She says...the end of Year 1

As He mentioned, we've just returned from a wonderful, month-long holiday down under with our families. We spent two indulgent weeks with each of our families (in their respective countries) at the beach. A few tidbits for those of you who know one or both of our families:

• He performed a beautiful ballet dance with dear little friends on a giant jumping pillow.
• We left one family with 4 extra legs and a lot more trouble than they had before we arrived.
• We held a My Kitchen Rules competition with one family - 4 couples each spent 3h preparing and cooking a main and dessert for all, which was then judged by the other couples. The scores were out of 90 and all 4 couples scored within 3 points of each other. We were unfortunately at the bottom. Good food. Good company. Good fun.
• One Mother turned 70. An event worthy of much celebration and a headstand by the birthday gal.
• One beach holiday included approximately 10x as much alcohol as the other.
• We swam at the beach in only one of the countries. No prizes for guessing which.
• We met the youngest of our siblings' 13 children for the first time, and missed seeing the eldest as he's away adventuring on his gap year after finishing high school with very impressive scores.

Naturally, every one we met down under wanted to know what life was like here. I'm not sure I shared many positive thoughts about our experience, if any. In that, I'm sure I did this country and her people an injustice. It is much easier to think of and express those things I find difficult, sad. frustrating and infuriating than to talk of those that I've appreciated, enjoyed or celebrated. So, here are a few, in memory of our first year in 'Siberia'.

• The local people are very generous towards one another with their possessions and money, even in their own difficult circumstances. 
• I've had a growing fascination with the items that are sold at intersections in our city. Those I can recall include:

• various kinds of fruit, clothes drying racks, toy tuk tuks
• a coat stand
• a whip (I thought it was for the donkeys, but our house helper reported that they are for household use i.e. wives and children)
• rugs of all sizes, including ones which would cover the majority of the floor space in our house
• children's clothing in every shape, colour and size, and consistently with misspelled English phrases
• an electric iron and kettle
• a machete (I was in a local taxi when I was first offered one. I said a bad word in my shocked exclamatory question about what I would do with a machete, and my taxi driver who, until then, had not said or acknowledged one word of English laughed out loud).
• a Sudanese passport cover (He has been tempted to buy one of these)
• a V slicer for vegetables in multiple brands and colours
• a battery-operated guitar with coloured flashing lights
• wind wipers (they appear every time it rains)
• a fishing rod

• Unlike all other local foods that I have tried, the fish served in many local restaurants is absolutely delicious. It's usually deep fried and prepared as a whole fish or filleted pieces, crumbed. It's served with a plate of raw onion, some green leaves that look like spinach and taste like grass, an extremely hot but addictive chilli paste, lemon wedges and wads of hot bread. It's served on a large platter and everyone eats from the one dish with their right hand. The restaurants are often open air, scented with a local perfumed smoke, complete with mist-spraying fans and local music. Lovely.
• A byproduct of living in the "country that fun forgot" (His term), it has been special to have so much 1:1 time as a couple in our first year or so of marriage. There are parts of the week when nothing can be done other than being at home, enjoying a cup of coffee, our favourite music, our books, or a TV show at our home cinema.
• The many weekend afternoons we've spent at an international hotel swimming pool where we have a membership, chatting with friends, meeting new people in the pool, reading books, drinking litres of cold water, enjoying the 'cool' 32 degrees in the pool.