We built a life here in Australia, it was unexpected and it blossomed out of nowhere, but it has been one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. What should have only been a two week stay with my sister, soon to be brother in law and fresh baby nephew, turned into nearly 4 months.

They introduced us to this country, the strange parody of English culture with the ever present bitter taste of invasion on the street corners and play parks. In England the most dangerous animal is perhaps your neighbors cat, here their are lists of things that could kill you quicker than you could boil the kettle. In the house alone we had 3 visits of the infamous red back spider.

We used the first part of our stay here to take a road trip, to get the Aussie adventure life… Well we had a myriad of places to choose from but of course the wine and cheese district just had to be done! We packed up in a huge van and spent days driving, camping, fishing and finally meeting a kangaroo!

We arrived as summer was beginning here and on my first day of work the heat wave started and the thermostat peaked at 42, a very literal trial by fire. And of course, this is the time the fires began, we witnessed the country go up in flames. The country was in a calm shock, or perhaps just Perth, being so isolated it seemed to get off relatively unscathed by the infernos. Although on some drives into the bush if you look closely you can see the blackened trees, life has come back but the scars still show.

We got to spend Christmas here, which doesn’t count as a Christmas. When the temperature is over 30, or if you can wear shorts, its not Christmas. If you have a BBQ, its not Christmas. If you can get a tan! ITS NOT CHRISTMAS!

It was Ethans first “christmas”, so it was quite special to spend that time with everyone. He was the star of the show, my nephew stealing all of our attentions and it was so special for me to get to spend this time with him and my sister. The first of our new generation in our family. As well me and sister had an opportunity to bond, no longer as teenagers over beer and stupid jokes, now we bonded over baby food… and stupid jokes.

We spent a long time here I guess looking back and we saw all we wished we could and so much more we didn’t even expect. We made new friends and formed bonds with old family that will last a life time. Australia was like thunder and lightning, incredibly fast and dangerous, but powerful and dazzling.