This is a requested post about how my life has changed. How things here differ from my "previous life", what is good, what is not, what is challenging, what is simple. What I miss most about my life in my previous city.
I will compare Sydney and Prague. True enough, I stayed the summer in Finland but I think it will be more interesting to compare Australia and Czech Republic. Actually, this is a topic I often think about. So, how is my life different now?
The good thing is that I am in Europe again. I am closer to my family and I can book a flight to Finland and arrive there without having to travel 30 hours and transfer at least once. Moreover, if I ever decide to stay in another EU country for good, it is a lot less complicated than arranging residence permits and visas in a non-EU country. Long live free movement of people and goods in the EU area! I liked Australia, mostly the climate that is less harsh than in Europe, but Australia is absolutely too far from Europe. I cannot even imagine staying there long-term. I could hardly ever meet my family and friends. In addition to that it would be too difficult to arrange a working visa to Australia. I have a degree in international business and that's not one of the degrees preferred by Australian immigration office. I'll try again with better luck if I ever decide to become a doctor or a nurse... Highly unlikely.
What is worse then? Well, the salary, of course. It will take me a lifetime of work in Czech Republic to save the amount of money I saved in 6 months in Sydney. (OK, I always exaggerate a bit, but that's the general idea.) I miss understanding the language, too. In Australia I never had to worry about someone not speaking English, I was more worried about me myself not speaking English. It would be nice to be able to read the labels when I go grocery shopping. I just miss being able to read. I miss understanding the information boards, advertisement etc. I miss being an adult who can act as a part of the society, following the written instructions and announcements.
In all honesty, it is quite easy to find English speaking people here (except at the foreign police) but the fact remains that the official language is Czech and if you can't understand it, you'll always be an outsider. You might suggest I study Czech, but no. I have tried to study Russian and Polish and they were absolutely too difficult for me. It's the pronunciation that does me in. I lose my motivation because I cannot pronounce all those funny sibilants in Slavic languages, let alone hear the difference. Also, I have an 18-months contract with the possibility to extend but I am not sure if I will want to. Prague is nice but I cannot imagine staying here very long. No reason to study a new language just for 18 months or so.
Prague is quite international these days but it cannot beat Sydney. That's what I miss from Sydney. According to 2016 census, a typical New South Wales person has at least one parent who was born outside of Australia. No one is too different or too foreign in Sydney. I felt at ease there, being a foreigner. Sometimes in Prague the service is worse if you don't speak Czech. Maybe natural reaction but still unpleasant. Made me think about my experiences in South Korea and Japan where in general the service culture is stronger and you cannot really make a customer feel like she is a nuisance to you. Once I went to a hair dresser's in Seoul, but the lady there didn't speak English. She found me a translator- a lady next door who'd been living in US. That's service, isn't it?
Life in Australia was more interesting. People around me were changing all the time and with breathless horror I was waiting for another change in the dynamics of the room. We had fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, thieves stealing useless stuff. Even my cardigan got stolen. Well, it's not that I miss those kind of things but I have to admit it was interesting.
I loved my job in Australia, that's one more point to miss. I remember that Christmas time was too busy, working late and starting early, but other than that I was excited about my work. When the bus drove to the last roundabout before our street, I was usually full of energy and ready to start a new day. I liked the atmosphere in the workplace. I liked my colleagues and I miss them a lot. I miss walking to the bus station after work, miss going to the local restaurants and trying all kind of new foods, miss going to a shopping center nearby. Writing this post has made me realize that I am a "nostalgic" person. When I read my old blog posts I do remember that Australia was no paradise, but it's a blessing to only remember the good times, isn't it? I guess it takes more than a flight to actually move from a place to another. Nowadays we can travel faster than our minds can recover from the changes. My life moved on but inside my head I'm stuck in another time, another place. Maybe I should take a fresh approach on life: "I can't predict the future I don't care about the past". Life is here and now.
One more thing: I also miss the opportunities I didn't use while I was in Australia. I have the feeling I missed on a lot I never went anywhere or did anything much. I didn't go to that barista course I was planning to enroll on, didn't go to any lectures or lessons. I didn't do anything except go Saturday shopping in Queen Victoria Building, which I miss dearly. Plenty of stuff I don't really need there.
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