Living in Australia

Coming from a different country like the Philippines with different family background and upbringing was very stressing for me when i decided to come and live with my husband in Australia. It was a huge step, not only that i will be living far away from friends, but also, i will be getting far away from my parents and siblings.

I arrived in Australia last November 2005 together with my 6 months old daughter. Not knowing what our life would be was a big challenged. 

I was frightened at first when we got out of the Airport. Now, we are in the different country with different race, background and  lifestyle. We will be living with my mother-in-law until we could get our own place to live. There were too many questions came through my mind. Two of which were:

*How will i adjust and accept the new lifestyle that i am in?
*How can i cope up when i get home sick?

I was very dependent to my husband, every time i do something or want to go somewhere i have to asked him to drive me, not like in the Philippines where i came from, if i wanted to go to the shop i would just walk up to the road and catch a public transport (Jeepney).  No need to wait for too long to get a ride because there is always another jeepney after the other. The first 3 month living here was a struggle because i really missed everyone at home. I was so lonely, although i have my mother-in-law whom i could talked to, but it was so different speaking your own dialect and talking to family member.


Looking back from the day we arrived, i realized that living in another country wasn't that bad after all. Now, I have many friends and acquaintances in different races and family backgrounds. I have learned  to be more independent. I take everyday as a new challenge not only for me but with my own family. I now call Australia a home away from home.