The Wave of Adjusting to a New Culture

I continue to ride the wave of adjusting to a new culture.

Anyone that has ever lived abroad at least once in their life knows what I am talking about…

Obviously, Australia is a relatively easy place for an American to settle into. We speak the same language. Both nations are westernized, developed and have high standards of living. Plus, Aussies are totally awesome at making you feel welcome and are an extremely friendly, caring, and helpful lot of people.

Settling into a new country is kind of like riding a rollercoaster. I wish there was a better analogy for it, but you can understand what I mean.

There are moments when you are feeling on top of the world and marvel about how cool and “different” your life is from most peoples’ lives. You feel autonomous and proud that you are able to adapt to something so different than what you are used to. Going down an unconventional path is always fulfilling and certainly reinforces that your life is to be free of monotony and will almost always contain some sort of daily adventure.

And then there are times when you constantly question whether or not you’ve made the right choice. There are moments of disequilibrium when you worry about money and jobs and (for me) the adjustment of moving from full-time professional to full-time student. Our life in Minneapolis was truly wonderful and we were quite happy with it. Life here is good, but it’s still very difficult, as we do not feel not totally settled yet. We arrived here with two suitcases a piece and two carry-ons. Our only purchase for our home here so far has been a French press. I can’t even begin to think about the cost of setting up our new home!

The cost of living in general is pretty harsh on us right now. We lost a lot of money turning our US dollars into Aussie dollars, due to the poor exchange rate. When Justin and I started the plan to move to Australia, the exchange rate was
USD $0.75=AUD $1.00. Currently, that exchange rate is USD $1.08=AUD $1.00. To top it off, Melbourne is now in the Top Ten for most expensive cities to live in, in the entire world… Youch!

We’ll survive it, I am sure. But I will be the first to admit that it is pretty difficult going from not having to really worry about money (regarding the cost of basic items for survival- food, rent, etc.) to having to learn to budget again. Good thing that I like to eat rice and that the tap water here tastes pretty good. Expenses that we used to never need to bat an eye at (a weekend away in Chicago, freshly squeezed orange juice, a yoga membership) now take careful consideration or complete omission. Hopefully when I am studying, it will provide a big enough distraction from my current inability to buy new shoes. Here’s to hoping!