Lately when I catch up with or meet new people, the question I get asked most is this:
How’s Melbourne treating you?
(or a variant of this)
Aside from ‘Great, it’s been wonderful’, I feel compelled to expound on what I’ve liked and disliked, my initial struggles with government bureaucracy (yes, they exist here too), as well as my challenges with larger portion sizes of meals.
But in reality, it’s been so overwhelmingly positive. Life is good.
Life is beautiful.
Ben and I are enjoying our lives as well as our plans in life. I feel connected to strong support systems—in person or remote. I’m in a good place in my career. We’re both in good health.
Our social calendars give us something to look forward to in the next several weeks—whether it’s dinner with friends, running mundane errands and chores, or looking forward to some event (we have geocaching in the woods planned, as well as a swanky night with cocktails at the National Gallery of Victoria). Things like that.
Just this morning I had an initial consultation with an optometrist in Melbourne—I haven’t had my eyes properly checked in what felt like years. I think the doctor was politely, and quietly taken aback when I told him I change my contact lenses (my actual lenses, not prescription) every two years. Yeah, I said it. But I’ll have you know, my eyes are apparently perfectly healthy!
And I just find the motions of life enjoyable. I enjoyed the rainy morning tram ride on the way to the optometrist. I enjoy the laidback Fridays at my work. Last week we had a celebratory welcome-back lunch and I met many of my colleagues for the first time. It was nice. It felt great.
In my heart of hearts, I tell Ben that I have not had it this good in life, that I feel like it must be balanced somehow—that perhaps God is planning something, or preparing me for some insurmountable heartache, or some adversity my way.
Ben tells me that I’ve gone the other end of Christian heresy—that I cannot even trust my Creator to have good intentions when He gives me so much.
It’s not all perfect, I admit. My heart still aches whenever people ask me if we plan on having cats here, when we’ve left two beloved cats in the Philippines. And Ben and I could go on at length to anyone who’d listen about the struggles of trying to conceive. (It’s a bit of a sore point for us, but most people have been very kind and sensitive.)
I suppose it also comes with Melbourne’s gradual ‘return to normal’. Lockdown only lifted last October 29th. Combined with my place as a new immigrant I kind of… just got excited booking things for myself:
- Dentist (cleaning and a check for caries in my lower wisdom teeth that my ortho in the Philippines told me to watch out for, when I last saw her in June)
- Haircut (Melbourne’s top-rated salon, called Aery, is fully booked this month! So I went with LUXM Hair). I kind of looked for salons that did Asian hair well.
- Sugaring. Nakakaiyak yung presyo. In Manila I’d only pay PHP 650 for underarms and a half-leg. Here I’m looking at like AUD 85. I don’t know why I don’t mind the Australian costs for food, doctors and haircuts pero kapag ito parang hindi ko tanggap.
- GP. The medical… system feels different here, in that in the Philippines I never really had a GP. I didn’t need a referral from a GP to see a specialist. I just kind of walked into a clinic of a doctor I thought I needed to see. So now I’m booked for Ben’s GP. I’ll need her referral at least before I can commence seeing my preferred dermatologist, as well as our preferred fertility specialist.
Aside from these, I’m finally able to go to church again! As a Catholic, it is my obligation to go to mass on Sundays. But it’s also an anchor that keeps my life in place. It keeps me good, responsible, and going through my days in a good frame of mind.
I also went to confession again. I think the last time was during Lent. It has been a while. The priest put me as ease when he noticed me looking nervously at my list of sins. He also gave me an interesting penance—not the usual prayers but something of an exercise in mindfulness, as well as combating procrastination.
So yes, life has been good and kind and generous. I try to give back, as though to frantically pay it forward to make sure I deserve the blessings that have come my way. I know the Lord’s mercy does not work that way… But still, I want to reassure myself that I’m doing my part to make the world a better, kinder place… I know I speak from a place of privilege—the world is much kinder when you are in that place.
To the people I love and who might be reading this—I’m praying that you are well, that you are carried through your difficulties, and kept safe from distress. Let’s catch up soon.
How shall we love this heart-strong God who gives us everything,
whose ways to us are strange and odd: what can we give or bring?
Acceptance of the matchless gift is gift enough to give.
The very act will shake and shift the way we love and live.
Hymn by Thomas H. Troeger