Happy Thanksgiving

Feeling Thankful!

On Thursday we had a little impromptu Thanksgiving to celebrate some big news we had just received and to introduce some of our Brazilian friends to this food fest of an American holiday. Keep reading to find out what our exciting update is!

Our visa got approved!!! After only four months, we got the news that our visa has been approved. David applied for a skilled visa with his IT company and usually it takes 5-10 months to get an answer, so we are thrilled that our answer came so quickly. We will be staying another year for sure, and then decide what we want to do after that. While Barcelona was our top choice, the situation there at the moment is a little complicated, so we will hunker down with the wallabies and wait it out for now. 

Now that we know where we will be living, we can start planning our travels for 2018. Hawaii is on the horizon for sure, along with Malaysia and maybe New Zealand. Hopefully my brother can make it down as well.

On Thursday we shared the good news with our friends and introduced them to a very small slice of Thanksgiving. I prepared Garlic Cheddar biscuits, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, heated up a smoked turkey and found a sad substitute for cranberry sauce. 

When I lived in Madrid I was surrounded by Americans. This meant that come holiday time it was pretty easy to find any and everything that I needed to celebrate. In Aussieland, I work with one other American and worked with two half Americans at my old school... so... it's basically impossible to find American stuff here unless it's Reese's (thank goodness for Reese's!)

As the weather gets hotter, it feels less and less like Christmas. In Spain, I remember walking around, bundled up listening to indie versions of Christmas music and watching the dazzling Christmas lights. Here, I need to layer on the sunscreen to prevent third degree burns at the moment. While the downtown (here they call it the CBD, or central business district) is adorned with ridiculous Christmas decorations, I just can't seem to get into the spirit. Now I totally get "Christmas in July."

We are thankful to be living this challenging, exciting, wonderful adventure for another year and although our families and friends are far away, we are thankful for technology so that they remain close to us. We hope you enjoy the holiday season and let us know if you're planning on coming down under any time soon!