Search Results for: label/Expat

Hasta Pronto Amigos

May 20, 2013 by Fran 2 Comments

And I will see (many of) you soon.

As I start to reflect on what has now been the best part of a year being an expat, I now also look excitedly to my upcoming trip to Europe.

I will be flying into Munich on Friday 14^thJune to meet up with the “annual get away” crew. As with our previous jaunts to Las Vegas, and Prague, no doubt there will be much marveling at the architecture and we will surely see the insides of many churches and museums. I’m even told the Germans brew quite a mean beer so maybe we will get to sample a few of those, if the itinerary allows!

Then I join the boys on an EasyJet flight into England late on Sunday 16^th for just short of 2 weeks catching up with as many friends and family as I can possibly fit in. Being the commensurate project manager, I have a timeline, and an almost full spreadsheet covering each day that I am there. There could yet be a couple of slots made available so if you fancy a beer / wine / cup of tea, let me know. I have a UK phone number for the time that I will be there. If you want it, just drop me a message or a mail.

But what I will say, can you please collectively (or even individually!!) not make it TOO enjoyable or I will not want to return. And then I will have some very big decisions to make. From memory, England is bloody cold at Xmas.

What have I been doing in the lead up to it, besides counting down for the last 3 months? I managed to complete level 3 of my Spanish lessons. This means I have now done 24 weeks of lessons and have to say I have managed to learn a lot. Although the further you scratch the surface of learning a language, the more you realise you have to learn. Having a Spanish speaker at work helps and despite my feelings of inadequacy when we speak in Spanish, she tells me she is very impressed with what I know, and my accent. I must be doing something right then. Muy bien! I have put a temporary hiatus on my studies due to the holiday.

You Facebookers out there will know that I recently did something in Sydney for the first time. Something I always said I wouldn’t do because of the cost. No! Not that Steve. Kings Cross isn’t that expensive these days 😉

Top of the world mamma!

I finally did the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. Taking the philosophy that a) life is short, and b) I don’t really know how long I will be here, I decided to take the plunge. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I joined a “Twilight Climb” which entailed going up in the day light, and down in the dark. It was a fantastic experience and would recommend anybody ever in Sydney to do it. And rewarding yourself with beers in The Australian pub across the road makes for a great day and night.

Whilst I was in the spirit of smashing the #sydneybucketlist I booked myself onto another first, whale watching in the ocean off Sydney harbour. I had a great day, in the sun, on the water, but “whale watching – whales = watching”. Yes, as the season had only started the day before, all I got to see was lots of dolphins. However, all was not lost as I was given a voucher for a free return trip to take anytime I like before the end of the season in November. So I may get to see whales yet.

Anybody seen a whale passing here? Not very big!

Other than the usual stuff of crazy nights out, a couple of rugby games (both league and union), and the daily grind of work, nothing much else has happened. We are now very much in Autumn, and I can feel it. I am going to even have to buy a thicker duvet, or get a bed mate, as the nights are getting very cold. Where did I put those pyjamas?

I have put in an early order for sunshine whilst I am in England, so can you all see what you can do for me #prayforsunforfran

With that, I will sign off and the next time I speak to many of you may well be in the flesh. To say I am giddy is an understatement. See you all on the other side.

Europe Revisited

June 30, 2013 by Fran Leave a Comment

I seemed to countdown forever, but the trip finally arrived. My visit back to the UK and a tour of all the culinary delights that I have been sorely missing. Although I should probably clarify here, the purpose of my trip wasn’t just to put on the half stone that I did. It was primarily to see family and friends. And if those visits entailed long, leisurely lunches and decadent dinners, who was I to complain?

In keeping with my documented goals of 2013, I again travelled somewhere new in the world. Kicking off the holiday with a weekend in Munich for the, now annual, boys weekend jaunt. Munich is somewhere that has been on my bucket list for a while, but actually for Oktoberfest. That said, even if we had waited a few months I’m not sure even we could have drank many more pints of good German beer.

And talk about good hangover food, I think we had more visits to the Golden Arches than we did hours sleep. Munich itself turned out to be a very beautiful city. Full of big open squares, leafy gardens and the odd beer hall. But a word of advice. If you ever plan to visit the outstanding Allianz Arena (home of Bayern Munich), don’t go in searing heat, with a hangover, when there are works and restrictions on the train lines. Just saying.

