves for what we can do. We push ourselves to excel in ways that previously seemed unfathomable and if we're lucky, emerge triumphant! 

Most of the people in my life know that I like writing and write when I feel like I can't keep something locked up inside. This gives me happy poems, ugly bitter poems, and everything in between. This poem's sad because some aspects of living 16 258 km away from home are sad. And just as happiness is an important emotion, sadness is important and worth acknowledging so we can can be aware of where it's coming from, what it means for us, and how to conquer it.

So here's a relatively sad poem. It's not perfect and it's not complicated. It just is.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

tonight I feel sad

not because im unhappy

but because im happy in a new way

i ache

for all the things and people

i left behind

i miss lake sunsets

and ciders in Kingston pubs

with friends

i long for Saturday bonfires

and bickering with 

ruthless siblings

i dream of a boy who fishes

with chocolate eyes like 

the Milky Way 

im not here to prove that im happy

im here to show you

its not always easy

but nothing worth doing

ever really is

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Peace and love,

Osh