are there any ex pats or former ex pats out there?

[red crayon]

wow, i get to start the first thread in a brand new forum! it's like having a party and hoping people will come.

are there any other aussie parents on bubhub who are currently living overseas? where are you living? how did you come to be there?

are there any former ex pats around? where did you once live? how did you find it?

[red crayon]

yay, thanks for joining me, princess niamh. ireland would have been fabulous. where were you living? why do you think you'll go back? i'm nosy too.

i'm in hanoi and we've been here for nearly 15 months. my partner is working on an HIV/AIDS project here so we'll be here until july next year.

[red crayon]

goodness, dublin is more expensive than sydney??!!

hanoi is completely different. it's taken me a while but i've gotten to like it. unlike dublin or sydney, it's very cheap. it's easy to get around and generally on the safe side. having a child here is interesting. spencer is a blue-eyed blond and gets lots of attention. sometimes it can drive me mad but most of the time i find myself meeting new people and slowly improving my very ordinary vietnamese. my biggest complaint is that, beyond eating and shopping, there's not a lot to do. i miss the range of activities there are for kids in australia.

what do you miss most about dublin?

[Rachel&Emma]

Hey Spencersmum I'm in Hong Kong. I've been here for four years. I'm a teacher and we decided to pack up and leave. I have a four month old daughter called Emma. :smiliedance: Where did you have Spencer?

[red crayon]

hi rachel, where are you living in hong kong? i've got a girlfriend living with her two kids in discovery bay. are you enjoying HK?

i had spencer in melb. my partner signed his work contract a couple of days after i gave birth! spencer was two and a half months when we moved here. what about you? where did you have emma?

[Rachel&Emma]

I live in the New Territories which is basically the 'sticks' of Hong Kong. I do enjoy being here. I had Emma here in Hong Kong. We're going home for a holiday in July and I'm concerned about the long flight. Any advice?

[red crayon]

kids aren't too bad to fly with at 4-6 months. toddlers are nightmares. most airlines will put you in the bulkhead when you have a baby and you can then use a bassinet. spencer's never been a big one for the plane bassinets but some kids do okay in them. the one downer is that you will probably be asked to take emma out of the bassinet when there is turbulence. if emma using a dummy, take one on the plane for take-offs and landings.

[MariaO]

So how often do you get back to Australia Spencersmum? And how much longer will you be in Hanoi?

I would say it would be a fascinating place.

I am sort of an expat at the moment, even though husband isn't. I have lived out of Ireland - oh Lordy - nearly 20 years - well 18 years - where does the time go.

I mainly lived in England but had a couple of years in Switzerland. I can vouch for Dublin being as dear as Sydney.

[red crayon]

hi MariaO,

i try to visit melb about every 6 months. i'll be back in 2 weeks - yay. spencer is the only grandchild on my side so i try to get as much grandchild/grandparent time in as i can. i haven't yet convinced my parents to come and visit. my brother and his partner came last year and loved it. hanoi is an interesting place. everything happens on the streets. it's great to walk around and watch all the activity. we live across the road from Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum which is very popular place for both the Vietnamese and tourists so our street always busy. today is mayhem - there are buses double-parked on one side of the road causing huge traffic jams. and if you've ever visited vietnam, you'll know the traffic is another topic all together.

Maria - what do you miss about Ireland? where did you live in England? what was switzerland like? such a beautiful country.

[MariaO]

I mainly miss family but also walking around Dublin City, weekends down the country during the Irish 'summer' - mind you that has become hideously expensive now. I miss Irish pubs as well, maybe because I grew up there, I always find them very friendly and relaxed. Ireland is going through such huge changes mind you, for the first time they are dealing with immigration rather than Irish people emigrating and there are a lot of teething problems. There is a lot of racism that I hope will die with exposure and time. Ooh - I love the radio there as well - always very entertaining (not the music channels, the old fogie grown up channel). you get a great feel for what is going on in the country by listening to RTE for a day or so.

I lived just out side London in Woodford, Essex. It was still on the underground though so was an easy commute in and out of London. I still love London even though I was ready for a change. When we go back to Ireland for holidays I will always try and fit a stint in London in to visit friends.

I love Switzerland, a beautiful country. I lived there for about 2 years in the mid-nineties for work. We lived in Zurich and I was part of a fairly large project so there was plenty of other ex-pats to socialise with. We became very close and a lot of us are still good friends.We had great fun there - skiing every weekend in Winter, taking trips all over the place in summer. I still have friends there so we used to go there at least once a year anyway for either a walking weekend in the mountains or a drinking lots of wine on my friend Heidi's balcony.