With regards to hangovers, Steve, shame you never managed the world record, but we always have next year.

After Munich, came England, and specifically beautiful Yorkshire. For the following couple of weeks I gorged myself on traditional English fayre and the Yorkshire countryside. And when I say traditional English fayre I don’t just mean pies and pints of Copper Dragon Golden Pippen, but also delicious garlic laced curries of the sort that don’t seem to have made their way down under.

Amongst many highlights, some would say the coup de grace was the amazing lamb henry, slow cooked one Sunday morning and served up at lunch with copious amounts of wine. Oh, and cider. And vodka. And port. I think it was a good day, but I’d need to ask somebody else who was there to confirm. If the amount of time it takes you to eat a bacon and black pudding butty is a barometer of how drunk you were, I’d say some were very drunk. At least the alcohol made me forget the rice pudding you could hang wallpaper with. If I was the chef, I’d stick to main courses.

Family, friends and a sun baked Yorkshire treated me well. I ordered sunshine to remind me of my antipodean home and boy did the old country deliver. The 2 weeks went by in a flash of catch ups, belly laughs, food, beer and wine.

Reminding me of who and what is important to me in life I was truly sad to be leaving. If only I could have stayed longer. There were people I missed out on this time, due various reasons, including conflicting holiday plans. I know I will see them all next time, whenever that may be. And there are others I already can’t wait to see again, and I know I will, all in good time. I just need a little patience.

Beautiful Yorkshire

For now, I return home with some fantastic memories, ready to face the start of my second year of this Australian adventure. And what a start it will be. Going to the 3rd Lions test in Sydney, which of course is now going to be the decider. Watching Man Utd in the same stadium, some 2 weeks later play a team of A-League All Stars. And celebrating “Xmas in July”, an Aussie tradition, in between.

With new motivation, a game plan to be agreed upon, and the aim of getting fitter, the rest of 2013 could turn out to be one of the biggest years yet.

Signing off, the Yorkshire Expat.

Films watched on plane(s)

Django

Killing Them Softly

Stand up Guys

Side Effects

Life of Pi

Trance

TV series watched on plane(s)

The Thick of It – whole of season 4 (bloody brilliant)

And now for something a little different…

September 23, 2013 by Fran Leave a Comment

Hi folks, how are we all doing? I have something today that’s not like my usual ravings. I want to share something that was sent to me recently, and it got me thinking.

I have often wrote about the trials and tribulations of being an expat. Facing the conflicting emotions of knowing I am living my own personal dream, whilst at the same time struggling with internal demons that are telling me that I am not quite where I should be.

Over time I wondered, would I become one of the stereotypical “ping pong poms”?

Who knows? Maybe I will. I have safely negotiated the choppy waters of the first year. The waters are a little more sedate now and I seem to be sailing along nicely. For the moment. Without any ballast, I am liable to up and off somewhere new at the drop of a hat.

But whilst I am here, the infographic below is an excellent visualisation of the kind of decisions that I consider on a daily basis.

Have a read and make your own mind up, UK…or Oz??

Poms in Paradise? – An infographic by the team at Schepens

Who stole October?

November 3, 2013 by Fran Leave a Comment

Another month passes guys, and here we are in November. As with each passing month now, it is my second of each since being here. Arriving naive and wet behind the ears as an expat way back in August 2012. This year seems to have particularly flown by, a fact brought sharply into focus when I think that I am in month 9 of my work contract. Only 16 weeks left. Then what? Who knows. Keeps me on my toes I guess, not really knowing what next year will bring.

October brought Halloween and all it’s associated commercial crassness. Bah humbug you may be shouting at me, but to the childless amongst us, it definitely has less appeal, So, no pumpkins at Cormack HQ and nothing scary perhaps apart from the fact that it is almost Xmas, ergo, I’m another year older. Or is that younger. Could I claim to be the new Benjamin Button?

