Things I love about Brisbane in summer. There are many of them; and conversely, many things that have been hard to get used to. The bugs, the oppressive hotbox of a house that I live in, the lack of central air conditioning that Americans take for granted in every home.
Living in Brisbane is exactly like living in Florida without air conditioning. My day-to-day is the stuff of stories my mom and uncle used to tell about growing up in the hot Florida humidity. Now knee-deep in my third summer without air conditioning, I’m starting to get the hang of it. It involves acceptance of wearing a constant sheen everywhere you go, expecting your car to smell faintly like melting rubber if you go somewhere midday, and knowing that some mornings, even with the fans on full blast, you will wake up sweating.
Somehow, I’ve grown to love it. Why:
+ Waking up without issue at 6am to a room filled with sunlight.
+ Tropical flowers. On my morning runs I’m treated to gorgeous frangipani blossoms, an iconic Queensland blossom. Velvety soft, they are a fragrant morning perfume and will forever symbolise Brisbane to me.
+ AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND. The hottest 100, camping trips, and (inevitably) sunburn.
+ Sausage sizzles on the weekend. This is what Americans call grilling. Here, you throw some sausages on the barbie. Not hotdogs- sausages.
+ The way the Brisbane river looks as the sunlight hits it in the early morning, when the light is still soft and weak and not a thing to be feared.
+ The constant fun! The array of summer activities that mostly seem revolve around the water. Diving, surfing, swimming holes… all within an hour’s distance. It’s unbelievable how spoiled we are for choice.
+ Outdoor movies. In a park.
+ Mini-festivals.
+ Weeknights that feel like weekends and weekends that spill into Sunday fundays filled with wine, food and friends.
+ The sense of untroubled leisure that germinates when the days are long and the living is easy.
Life Upside Down 
Such a blissful existence! (Minus the no AC clause.) Would so love to come visit you some time. Although I don’t think I can even fully grasp how far away Australia is… it’s like another planet, in my mind.
I can’t tell you how happy it would make my heart to see you and G. down here! Think about it. 🙂 It is sort of like another planet, just a really sunny one with kangaroos and sharks.