[red crayon]

sounds like heaven, maria. i keep saying to my partner that he needs to get some development work in europe but he just rolls his eyes at me.

rachel - does emma get lots of attention from the people in HK?

[Rachel&Emma]

Hi Jacqui

Yes she definitely does. Sometimes it drives us crazy and we close the lid on her pram. She certainly gets used to people staring at her. They always comment on her skin, eyes and hair. The locals are not backwards in coming forawrds. How about you and Spencer? Is it the same in Vietnam?

[red crayon]

oh yes. most of the time spencer loves it and actively flirts and enjoys the attention. this morning though he was tired and was pushing people's hands away and getting irritated. i'm okay with the attention most of the time. do you get any unwanted advice about what you should be doing with emma eg she should have a hat on, she's hungry, you should feed her??

[Rachel&Emma]

Oh definitely. More so when I was pregnant. Now they mostly ask if she's cold. I find this bizzare as it's boiling and humid now. It was a great joke when I was pregnant but really wearing at times. Don't eat watermelon. Walk. Don't walk. Only eat one quarter of an orange a day. No octopus. (Not for seafood reasons but my baby would end up all arms and legs like an octopus if I did) I really should have written them all down. No chocolate, coffee or coke. (My baby would turn out with brown skin. Can't have that!!!!:banghead: )

[OceBel]

we lived in brussles from 2002-2004. found in quite rough living there, with language barriers, and the cold winter and freeze, the cost of living, finding work, and me not having any family there at all. i had my dd there. so glad im back home though.

[MariaO]

I worked in Antwerp for a few months so visited Brussels a bit, I was lucky though, a friend of my sisters was working there for the EU (or some associated lobby group) and he introduced me to quite a few people. It can be very difficult meeting people in a new place, especially with a language barrier.

Spencersmum, Have you met many people in Hanoi, Are you learning the language at all or can you survive alright without doing so?

[red crayon]

OceBel - i didn't have such a great time here to begin with. i'm not great with change and becoming a new mum and then moving to a totally different culture really did my head in. it can be tough in another country and away from family and friends. i have to say bubhub really helped me last year.

MariaO - i'm meeting more people this year. we've moved house and are closer to some of the ex pat ghettos. i've cracked a couple of mothers groups which has made a huge difference. my neighbours are all locals and are really friendly - our big problem is the language barrier. i'm learning a little as i go but i'm now really keen to learn more. my vocab centres on buying food at the market, and answering questions about spencer. i'd like to know more so i can talk to my neighbours.

Rachel - they are classics! the differences in the approaches in child-rearing is fascinating. i'd love to write about it. we've had some funny experiences, especially when spencer was a baby. i get less of the advice now that he's older. the beliefs about the cold are interesting too. i remember spencer having the hiccups and someone advising me that it meant he was cold.

[Rachel&Emma]

Just realised that my comment about brown skin might offend some. For those of you who are unaware, the Chinese are extremely obssessed with white skin. Most of the Chinese ladies I know spend thousands of dollars on skin whitening products. They never go out in the sun and always take an umbrella with them to shield themselves from it. Kinda cracks me up as most women I know from Aus tend to do the opposite (although not with kids). As always I'm generalising I am aware that there are exceptions to everything. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that no offense was meant. This is the most blatantly racist place I've ever been to. People are judged on their skin colour. Anyway, enough of that.

OceBel - It was really interesting to read your comment about language. It's something that I deal with every day. I understand exactly what you're going through. I'm glad you've found some other expats. It helps so much to have someone who speaks your language near you and even better if you find someone from your own country. That's like winning the lotto!

Jacqui - I haven't had the hiccup comment yet. Although I don't think Emma's had the hiccups outside yet. I'm sure we could write a book if we put down all the ideas of the Vietnamese and Chinese. Some of their views are so different from ours.

Maria - I don't think you'll ever lose your feelings for your home country. It's pretty incredible. How often to you get back there?

[MariaO]

I have been back once since we came here. The plan is to go back every year, I spent six weeks in Ireland at the start of the year. I was just talking to Andrew about this the last night, I want it to be a little more often, we will see how that works out.

My mother used to carry an umbrella, or wear a big hat when she was out in the sun as a kid. In Ireland!! But, in her family, the sisters who loved the sun (such as it was) look way older than the ones that shunned it. Mind you, that is dry celtic skin I suppose.

