Australia is the most hospitable place I've ever been

Have you ever been to a new city on vacation, for a new move, or otherwise and had that pain in the pit of your stomach about how well you'll be accepted and welcomed into the community?  Likely you've done a bit of research before arriving to learn the customs so as not to offend and make sure you don't stand out too badly.  You don't need to worry about that when you come to visit us in AU.  I've been astounded by the hospitality in this country.  From the warm welcome that David's co-workers have offered us (and I mean warm!  What a fun bunch!) to the time I had in Melbourne getting to know our AU HQ I'm happy and relieved to say I'm so comfortable here!

Don't get me wrong, there are many things that locals take for granted that we foreigners must learn.  For example, how does one write down a telephone number?  When given a number via phone, sure you can string the numbers together but just wait until you're asked to write a number in an email.  Where on earth do you put the spaces??  Here there are known tricks like dropping a leading zero when dialing internationally.  Cell phone numbers have 12 numbers.  Local phones have 8 numbers.  Hotline numbers (what's a hotline number??) have 6 numbers.  800 #'s have 13 characters... you get the picture.  How confusing!  

Another tricky thing is with language.  Sure we all speak English but different words are used for things:  Arugula lettuce = rocket; Red pepper = capsicum; Dude/guy = bloke; Football = "footie" = soccer, rugby (league or union) or Australian rules football (AFL) depending on who you're talking to and in what part of the country.  (Try being one of the only women in a sales office - I'm going to need to learn the teams and rules of all of these sports in order to have a conversation with anyone!)  Coffee = cafe = espresso, flat black, cappuccino (no more light-medium roast drip coffee for me!) The list goes on.  I've been mistaken for a Canadian more than once - when offering the correction I try to explain calling me a Canadian is like me assuming an Aussie is a Kiwi (New Zealander). ;)   

We're starting to learn about wine here (don't worry, there will be lots of trial and error during our stay ;))  So far we've learned the Barossa Valley in South Australia is an amazing region for Shiraz.  Note to self when visiting Total Wine in Atlanta ;)  

Like David, I feel as though we're on vacation.  Not sure how long that feeling will last but we're both looking forward to getting settled into an apartment and making it feel like ours.  Time to "nest" now that the wedding is over ;)

We miss you all!  

Smiles,

Linds