First year in the US



Midtown Atlanta: our "secret garden"

Today is the anniversary of my first year in Atlanta US. I’m feeling quite mixed because time has flown by so fast and it doesn’t feel at all like I’ve been away from home an entire year. I still almost feel like I’m on vacation since Will and I travel so much and explore every chance we get. But when I realize that I have been away from home an entire year it makes me sad and suddenly I’m feeling pensive and missing home very much.

Some of the major things I miss (aside from the obvious friends and family) are random things that I never would have expected to! Like sausage rolls or being called “love.” I often miss living close to the beach and picture the sea spray caressing my skin or inhaling the salty air. I remember how strange it seemed to me the first time I flew over America that cities stood in the middle of land mass without a coastal outline anywhere in sight, just like ant hills in a desert; and it almost made me feel trapped since I have never lived more than a half hours’ drive from an ocean.

Of course I’d met Americans back in Aus but never suspected there would be such a cultural difference between us. It’s just wide enough to ensure my automatic gravitation towards anyone Australian in the US and feel a bond of friendship even if they turn out to be a real tosser!  At least we have the same sense of humor and understand what it is to crave things like “normal” bbq sauce, bacon, lattes and a decent cup of hot tea. We know what it is to occasionally forget to tip hairdressers, sales assistants and other people who are already paid to do their work; or how to laugh at ourselves when we've made a really great joke, as well as the pleasure of not having to explain that Kath and Kim or Steve Irwin were a gimmick – and not how most Aussies actually behave!


Photo credit: emerils.com



I guess more than anything I miss familiarity – and predictability. It’s so unsettling when you can’t predict basic things like dress codes (everyone in the South dresses WAY up for football games and sports bars!) and food presentation (this is an American “chicken salad sandwich” – it’s an actual chicken-salad). Of course a lot of that is starting to stick but often when we do eat out Will tells me “don't order that – it’s not what you think it is.”

 Reflecting upon my first year, I would definitely say my highlights have been: my gorgeous apartment and lifestyle in Midtown Atlanta, my mini poodle Baxter who Will bought as a companion for me within the first week of our arrival, my 1st white Christmas and snowed-in day, the amazing experience of seasonal changes, baseball at the stadium, my professional photo shoot for my fav boutique My! My! My! in Atlanta (which is now featured on their website!!), trips to NY Fashion Week and the privilege to meet and work with the most amazing, elegant and inspirational women’s’ (old-school European) couture designer: Nina Gleyzer.


Spring blossoms Midtown Atlanta
Baxter and I

Although I feel homesick and pensive with "I still call Australia home" stuck in my head; I have enjoyed my first year in the US immensely. My favourite places have so far been: New York City, New Orleans, Biloxi, Fort Worth and College Station Texas. I will expand on why I loved these places and more of my travel highlights during the week. For now I will wrap up and go to dinner to celebrate: happy anniversary to me.