It is good to speak a little of the language isn't it. Much more so in Hanoi I am sure. We learnt Restaurant German, because we could get away with it I suppose. When I look back, I should have made more of an effort to learn a language when the opportunity presented itself. Easy to say after the event of course. Will you be there for a few years or do you know yet Spencersmum?

[jas]

hi rachel&emma
I had my dd in hong kong too at the union hospital in shatin..where did you go?
I am back in oz now after 3 years away, 2 in hong kong, 1 in shenzhen (so bad)
It was funny reading the comments you got i got them all too, as well as dont drink cold water and to put posters up of pretty babys so my baby would be pretty?? Did any of your collaeuges try and make you eat pigs blood soup ?? supposed to be excellent after child birth!!!!:barf:
/

[Rachel&Emma]

Jas
What a laugh. I forgot about the picture comments. One of the pregnant ladies at work has put a picture of Emma on her desk so she will have a cute baby. Ahhh the cold water. Stay away from it, it's dangerous. It brings back so many crazy memories. A Chinese friend offered to make me that soup (which is actually quite an honour as it takes about a month to make) but I politely declined. I have tried it though! How could you spend a year in Shenzhen? I love the shopping there, but I don't think I'd cope living there. I had Emma in Tuen Mun hospital.

Maria
Lucky you to get home so often if you can mange every six months. I go back about once every eighteen months. But I do have quite a few visitors through the year. Hong Kong's excellent shopping is a big drawcard. I guess the difficulty for you is that Ireland and Australia couldn't really be any further apart. It must take at least a day to get there.

[red crayon]

hi fellow ex pats/former expats. i've just had a lovely long weekend at hoi an, a very nice beach resort town near danang. hot as hell but very nice. it's been interesting reading all the different beliefs regarding child birth and babies. i'd love to chronicle all of them one day. all cultures have them...i mean, how many of us have down the ring on a string thing to predict whether we are having a boy or a girl. are there any in ireland, maria?

going to back to what rachel said about whitening agents in cosmetics...vietnamese women are also very careful about keeping their faces and arms out of the sun. they always wear hats outside or use umbrellas. when they are on their motorbikes, they wear long sleeved shirts or long flesh covered gloves. pretty smart. i wasn't too careful about my skin last year so i'm making sure i wear a hat and sunscreen this year. the whitening stuff in moisturiser is a bit of a pain. i'd prefer to wear moisturiser with an SPF so i usually stock up when i'm in oz. on the more personal side, rach, are you able buy tampons in HK??

[jas]

waaa yeh shenzhen was a pretty awful place to live espc. with a toddler still it was def. a life experience :laughing: and im am so much more thankful for my life in australia, when things get bad now i always say to my dh " well at least we arent in china anymore"

Hi spensersmum, No i wasnt able to get tampons in either china or hong kong and desperatly missed them i used to stock up on trips home but the funny thing is now after not using for so long i cant imagine using them again!! (not that i need them right now:D )

I just remembered a funny story.. when I was in thailand i had dinner in a thai friends family home and the granny was there, she wasnt expecting me and seemed quite rude, but she rushed in to the bathroom and put talc powder all over her face and came back out in a much better mood.. i think she was embarressed i would think her skin was to brown!! My friends sister had a BEAUTIFUL baby girl and i couldnt stop saying how cute she was but granny didnt agree she kept saying "No not pretty to dark"...it was so sad!

[Rachel&Emma]

I can get tampons! But I have been here for four ears now. I do remember crying to my husband because I couldn't find any and pads are so messy. I'm a little like Jas now though. I've used pads for so long I only occassionally use tampons. Hey Jas did you get the comments about be unhappy because you had a girl. I get a bit sick and insulted of it. Then they proceed to ask me if my husband is disappointed because I had a girl. Since I've had Emma, I couldn't imagine having a boy. What do you do with all those dangly bits?!!:laughing: I had Emma at Tuen Mun hospital. Not an experience I want to repeat in a hurry.

[red crayon]

ah, rachel, you get used to the dangly bits. i'm going back to melb for 4 weeks on monday and my mum was telling me yesterday about the banana situation in australia. boy, is spencer in for a rude awakening. he is addicted to bananas which i buy at the market down the road for about 50 cents a kilo. not only is he unlikely to get any bananas but it's also not the season for mangos - his other favourite fruit. the mangos in vietnam are sensational. just the juiciest and best tasting mangos ever. and cheap. how do you find buying fresh fruit and veg, rach?