Something in my Twitter feed, claiming to be from Santa Claus, but I’m dubious it is really him, tells me that there are only 52 sleeps to Xmas. That is a sobering thought. I better get back to wok on that booze cupboard. Following my last missive to you all I got asked whether the photo of all the booze I posted was just for Xmas morning! Then again, that comment was from a dipsomaniac.

Following on from my great trip to Byron Bay recently, a couple of mates felt cheated that I went alone, as is my wont. So, we have booked another trip, this time to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. In a couple of weeks we will be flying up there straight from work and having a weekend of debauchery. And being poms, and completely unaware, we can even be excused for choosing a notoriously bad time to go and get end up getting labeled “toolies”. Friends in the UK, it’s an Aussie thing. Just Google “schoolies week”.

The month of October seems to have come and gone in a blur of very long work days and late party nights. If there is one takeaway from the month it is probably that drinking shots is no good for you. Yeah, you probably already knew this. Drinking 101, right? But as I live a less Bacchanalian, more austere lifestyle this was news to me and has contributed to a few hazy mornings and a dangerously depleted bank account.

These shenanigans are likely to continue this week as on Tuesday it is Melbourne Cup day. Reputed to be the horse race that stops a nation. Not being big on the nags I never really understood all the fuss, but the nation is obsessed with it so I go along for the ride. I watched it last year and it was like a poor man’s Grand National, *ducks from abuse from proud Aussies*.

Tuesday at approximately 3pm will see us watching the race at work, with wine and nibbles, before de-camping to a local hostelry of choice to continue the festivities. People get really dressed up and it has been fascinating to listen to the girls at work talk about fascinators. To the blokes amongst us, these are the funny little “pretend hat” type things that girls wear to the races. And often seen at weddings. That the girls will pay the prices they charge for some of these things is fascinating enough for me.

However, contrary to popular belief, it is not all party party party over here. It’s not one long continuous episode of Geordie Shore. I do other things than just get “mortal”. Honestly. It I do. The ying to that yang is that I have pushed myself even harder in the gym to compensate for this decadent lifestyle. It helps to have some friendly competition to motivate you so me and a mate complete on number of gym visits, to be able to proudly claim to be #mostrecentchampion. And despite my recent best efforts, I still have to claim the title back.

Could this be the week?

New Year, But No Resolutions

January 12, 2014 by Fran 2 Comments

Remember me? I am still alive and well, for those that have been missing your regular update from the land Down Under.

It has been a while, and I can lay the blame at the door of a number of things, but let’s just say that the old adage of “time flies when you are having fun” is very much true. Much fun has indeed been had.

Since we last caught up I have been through a birthday, Xmas, and another Sydney New Years Eve firework extravaganza. Which were even better than last year if that is possible. Admittedly, my birthday and Xmas were on the same day, but still.

I have had my summer holiday, with 2 weeks off work over Xmas and I’m not sure there is a better place in the world to spend it than Sydney. The city comes alive with numerous pop up bars, festivals, street art, (very) long boozy lunches, and long leisurely hung-over brunches.

As if four bottles of the best sauvignon blanc wasn’t enough, some people had to then move onto the cocktails. Little wonder we managed to get asked to leave. But by then we had left the Opera Bar and moved onto The Argyle, quite a classy establishment in The Rocks area of Sydney. Had we been in the Salvation in Halifax I’m sure it would have been a very different story. All in all, another great day.

I can’t speak for the night though. Due to not actually remembering much of it! I’m not sure if this was a result of the aforementioned bottles of wine, or just too much sun. But, strangely enough, I keep having dream like flash backs (and being kindly reminded) to performing some kind of nosedive. Hmm, very strange 🙂

Talking of my birthday, my friends, in their kindness, tried to secretly buy me a birthday cake in Woolworths. I’m not kidding you, it was like a military operation planned by Benny Hill. (Australian readers may want to check out You Tube). I could almost hear the music playing as we chased each other around the aisles. But what a lovely thought, the flaming galahs!

Last year, for my birthday, the weather unceremoniously pissed on my parade. Almost quite literally. Poured down all day. Surely lightening couldn’t strike twice. Right? So big plans were made this year. Little cute wine glass holder type things, for sticking in the sand holding your glass, an esky, new beach chair. The whole shooting match.

