Hi! I'm Hazel....brand new to Oz. Been here 4 months now...I really do like it but I need to talk to other expats now and then just to share what I feel and to see whether some of you might feel similarly to me. I'm from South Africa and one of the crazy people who moved before even coming here on holiday! My husband came here for his work interviews and gave it the thumbs up..so my 6 yo daughter and I followed. I still can't believe we did it. We are in the process of applying for Permanent Residency. I don't want to go back to South Africa. But even so...sometimes I can't understand why people don't understand my English. English is my first language and I know I speak it properly, but it seems that I get many a "pardon"? And the weird thing is that it depends on who I'm talking to. Some Aussies have no problem understanding me while others really don't. I'm not used to being misunderstood...there are many British people in S. Africa and they never seem to struggle with my accent. I toyed with the idea of forcing an Aussie accent but it just won't "come" if you know what I mean. The thing I love most about Australia is how child friendly it is. I still get excited when I realise where I am in the world. I think it's the best decision we've ever made. Sorry this is so long.

Hi Hazel

Welcome to the Forum!

My first language is English too and I def get quite a few pardons - even from my best mate today (whos Aussie I got one!! ) - its just all part of the expat experience!

So whereabouts are you? We moved across from the UK 14 months ago and I've def had a lot of ups and downs emotionally. We're very glad that we made the move - whether we stay for good or not we're yet to know but for now we're happy. We were the same as you - came across with our daughter (6 at the time) after hubby was offered a job over here. We'd never visited before either - crazy isnt it!

Looking forward to keeping in touch.

Take care

Rach xxxx

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HI and welcome to a ggreat forum here!
I know what you are saying about the accent. I am from Zimbabwe and I have been to OZ a couple of times. A lot of our everyday terminology differs from the Australians, I found myself saying pardon a lot also - Barbies? NO it is Braais!

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Thanks for the welcome, Rach : -) Yip, know what you mean about ups and downs. Had a bit of a down today....I think each of us have our own *thing* that gets us down. Mine is all the red tape. I can't handle it maturely!!! UGH!!!! I get so frustrated that I start to cry and believe me: I am NOT a cryer. This kind of behavious is so unlike me...I'm not sure if they are angry tears or hopeless tears or whether I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I get so annoyed with myself for getting so cross because I feel I am a guest in Aus (until I get PR) and should therefore behave graciously. I get so worked up because I feel like I'm being argued with and I just feel that this red tape makes everyone's life more difficult. Sorry for this vent....can you tell I had and "incident" an hour ago? Maybe I just need to get used to the way things are done....maybe I'll be able understand the reason for the way things are done after Ive been here for 7 years, lol. I even feel like a trator saying bad things about a country that's been nothing but kind to me.

Sorry Rach....hit the reply button too soon...wasn't finished answering you. I am on the Gold Coast....where are you? Wow your story is basically identical to mine. Does your daughter love Oz like mine does?

Thanks Bob for the welcome :-)

Hey Peterc, you probably have the same accent as mine!
So are you still in Zim now? Some words come easier to me than others...barbie I can do lol....but there are others that took a while (yeah; round-about instead of traffic circle; jumper instead of jersey). The most confusing one of all was and actually still is LOLLIES for any kind of sweets. So that would make what I call an ice lolly an ice block even though it's not exactly the shape of a block....okay I'm splitting hairs here....but my daughter kept coming home from school saying she had an ice block so I thought it must be that they give the kids actually ice blocks from the freezer...you know the ones we put in our drinks? I thought it was a bit strange but thoughtful of them at the same time seeing as it gets so hot on the Gold Coast. Oh and I just can't remember to say thongs instead of flip flops.

Hi Hazel

I think those tears are just tears of frustration and exhausted nerves! Immigration plays havoc with your nerves and your emotions are all over the place. I'm NOT a cryer either but good god I've had some pretty low days when I could have just cried all day long.....not about anything in particular....just built up frustration.....worry.....and being unsettled.......all normal though apparently!

Yep my daughter absolutely loves it too - any mention of moving back to the UK fills her with absolute horror!!

We're in NSW - an hour West of Sydney (and its flamin cold right now!!!)

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Thanks very much for those words of reassurance, Rach. i know you know what you're talking about since you've been here so much longer than me. Can you say when these feelings disappear? It's so weird because I'll be fine for weeks and then something just sets me off.

Looks like you have to stay if your daughter is so happy :-) So you're freezing there? Here it's still like the end of summer...I'm still wearing summer clothes if you can believe that.

I wish I could say a time scale Hazel but to be honest I cant. I think it is something that you just have to get used to for a while. I still have good and bad days and have been told that '2 years' is the amount of time you need to wait for this to pass. I feel a lot better than when I first arrived though so hopefully that makes you feel a bit better!

Still not sure if we will stay. At the moment theres nothing in particular drawing us back to the UK but who knows (dont tell my daughter that though!! ;-))

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