[Rachel&Emma]

My Dad was stunned at the price of bananas here when he came. All fresh fruit and vegies are dirt cheap at the markets. The more I go back to Australia, the more I am amazed at how anyone can survive there. Nappies are less than half price here. I plan to take enough nappies and formula for four weeks when I go back in July as I don't think I can afford them in Australia. We're going to just miss one another in Melbourne. I go on the 13th July. What are you do in regards to warm clothing for Spencer? I went to a market and bought Emma a sleeping bag so hopefully she'll be warm when she sleeps. I really worry about the cold nights. She'll be going from obscene heat (which she hates) to extreme cold. I discovered an awesome clothes market here. I paid $6 Hong Kong for a little Osh Kosh jumpsuit for my new nephew. That's about $1 Australian. This market rocks!!! I actually came home on a shopping high. I'm dragging my husband back there so I'll have more arms to carry all the stuff I want to buy. Things must be pretty cheap in Vietnam. Are they? In Hong Kong, local knowledge gets you everywhere.

[red crayon]

shopping in hanoi is good fun. i have a fruit and veg street market down the road which is go to. the women who run the stalls are great. the woman i buy my fruit from has taken it upon herself to help me learn my numbers. i go to supermarket for the groceries and can buy imported stuff like vegemite and weetbix but it tends to be expensive. kids' clothing is cheap although there's a far better range of little girls' clothes than little boys. i recently bought spencer a pair of sandals for 30,000 vietnam dong which is just under $3 AUD. gotta love that.

i'm looking forward to being in the cold. it's pity we are going to miss each other, rachel. i've packed all the winter stuff i have for spencer and i'll be borrowing clothes from my girlfriends who have kids. i'll need to buy warm shoes for him because all he has at the moment are sandals.

there's been news reports lately about the pollution levels in HK. How do you find it?

[Rachel&Emma]

The pollution in Hong Kong is incredible. On public holidays when the factory workers in China get the day off, it clears. Chinese New Year is the best time as they get a week off. I'm so excited about going home for a while. I haven't been back for a year and I don't think I'll be going again for ages.

[flower]

I must say I'm thinking of cherry blossoms and maple leaves in a whole new light these days...almost fondly...just dont send me back there!

[flower]

I live in the New Territories which is basically the 'sticks' of Hong Kong.

I've been to those sticks R&E Mum and I really enjoyed it there. Its a different flavour altogether. Yes..its a little further..but taxis do the job nicely.

[Rachel&Emma]

Yeah. We wanted the 'Asian' experience so chose not to live where all the expats live. Like all things that choice has it's pros and cons.

[red crayon]

we tried the asian experience last year for the same reasons, rachel, and lived in a real suburban vietnamese area. i found it too isolating in the end and we moved at the start of this year. we still not in the middle of all the ex pats but are closer than we were before. how are you finding it?

[brisbanegirl]

Hi there - new to this forum. My husband and I moved to Shanghai last September and fell pregnant in February - expecting our first child on 25 November. I am going back to Australia to have the baby but am having regular check ups here. The biggest annoyance while pregnant here is that I can't find out the sex of the baby due to China's one child policy. Also, when we had our 20 week ultrasound done last week, I couldn't see the monitor! Only my husband and the technician were able to see the screen - I had to rely on my husband telling me what was going on! Bizarre practices in China!!! Look forward to talking more with you over the next few months.

[red crayon]

hi brisbanegirl - i have a girlfriend living in hong kong and who was pregnant with her second while living there. she had huge problems with gestational diabetes and clashed with her chinese doctor over the required diet to treat it. the differences in opinions and approaches is fascinating and sometimes annoying. you have to laugh because we all think we're the ones who are right. you'll definitely have to keep us up-to-date with all your experiences.

[Rachel&Emma]

Hi Spencers mum. I find living in the 'sticks' quite good. Hong Kong is so small we can get anywhere pretty quickly.
Brisbanegirl, I can only imagine how it is in Shanghai. I had Emma in Hong Kong and went totally through their public sustem. They definitely have different ideas to me. I would listen to them and then do what I wanted or thought was best. That's such a shame about your ultrasound. In Hong Kong they let you see it. I got a dvd and picture of the whole thing. Feel free to pm me if you want to vent. I know where you're coming from.

[red crayon]

Hi Rachel. How was your trip back to Melbourne? It was pretty cold, hey. Spencer and I had permanently running noses. We had a ball seeing all the family and Spencer loved all the attention. What did you get up to?

