Life Upside Down

In less than a month, my family* will be here.

I arrived on Australian shores in 2012. It will be five years and a few weeks since my arrival when my sister, mom, and her partner touch down in Brisbane next month. I don’t really have words for how much I’m looking forward to this.

Living abroad is a tremendous experience, and I will always affirm how very privileged I’ve been to have this experience. But it is not an easy road. Missing family and loved ones is a constant gravity, a discomfort that never lessens. For every wonder, every new place and experience, there is an internal whisper wishing that I could share this with those back home.

Next month I’ll get to do just that.

Mom, Alan and Diana will be here for what promises to be a few weeks of exhilarated sightseeing, a free-for-all of the Brisbane and Australian experience.

For a few glorious weeks my worlds will briefly connect: family and friends, past and present.

I will get to show them where I live, where I work and play. For the first time they’ll get to see my house, my job, the city that’s become home. They will get to meet my partner, my friends and the vibrant community that I’ve become part of.

We’ll ride bikes along the river, shop at the markets, go salsa dancing in the city, try to surf (with wetsuits during these ‘winter’ months), drink Australian beers at local breweries, take the ferry, hike in the Gold Coast hinterland.

I’ll take them to my favourite coffee spots, teach them in my park yoga classes, and schedule as many get-togethers as we can squeeze in with my Brisbane crew. We will cook together, travel a bit, and get to have a few weeks enjoying being in the same city.

Visits like this are sustenance for international ties, and this one has been a long time coming.

*some of them. Still a few stragglers back home, but working on it.