People & Places
Montoya's Australia Blog April 07
The Montoya family bring you right up to date with how life is progressing since their recent move to the Gold Coast area
G'Day again! Well what's happened in the last month?
In March I wrote that we had been living in the Gold Coast since the New Year. Things have been going well for us since we have been here. We have settled in our new surroundings very well, as have the kids - which is not surprising seeing as they have annual passes to Wet n Wild only five minutes from our home!
Work is going well, too, and even though I do travel around Australia a lot this does have its advantage, such as seeing other areas!
I write this account on the evening that my new NRL (National Rugby League) team, Gold Coast Tigers, take on the Brisbane Broncos: it's the game of the season so far! It may be a far cry from my beloved Tottenham Hotspur back in the UK, but it's a sport regardless and an excuse too have a few stubbies (beer)!
Now we are all settled here, Sydney seems a distant memory. However, I was there on business a couple of weeks ago and met up with some of our old neighbours. We had a great evening at the local Mean Fiddler ( a great Irish pub). A good night was had and it made me want to come back to Sydney. Funny how these things happen, although in saying that, we are really happy in QLD - I think it's just the fact that getting together with old friends brings it all back to you. We have now made more new friends up in QLD.
The kids have all settled well now, too. The schools are fine and they all love it. It's getting a bit cooler for them all now.
The summer has passed, along with its hot and humid 35 degree plus temperatures! Autumn is well and truly here now, which means 27 degrees on average in the day and cooler nights - around the 20 degree mark with no humidity.
Josh (11) is loving his soccer (football) playing for the Coomera Kolts in division 1. They are unbeaten for now, so he's happy. Lauren (13) my eldest, has managed to stay almost accident free for now, since her huge ordeal last year (see April edition of Emigrate Australia). Chloe (7) is just still sweet and innocent for now and just gets on with anything unfazed. Matthew (3) is officially an Aussie now as he has spent more time in Australia than the UK! All the kids have Aussie accents, it's quite funny really as Lin and I haven't at all!
You may remember me saying that my sister and two nieces were due out for a visit over Easter (pictured): the time had come and now just passed. It had been long build up which we were all looking forward too; after all, it was our first family visitors in 19 months of being out here in Australia.
Lin and I went to the airport to pick them up; it was a very happy occasion (unlike the departure). The kids met them all at home when we arrived, Tracy (my sister), Kayleigh and Sophie were all overwhelmed with it all, and they could not believe the lifestyle we had compared to the UK, not to mention the weather - I had to keep reminding them that it's autumn and not long till winter.
They stayed here for eight days; it was a short break for now, a return for the whole family late next year. It was an action-packed week with visits to parks, the zoo, beaches and boating, etcetera. I think the 500-plus photos taken have given them some great memories.
It really did not make us feel homesick, but it did make us realise how much we really missed family and all the occasions we had missed over the last 19 months.
The return trip to the airport was horrible, we all went together to say goodbye. Not a dry eye was around when we finally saw them off, it was a really sickening feeling which we knew was going to happen, but this did not soften the blow at all!
Tracy, Kayleigh, Sophie and all my family have held on to the good times we had and will do so for ever more until the next time. It took some 48 hours to get back to some normality and back to our familiar Aussie lifestyle, the same for Tracy, Kayleigh and Sophie too back in the UK.
So, if you're going to have family visits out here, be warned, it's hard to say goodbye, just like when you leave the UK, all those feelings open up again.
Well, the Titans are about to kick off and I need to be in front of the TV with a 'stubbie'. Will let you know the outcome next month…. Come on the Titans!
Goodbye for now…
Montoya's Down Under!
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