[JellyJ]

I currently live in Singapore, been here since Oct 03. Been great, but now that we have a son, we are returning to Brissie to be closer to friends and family.

[M O P]

:wave: ladies,
I'm jumping on your thread not as an ex-pat mum but to share my experience as a person who spent some years as a child living o.s.
When I was 8 my family lived in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands for 3 years then they moved to Port Vila, Vanuatu, for another 3. I didn't live in Vila as I was at high school in Australia at that stage but I visited every school hols. My father used to work for the ANZ Bank.
My experience, even though I was young, has shaped my whole life. It was mind opening to say the least. To experience really, and I mean really, poor people- who were also happy, of course gives you a bigger view of the world.
It also exposed me to not only the Melanesian culture but so many others, as there were many different nationality ex-pats in both these countries.
So while it may have been unsettling moving so much-we had lived all over SA & NSW before and after this- and the time I spent away from my parents it really is something I'm very grateful for now.

[red crayon]

Hi Kazza - do you think you'll live os some time in the future?

Hi JellyJ - when are you going back to Brissie?

[M O P]

:laughing: Hey SM-
I don't think so, I now live on a sheep station in the outback.

However, I think my time os taught me about acceptance and adaptability and has helped me settle in here.

[brisbanegirl]

Thought I'd give you all an update from Shanghai. We are now 26 weeks tomorrow and everything is still going well in the pregnancy. I still don't feel like I am getting as much information as I would in Australia but don't have much of a choice in that matter at the moment. I had my glucose test done this week and that came back normal so another hurdle over with!

We have decided to make the move back to Brisbane permanently so will leave China in early October - probably sometime during the National Day holidays. I am really excited to get home and settle back into our house, do up the nursery etc. We have been buying a few things online but haven't seen any of it yet - my parents just keep going around picking everything up for us!

I certainly won't miss the hot weather we have been having - although we'll be going back into a Brisbane summer I certainly won't complain about the heat after going through a Shanghai summer!!

[red crayon]

good to hear from you, brisbanegirl, and to hear that everything is going well. good news about the glucose test. i had to do that once twice...bleuchh...

good luck with the move back to brissie.

[mamesmumma]

Hi Im pretty new to bubhub and just found this thread today!!! OOOOOOuuuuh excited!!! I am living in Japan with my Japanese husband. We just found out we are pregnant (around 7 weeks now I think - will find out in one more week for sure).

I know what you guys mean about different ideas. Most of them p**s me off though. The are so archaic!!! I have to wear enormous underwear as exposing the belly to cold will causea M/C...its summer here atm. I should eat lots of sushi and sashimi as its very healthy. My husband can have sex with me if he has to but he cant touch my nipples or I'll M/C. He cant be in the birth suit. Im not allowed to have my child in my room in the hospital - in fact I will only see the bubs when it needs to be feed. And normally they send mum off to mums house for a month or two - until bubs learns to sleep through the night - so dad doesnt have to be woken up, as he has to go to work. Paternaty leave is a joke (only if there is now woman to take care of the child can the dad take timeoff). Even Maternity leave is frowned upon by most companies.

Anyways it seems like you guys are having an overall good experience...sorry to drag this down but mine is definitley a bad experience. One nice thing - living costs are so low my DH and I live like rich Aussies on pretty normal salaries.

[Rachel&Emma]

Hi Mamesmumma. Congratulations. I know exactly how you feel. It is really hard being pregnant and giving birth in a foreign country. They do have different ideas. My husband could only come into the delivery room when I was 7cm and then had to leave because they had to do a procedure. We had to apply to the director of the hospital to even have this much. When I had Emma, they took her away for 12 hours and I was made to stay in bed so I didn't see her. Japan seems so much more cultural. Here in Hong Kong they made allowances for me because I'm a foreigner. Maybe you could try playing that card with the hospital. PM me if you need to vent. I'm a great listener.:yes:

[red crayon]

Hi mamesmama - i was reading our post on things that annoy us yesterday and your vent about the difference between Japan and Australia could well have been written by me about Vietnam. I've come to accept Hanoi as it is and not let things bother me but there are few things like sniffing, spitting and hoiking that still do my head in. Whereabouts in Japan are you?

Hi Rach - how are things going in HK?

[mrsmonkie]

Hi Ladies,

Hubbie and I just moved to Singapore at the start of this month. Although we haven't got a bub yet, I'm off to my first pre-conception appointment on Monday.

I don't think we intended on having a baby so quickly but we have a good set up over here and with me not working its ideal.

