I first arrived in Australia in November of 2004. My husband and I planned to stay until January but someone made us an offer we couldn't refuse and we decided to stay. It was January 16th when we sat on the edge of the bed with non-refundable plane tickets in hand and asked ourselves, "Are we really doing this? We're moving to another country?" We did. Here is my favourite story about moving and my first impression of Australia.
We flew from Reno to San Francisco and then to Sydney. We'd been traveling for nearly 24 hours and we were exhausted. On the airplane we were given a form to fill out for customs, did we have any prohibited or regulated items to declare. I looked at the form that listed weapons, alcohol and food items that were controlled. I didn't have any of those so I didn't declare anything. When we got to customs they scanned our bags, the bells went off and lights flashed. A young male officer pointed to me and shouted, "Is this your bag?" I said it was and wondered what could have possibly caused the concern.
"Do you have lollies?!?!" He yelled at me I shook my head, "I don't know" He shouted again "Do you have lollies?!?" I was scared. What was this lollies? Were they drugs? Did someone put drugs in my bag? OMG was I going to be strip searched and body cavity inspected? Where did this all go wrong? "Lollies do you have lollies" shouted the young man with the thick accent. I was on the verge of tears, "I don't know, I don't know if I have lollies. What's lollies?" My jet lagged mind raced and my heart beat quickened. Officers began to look our way and walk toward the area of concern. Just then a female officer put her hand on the shouting officers shoulder and, in a tender voice, said to me, "Candy honey, do you have any candy?" I shook my head "Yes! Yes, I have candy!" That beautiful Ghiradelli chocolate that I'd picked up in San Francisco was the source of all this drama. The young officer seemed annoyed as they finished searching our bags. My heart beat slowed and they released us and our renegade chocolate into Australia. That was my welcome to the land down under.
Six months later we returned to the US to pack our belongings and put things in order. As we walked through customs I was again asked if we had any food items. Quickly I announced, "I have candy" The jolly, white haired customs agent declared "Candy's ok, welcome home."
The first year in Australia was a lot like our introduction to customs. There were a lot of misunderstandings as I learned a whole new english language. Some people welcomed us and some did little to hide their dismay at having foreigners coming into "their" country. We stuck it out and I'm so pleased that we did. Once I had friends, a home, pets and a sense of my place in the community I had a life. Last year we received Australian citizenship and I am proud to call myself an Aussie. I'm proud to call myself American too. I love that I have two countries that will welcome me home, me and my candy.
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| A photo I took of a kookaburra. |
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