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Three months in Oz
December is our third month in Australia, which might be a suitable mini milestone from which to look back. Impressions below are Jan's.
The biggest surprise is probably that there aren't many surprises. The people in shops might be slightly friendlier than in London (but a lot friendlier than in the Netherlands), arranging a plumber is easier than in London, it has a car culture and the summers are hotter, but this was all expected. What did Australia bring that we hadn't expected? Two things stand out.
First, a significant Dutch influence is still visible for the trained eye. The local supermarket has a little shelf dedicated to Dutch delicacies, like chocolate sprinkles, drop, gevulde koeken, bokkepootjes, kanos, stroopwafels, taai taai poppen and German Pfeffernuesse. The local newsagent sells the Dutch Courier with news from all Dutch and Flemish organisations in Australia; there still exist a bewildering number of them, although most struggle to survive. The local crafts market has a stall selling poffertjes and a
poffertjes maker is a suitable christmas present available at Myers; apparently these little Dutch pancakes are becoming part of Australian culture. John van 't Schip has been appointed head coach for the second Melbourne franchise (think: football club without members) 'Melbourne Heart', which starts next season. And we are meeting many people with Dutch parents, although most wouldn't speak a word of Dutch. It must be a logical consequence of the Dutch being the 4
Second, it is a cliche, but Australia is remote. The Economist is delivered on Mondays instead of Fridays. In London, one can see plenty of cars with foreign licence plates, but in Melbourne it took Jan six weeks to spot a car with a New South Wales licence plate and only after two an a half month did we see a Queensland registration. Australians like to stay in their own state. The neighbours told us that the people previously living at our address had gone 'interstate', i.e. they had moved to another state within Australia. Obviously, as Victoria is already six times larger than the Netherlands, going interstate implies going a reasonable distance.
First week of December
During the start of December, we had lunch with
Great Aunt Jo and Great Uncle Pete and celebrated Leonie's birthday. Mum and dad also arranged a babysitter to have a night out. On Sunday 6th December, we
opened the Sint Nicolaas presents sent from Spain (via the Netherlands). Piet was delighted with a book on
100 vehicles and used his special pencils/crayons to make oma Bep a
drawing.
Emma has become more active in moving around on her tummy and pulling herself up.
Piet got a balance bike from oma as a late welcome-in-Oz present. Although his legs still don't yet reach the ground when he sits on it, he is happy to walk it anywhere, which still involves learning. We got a christmas tree and very soon we had the family get together to unwrap all our presents. Piet loved his Santa on motorbike, but the most exciting present of all was the tractor. Piet shared his joy with the rest of the family. Emma was also happy with her toy, but mentally she was already preparing to start crawling on the 14th December. Finally, we had a quiet backyard barbecue at Paul and Chantelle's as our second christmas get together.
Wednesday 16th December was the second severe bushfire day of the season with 38 degrees and hot north westerly winds, but the subsequent days were all mild mid twenties. Emma had a snooze on the sofa with dad. Piet is still exploring the garden with his balance bike. He even takes the steps down from the terrace. Getting back up with his bike is a lot more difficult, however.
As mum and dad went for a night out with mum's old London flatmates, who are now all back in Australia, Jo and Pete kindly came over to our place to babysit. Emma welcomed them at the door. Piet was so happy he had a new audience, he could not get enough of playing with blocks and balls with Pete. Bath did not pose the usual problem. Pete simply asked: "where is the bath?" and Piet was happy to show him around. In the meantime, his parents still get inundated with Piet's creative expressions from the nursury.
Oma Sheila 1918 - 2009
On the morning of christmas eve, Sarah's
grandmother Sheila (Gran)
passed away at the age of 91. She was diagnosed with cancer two months ago. Until three months ago she had been living independently with only help from a gardener. All her grandchildren and most of the fourteen great grandchildren (those old enough) fondly remember her hospitality. She never forgot a birthday or christmas card and always had tea and biscuits ready for visitors. She was burried on 30th December. All grandchildren and great grandchildren made a contribution to her memorial service in the old family church in Heidelberg. Her coffin was carried out by her two son-in-laws, her two grandsons and her two eldest great grandsons.
In this sad period, it is wonderful to see Emma, Gran's youngest great grandchild, developing. She is astonishingly lively and likes to stand in her playpen. Normally, we pull her up to standing, but sometimes she does it herself. When she is on the stone floor, we try to put a pillow behind her as she occasionally falls backward on her head. But she crawls around so much, that it is hard to keep up with the pillows. She is still coping with her brother, although he loves to push her over or slap her head.
Piet has become a real handful. In the past, when he was told off, he would probably throw himself on the floor and start crying, but he would generally obey his parents. No longer. He now sees being told not to do something as an encouragement to repeat it a few times and see what happens. He often ends up in his cot, which he hates. The 'terrible twos' have started six weeks early.
In terms of vocabulary, Piet is developping fast, as if he is learning a word a day. He can now pronounce his own name, but without the 't' and sometimes 'pay' instead of 'pee'. He uses it not only for himself, but also for everything he considers to belong to him. This creates another area of contention. He has also started requesting a nappy change. In the past, a nappy change was always an annoying interruption of his play. And he has become aware of his boy bits and their ability to wee. He often manages to get out of his baby bath and into the big bath to wee, avoiding fouling his bathwater. We now put him on his potty from time to time - just to sit and get a feel for it - and he likes it so far. In terms of play, he likes to put his toys 'to bed' by covering them with a blanket and putting a finger in front of his lips to indicate we should be quiet.
After chistmas, oma Leonie visited us to play with Piet, here in the Volvo, in which he loves to switch on the alarm lights. Aunt Kel and uncle Glenn stayed with us before the funeral. Mum and Emma keep watching what Piet does and on New Year's eve, London friend Saash came over for lunch with boyfriend Simon. The last two days of the year were over 35 degrees. Piet happily goes to sleep when his room is still 33 degrees, but Emma does not.