Did any of you expat mums, find it hard having a baby without your usual support network back home? Did you meet more people/mums in the same boat? Any regrets?

Cheers

[Africamum]

Hi Ladies,

I have enjoyed reading your experiences. I am currently living on a remote minesite in Tanzania. We are the only residential family in the compound everyone else works fly in - fly out. My husband has been here for 8 months, my DS and I have been here for 6 weeks.

I have lived overseas before (PNG) so being isolated is not a total shock. At this point I am still enjoying being able to relax as I worked up until the end of Week 35 and my DS was born be CSection at 37 weeks. DH just got back to Australia in time. Then I packed up and sold the house, visited all the relatives between Tasmania and Perth and jumped on a plane to Tanzania.

To all of those of you who have well meaning mothers and MIL - just move country. :ecomcity:

Being a professional women i was unsure how I would find the motherhood experiencen but I am enjoying being mum. I dont have to worry about well meaning advice from MIL or the MCHN. We just go with the flow and if in doubt there are two doctors onsite who have made DS their personal project for all else there is the bubhub forum

To spencers mum and co thankyou for a wonderful thread

[Africamum]

Hi Ladies,

I have enjoyed reading your experiences. I am currently living on a remote minesite in Tanzania. We are the only residential family in the compound everyone else works fly in - fly out. My husband has been here for 8 months, my DS and I have been here for 6 weeks.

I have lived overseas before (PNG) so being isolated is not a total shock. At this point I am still enjoying being able to relax as I worked up until the end of Week 35 and my DS was born by C-Section at 37 weeks. DH just got back to Australia in time. Then I packed up and sold the house, visited all the relatives between Tasmania and Perth and jumped on a plane to Tanzania.

To all of those of you who have well meaning mothers and MIL - just move country. :D

Being professionally oriented I was unsure how I would find the SAHM experience but I am enjoying being mum. I dont have to worry about well meaning advice from MIL or the MCHN. We just go with the flow and if in doubt there are two doctors onsite who have made DS their personal project for all else there is the bubhub forum

To spencers mum and co thankyou for a wonderful thread

[red crayon]

Did any of you expat mums, find it hard having a baby without your usual support network back home? Did you meet more people/mums in the same boat? Any regrets?


hi mrsmonkie - i didn't have spencer os but he was two and a half months when we moved to vietnam. i did find the experience daunting to begin with and i really felt the absence of friends and family. i did a lot of ringing and emailing my mum and my gilfriends who are mums to ask silly questions. the local medical centre we were using had a visiting paedeatrician (sp?) when we first got here but then she moved and wasn't replaced for months. i have been able to get all the childhood shots here except pneumacoccal. in fact getting the shots here has been good because most of them are combined and spencer ets one or two shots rather than umpteen. bubhub was a great discovery for me during the early stages and i was so glad to be able to ask questions and get helpful advice. regrets? well, i regret that my parents have missed so much of spencer's growth but on the positive he's become an outgoing and adaptable child from all the attention and the travel.

[red crayon]

hi carolyn - tanzania, hey. i guess i must be living in sheer luxury in comparison. what's tanzania like? how long will you be there? my dp's manager here worked in PNG for years and has some interesting stories about life there. how did you find it?

[Africamum]

Hello Spencers mum,

We are living in the middle of nowhere about 50km from the Rwanda and Brundi borders, in a gold mine compound. We have most of the modern facilities, there is a well kitted out gym, a pool, tennis court, squash court and importantly internet access. We eat at the mess so I dont need to cook the food is ok but oriented towards men - lots of protien.
There is a small village about 7km from here with a population of about 5,000, only a few locals from the village tend work at the mine this minimisers the number of people going in and out of the gate.
Ryan is the star attraction on site, given the transient lifestyle of FIFO mining have Ryan on site seems to give people sence of normality. We went to the village recently for a game of soccer and I took the pram, I was surrounded by about 200 people when I tried to move with the pram. Most of the villages had never seen a white baby before and i have really long blonde hair which doesn't help.

At the moment our living conditions are cramped, we are in a two room unit, one bedroom, one lounge / kitchenette and the babies cot parked in the middle of it. We are adding another room but nothing happens quickly here.

The company my husband works for owns another mine about 20 minutes on a plane from here. They have half a dozen families on site. I am in touch with the women there and will be going for a visit in the next couple of weeks.

I am not sure how long we will stay. I am on maternity leave at the moment so I can opt out If I cant cope. i dont think it will come to that. We made the decision to live hear so that we can be together as family, which is not always easy to do when in the mining industry.