And yes, you guessed it! Following being initiated into the Xmas Eve night tradition that is the “Home Alone” movie marathon (keep the change ya filthy animal) we once again ended up on Xmas morning with Bucks Fizz and a wet, distinctly British, BBQ. I had very gratefully had some presents brought over from my family back home, and with my friends in my adopted country looking after me I managed to really feel like I could celebrate, despite being thousands of miles away from family. That is one thing that is so important as an expat, making very good friends, who then become like a second family.

So we had rain again on my big day, but all is well that ends well and it did indeed end up being a fantastic day, with me cleaning up in various competitions including video games, and that old classic, charades. Ok, I may not have actually won at Mario Kart (or even come a close second), but my efforts at charades took the limelight. I think I should have been a thespian. Never has there been a better mime of the film Psycho.

I’m pleased to say that the sun gods did shine on us for the rest of the holidays, enabling me to get my tan on. And the weather was perfect for another trip into the Hunter Valley vineyards. Although it is quite possibly the first time I have ever heard a wine tasting trip up there described as thus, “by ‘eck, its like a white knuckle ride!“. Shurrrup! And despite there being an abundance of good wines in the Hunter, I just don’t think there will ever be enough soda water for some people 😉

I can’t end without saying that this time of year is usually a time of making resolutions. I’m sure a few of you have made them. I’m equally sure that some of you will have even broken some of them already. Be honest.

I’m not making any as I feel that things are going good right now. Through parts of last year you saw me sharing my homesickness with you. Even deliberating about whether to return to the UK or not. But for now, I am a lot more settled, and have even just accepted a 1-year extension to my contract at work. Apologies to my long suffering work colleagues but for some time yet you will have to cope with my Monday morning moans about how badly my beloved football team have done over the weekend. And surely you can’t dine out on your lucky Ashes victory for much longer, *crosses fingers*.

This doesn’t take the homesickness away, but I am having another trip home in 6 weeks so this will continue to alleviate it whilst I determine my rightful place in the world. I’ll be having a flying visit for a couple of weeks, catch up with family and friends, including my gorgeous little niece who I unfortunately have not seen since I left the UK in 2012. Then, rather excitingly, I will be returning home, with Ma Cormack in tow for her visit tour of duty in Australia.

My only concern for my trip to the UK will be the weather. I have not had a European winter for 3 years so will need to put away my thongs and remember where I put my winter clothes. The UK weather in March? Anybody know the long term forecast? Will I need to be hibernating in front of a roaring log fire with copious amounts of whisky? Or will I be able to sip champagne in a hot tub?

Answers by return please.

Yorkshire Revisited

April 18, 2014 by Fran Leave a Comment

You may have noticed it has been a while since my last post. You may even have been worried I had come to some harm. But fear not, I think I just had a case of writer’s block. Or more literally, blogger’s block. I seem to have now gone the other way and have written what is perhaps my longest blog ever.

In truth, it has been a very busy few weeks, much of what I’ll cover in the next couple of posts. Those of you tuning in, eagerly hoping to hear of the exploits of Ma Cormack on her antipodean adventure will be disappointed. This blog will be to recap on my trip back to the UK and thus, the “Mary in Mosman” blog will follow in a few weeks.

So the end of February saw me jetting back to the homeland. The primary objective being to escort mum back to Sydney with me. An expat’s life and location can be very precarious and I figured that if mum was ever gonna see the land down under, I would have to go and literally bring her. I once worked in Dublin for 18 months, a 40-minute flight away, and she never got across the water. So I was determined to get her Australia passport stamp!

The timing couldn’t have been better, with my 1-year contract at work expiring at the end of February, and me flying to England the next day. With luck (scratches head and wonders if this is the right word), and maybe a smidgen of hard work, I had secured a further 1-year contract at the same bank, on the proviso that my current trip stood and I could have a month unpaid leave. A well documented hand-over to my hard working team (just in case they are reading) and I was off, knowing everything was in safe hands ’til I returned in April-ish.

Leaving Sydney did feel very strange. A much different feeling to when I went home last year. I suppose I was mentally in a very different place last year and wasn’t sure if it was the start of the end of my Australian odyssey. A year on and things are very different. I felt like I was leaving home, to go home. As a good friend reminded me at the time, “we are lucky now, we have two beautiful homes”. And he is right.

