Nicole's Adventures

As I fly out of Australia tomorrow for a holiday in Portugal, Italy and one day in Singapore, I thought I would quickly reflect upon my first year in Australia. It has definitely been a challenging year in some aspects, but at the same time really rewarding. I have gained a lot of skills in a variety of things. A lot of Australians ask me the things  I like better here than in the US, so here are a few! Healthcare: They have a public healthcare system, which covers everyone. Yes they also have private health insurance but for people who cannot afford to have private health insurance, they can still be treated and not go bankrupt due to an illness or disease. Prescriptions are so cheap.. heck even saw on the news this morning that they are going to try and make a bill pass so unchanged prescription meds, and referrals to specialist would no longer be necessary if it is an ongoing condition because they analyzed that a lot of money and time was wasted due to appointments for th...

September 19th is when I entered Australia last year and it has been quite a whirlwind. I had a lot of ups and downs over the year but obviously so happy that I had the opportunity to come here on and enjoy my working holiday visa. Being in a totally new place with very few connections and very few friends made me push myself to find work, a house, and a little group of friends. Not to mention a few expeensive mishaps and a very pricey start to my job.  I would not have pushed through my time in Melbourne if it weren't for Ultimate Frisbee Friends that I have made here.  They are the best so welcoming, and now have helped me to find a wonderful wonderful man.... Sooo what is next? After returning from an incredible holiday in Hawaii with  my family, Melbourne had lots of visa stress in store for me. Joel and I started planning a while back about figuring out a way for me to stay in Melbourne one more year, if I couldn't stay, it would be a complicated year apart. We we...

In the blink of an eye, it's already July. Again, it is such a strange feeling because it feels like Christmas should be any day now with the backwards seasons, days are super short, the cold, snow in the higher areas of Victoria. No better way to confuse the girl who hasn't been home for Holidays in ages and been skipping out on winters for a few years now. For a sun worshipping, desert dwelling lover, the Melbourne winter has been less than desirable. It's no Korean winter, however the rain, the cold, the wind, and super early darkness have me missing anything about warmth and summer.  Which is why I am literally counting down the days until I leave for Hawaii.. 16 more days! My family is blessed to have the opportunity to celebrate Cody's graduation from law school from the University of Arizona in May. He has already landed a full time job and will take the bar exam after our trip in Hawaii. Meeting the family in Hawaii will work out perfectly as it's as half...

Life has gotten pretty quick. It seems like I am always on the move and never at home. In some ways I love that, but I'm definitely missing the down time to make lots of yummy food, netflix time, and my super awesome home workouts. You can probably guess pretty easily what has been taking my time? Number one is work. Number two is frisbee. Number three is friends. Number 4 is a mixture of everything else!  Best bathroom mirror ever? I think so! My womens team, Bauhaus has really taken a big commitment to all the practices in the middle of the day Sunday and all the other time I dedicate to practising throws and stuff. Sometimes I laugh because I spend all this time on how to best throw a piece of plastic... but then again I think it brings me just as much joy as skating did, in many different ways, but in some ways, similar. Being able to escape everything and just put your head in the game is such a gift of sport and most types of exercise. Hopefully I can be one of t...

Katy and I at our Turkey Day Potluck Work did pick up a lot in December. I was really busy with filling in for lots of different shifts which was good.. However, it really made me think more on getting a scooter. Because of the different locations of my shifts it would make life so much easier and quicker with a car. Work can be difficult or draining sometimes because doing personal care for someone who wants something done in a particular way, but sometimes isn't always best able to explain how they want it done can be tiring. I do have one client who I really enjoy, but it takes me a while to get to him so I'll only agree to work with him on a Sunday or if I'm already on a shift with another client. He loves watching Aussie Football and can talk about it for ages. I usually just cook dinner for him, and then help him with laundry, and eating that dinner. On top of a busy time at work, I had Nicole and Diana, two of my German friends staying with me until they could...