I have also lived in PNG so I had some idea what I was committing to.
Must go, baby is awake and wanting some attention :yes:

[Rachel&Emma]

mrsmonkie - I had Emma here in Hong Kong. It was a very clinical experience. PM me if you have any questions.
Carolyn - welcome. Wow. Tanzania sounds like a world away from Hong Kong. I'm like spencersmum, I find I feel somewhat guilty for all the family Emma misses out on but you are so right about the unwanted advice. Having said that though, I do receive copious amounts of advice from the Chinese. Most of which I find utterly laughable.

[red crayon]

hi rach - love your new avatar. emma's grown so much.

thanks for telling us all about tanzania, carolyn. i'm not sure i could deal with the isolation. it must be hard going. i felt really isolated last year and i'm in a city that is cheek by jowl when it comes to people. this year i'm suffering from the opposite. my neighbours and their kids are always dropping in - usually at the most inopportune time. and with them comes the advice and the comments about the general state of spencer's appearance and health. he has a huge bruise on his forehead from tripping into a chair leg and boy haven't we been told about it :rolleyes: .

is anyone going home for christmas?

[Rachel&Emma]

We're off to Thailand. I can't wait.:smiliedance: Emma is crawling and has her first tooth. She really is growing too fast.:confused:

[Kylles]

Hi Mums

We left the beautiful Sunshine Coast QLD (temp of +35) on the 9th December to live in northern Sweden (temp of -20) for a couple of years to give our children some time with their Swedish family. My husband is Swedish so we are living in a village of around 120 in a community of around 2000. Big change to what I am used to in Australia. Right now it's autumn and starting to get a little cooler (-2 the other night) but we are loving our time here. The chance to have family around us is just so lovely. We live right next door to our inlaws... which is quite common in this village.

A lot of adjustment with a new language to learn, the fact that my 3½ year old has a larger Swedish vocab than me doesn't help the cause.

We should be back in Australia sometime in 2008 if all goes to plan.

Nice to read other expat stories.

I actually use a forum over here that was developed for English speaking Mums in Sweden, it's great to have some backup and advice in a country where I don't know the lingo. I have made some great friends there, I had no idea there were so many Aussies over here... haahha... unfortunately there is no-one living this far north.

Look forward to spending some time on this site!

[red crayon]

Hi Aussie_Swede - welcome to the gang. It sounds gorgeous where you are. We've all been sharing stories in the cultural differences in child-raising that we've experienced. How you found any differences between raising kids in Australia and Sweden?

[mrsmonkie]

is anyone going home for christmas?

:smiliedance: We head home for Christmas on the 21st of December, I'm counting down the days!

I'm sure i'm going to be bombarded with "why aren't you pregnant" type of questions.....i'll leave DH to explain that, i'm so clucky but must wait patiently :)

Aussie-Swede - I think that's an amazing experience for you and your family to live over in Sweden...perhaps a little quieter and colder then I would like but what a great chance for your kiddies to know your DHs side and life experience at an early age:)

[Africamum]

Hi all,

Welcome Aussie_Sweede.

We are staying in Tanzania for Christmas, it is a bit of a case if you cant please everyone else you may as well please yourself. Neither DH or I really enjoy the big family Christmas. If we were to go to my parent in Tassie then DH's parents will throw a tanty becuase they miss out on DS's first christmas.
FIL actually believes that his daughters inlaw ruined family christmas's by wanting to spend some time with their own family.

I am not sure what is planned yet, but it is likley to involve a water fight, hopefully plenty of seafood. I am not sure waht a traditional tanzanian christmas involves!
Got to go, crying baby

[mrsmonkie]

Sounds like you have done the right thing in not heading home for Christmas, you have prevented a possible World War 3 disaster!

Not quite sure what a Tanzanian Christmas entails but seafood sounds YUM!

I'm really excited about heading home, but we have both families, plus friends pulling us left right and centre already and we haven't even arrived....I think I will be begging to return to Singapore just for a breather!

[Rachel&Emma]

We managed to go home for Christmas without any worries. I guess we'll have to do it again. Luckily for me Christmas in my family is not a big deal so we go to Melbourne for it. This year we'll be in Thailand, it's just too expensive to go home for Christmas.