Returning to Yorkshire again reminded me of why it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to in the world. And I have been to a few. I’m not sure there are many places that compare. Where folk actually talk proper. And without getting too sentimental, although it seems to be happening more as I get older, I have the best group of friends and family a person could wish for. Maybe an eclectic, diverse set of friends. And a hectic, on the edge of crazy, family. But I wouldn’t change any of them for the world. You guys are what make my trips.

Every day I was reminded of the importance of keeping your special friends in your life. And how those bonds grow stronger despite the distance between us. It may sound ironic coming from me, the guy who upped and left, all alone, as far away as he could possibly go, yet I have never lost touch with people. A phone call here, postcard there. And what we would do without FaceTime and Skype these days? My Easter got off to the best possible start with a call from home this morning.

I only had a couple of weeks at home, not really long enough to do everything I would like, but long enough to do many of the things I like. Need I mention the food? Those with a keen eye for detail will already know I have an obsession with fish & chips. And not the very inferior version I can get here in Australia. But I mean real, proper fish & chips, wi’ bits and curry sauce. A pot of tea and slice of bread on the side. Fellow diners in Blakeley’s of Brighouse may have thought I had just been released from a long stint in prison, at the rate I devoured my plate. Now THAT is what I am talking about.

Of course curries featured highly in my “diet”, as did Yorkshire puddings, and the now annual lamb dinner. Thanks sis, what a great day that was, even though I did end up driving and chauffeuring the more inebriated amongst us home.

Service at some of the eating establishments did baffle me, at times leaving me creased over laughing at the sheer absurdity of it. On one very memorable morning I thought we had wandered into Fawlty Towers, and I kept waiting for Manuel to pop out. Breakfasts were ordered, and arrived, upon which I thought, “hmm, quite an expensive breakfast to only receive 1 slice of toast”. The waiter then proceeded to tell us that more toast was on the way, it was in the toaster!

Now, I have not spent much time in the hospitality industry, but wouldn’t you wait until ALL the toast was ready, and THEN bring out the breakfasts?

It got better. I asked for some brown sauce, and he promptly returned with some, in a coffee cup!!!! Have you ever seen the like? The morning’s shenanigans didn’t end there. Half way through munching my toast, another young chap who worked there, approached me at the table, with a half eaten cake in a box, and said, “before you forget sir, your cake”. By this point I had fallen off my chair laughing. Just WHO did he think I was? And why would I have a half eaten cake in his restaurant? Good grief, I said take me home. There is only so much fun somebody can have in one morning.

One morning I definitely was not laughing was following a fantastic night out in Leeds. One in which catching the last train home was the target. The last train was at 11.20pm. It didn’t happen. Even with the female contingent bringing their posh handbags (which supposedly means they couldn’t POSSIBLY stay out late).

Cue a very funny night, finished by drinking England’s supply of champagne, coupled with some bizarre concoction that my sister insisted on adding to each drink. I think it may have been slightly off, maybe out of date, as I think that is why I was so ill the following day. Then again, getting a lift home off my sister, who took a speed bump so fast I thought we wouldn’t land until we hit Sydney, could have precipitated my downfall.

I was so green I could have hidden in a bowl of peas. And once getting in my own car, my attempt at the same said speed bump was hilarious. Trying to protect my delicate head, I rolled up to the bump so slowly that I didn’t get over it. I just hit it, and the car rolled backwards. It was going to be a VERY long day.

There are many other memories from that trip, way too many to cover in what has now become a very long post. I hope you are still with me. But needless to say, I had an amazing time, even saw a beautiful part of Yorkshire I hadn’t been to before, and had some amazing food. Thank you. Even if I won’t be adding Ripon to my list of “must see” places next time.

The usual heartfelt goodbyes signalled the end of this trip, not really knowing when I will next be in the country. So there is nothing else for it, it’s time to come the other way, to me. Get planning. Sydney awaits.

Well, once more, like my brief trip home, it is now time to wrap it up folks. I have to dash. I have a Pannini football World Cup sticker album to try and find.

Anyone for swapsies?