[mamesmumma]

:tree:is in Japan for me. With our on little family of 2 for the last time :eek:. I do have to spend Christmas Eve with heaps of people I dont know as a co-worker of DH's is having a wedding party then. Problem is I have been lucky enough to be invited - usually partners dont get invited...Im so having trouble getting used to that one. Imagine spending your last christmas eve before first baby is born apart because of a party. I know to us DH doesnt have to go, but in reality its very rude and will make his work life unpleasant if he doesnt. oh dear it will take me a while to adjust. Sorry being a big moaner but I really wanted a special last 'alone' christmas. And as christmas isnt actually a holiday here the 23rd and 24th were guna be it.

My in-laws are lovely and we will spend New Years will the whole extended family so that will be great...and something wonderfull to look forward to.

[Lolo]

Hi all,
Its great to hear from Aussies around the globe.
I rarely get a chance to post, but here is our story.
We live in Lebanon, and are coming to Sydney for Christmas. :tree:
We got married in Aus in June last year, and have a lovely baby Chris (5 months old now)
I get so home sick, but we both have great jobs. With the scary political situation here, I am guessing it won't be too long b4 we are back for good.
Problem is I have a fear of flying :gloomy: and am so scared i will panic with baby in my arms, and won't be able to feed him, look after him etc. My husband can only do so much.
What to do???

[mamesmumma]

Ahhh that does sound scary all round. Theres some virtual fear of flying therapy I heard about but I think its only a trial in Germany or something. But do you think therapy like meditation or even yoga might help a little?

Maybe your desire to be home will win out of your fear.

Good Luck!!!

[Lolo]

I think you are right. I really want to go home and see my family. Mum wasn't able to come when I had Chris because of the recent israel war on Lebanon, so it was tough.
I think hypnotherapy is a good idea. Without baby I would have taken some sleeping pills. Haha
Bad news though...we will be on the long flight over on Christmas Day. Bummer...but never mind
Love reading all your stories.
Keep strong all.

[Lolo]

Hey Mamesmumma,
I feel for you...but keep thinking of other good times. DOes hubby's family have a Christmas celebration usually? Can they postpone a day?
How long before baby comes along?
How exciting!!

[mamesmumma]

Nah christmas isnt really a big thing here - they have it in all the shops but not at home. And it's kinda seen as a couples date day. Not a family time.

They do have family time for New Years though and its very big in Japan so we get holidays and most people go to there hometown to be with their folks. We will go to the in-laws so it's nice.

We also have another wedding to go to next weekend and will stop by the in-laws house on the way home then too.

Baby is due in April so Im sure we'll be seeing the in-laws even more up until then. And there are holidays very soon after Mame will be born so we will go then too. Lucky my in-laws are great!!!

[Kylles]

Hi Aussie_Swede - welcome to the gang. It sounds gorgeous where you are. We've all been sharing stories in the cultural differences in child-raising that we've experienced. How you found any differences between raising kids in Australia and Sweden?

Hi and thanks for the welcome, I haven't been back to this site for ages, and have happily just found it again.

I haven't really found any differences in child raising over here. There are a lot of things that are really just the same as back home. Some differences are the kids over here start school at age 7, and the kids are brought up to play outside everyday, except when it's really cold if it's around -15 or over they only play out for a short time, as they can feel the cold and want to come back inside. But my kids are loving the snow play and in spring when it's all icy and wet they just love to splash around. Where I live it's cold and there's snow for around 8 months of the year. During summer we have 24 hours of daylight for a couple of months and it's hard to get the kids to sleep of an evening with the sky still so bright (wearing sunnies at 11pm is just crazy!!!) and in winter there's only around 4 hours of daylight so the kids sometimes have a little less energy and are asleep a bit earlier than usual.

[winie]

Rachel

just wondering if youa re still in Hanoi? I have jsut spotted this expat part of the forum.

If you are there I would love to pick your brain about Hanoi - we are thinkign of going and our DS will be 1 year old by then

If you have some time, drop a reply :)

[Rachel&Emma]

Hi Winie

I'm actually in Hong Kong. Can't remember if there's anyone here from Hanoi. Try going to www.asiaxpat.com. It's a good site for people who want to find out info from expats in the different Asian regions.

[red crayon]

hi rach - how are you? how are you going in HK?

[Kylles]

G'day how is everyone doing?

I am eagerly waiting the arrival of summer... it's spring and it's still snowing... typical April weather in the north of Sweden, as a QLDer I am finding it tough... I really loved the snow... but geeeezzz come on I have seen nothing but white since last September... the snow has almost gone now... but it's still snowing every day...

Well I hope you are doing well where you are in the world and if you find some sunshine... please send it my way! :D