our first visitor!

Even before we knew we were officially moving to Australia, my mother began to make plans to visit us. She travels around the world a lot, mostly for work, and figured it would be fun to stop by Melbourne during one of her trips to Asia in July. We're so glad she did!

what's a family reunion without matching sweaters?

Over her four-day visit, we ate lots of good food, went on a few touristy tours around the city (including a beautiful boat cruise along the Yarra river), spent a lovely afternoon at high tea, and just enjoyed our time together. My mom also brought us a suitcase of gifts and items that are hard to find/super expensive in Australia (makeup, clothes, energy gels...), which was very nice of her. :)

Chinatown

queen victoria markets

visiting the university

high tea

checking out the Brighton bathing boxes

boat cruise along the Yarra river

yummy food! 

We had such a great time showing my mom around Melbourne, and I was sad to see her leave. Ben went back to work in Shepparton the same morning as her flight out - so after a long weekend with an apartment full of family, I was back to being all by myself for two weeks, and that was kind of a bummer. But hopefully our next family reunion isn't too far away.

Thanks for visiting, mom!

CK

shepparton.

Being enrolled in grad school means that I will no longer be able to accompany Ben on his work trips - at least, not for a while. But it sounds like his work-related travels will start winding down in August anyway, and pretty soon we'll find ourselves actually living at home together, which will be a nice change. Anyway, in the past 6+ months we've covered a lot of ground in Victoria, as well as a few places in New South Wales and South Australia. To illustrate our journey thus far, the red dots on this map mark the places we've visited, and the blue dots are areas Ben has worked/visited alone:

we're all over the map.

I'm so glad we took advantage of the opportunities to travel together while we could! I've thoroughly enjoyed exploring various places, tourist and non-tourist attractions, staying in some areas for up to a few weeks at a time. No matter how small a town, there's aways something unique and fascinating to learn about and experience.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to spend some time in Shepparton, about two hours north of Melbourne. Historically, it was once a sheep station, then a railway town, and now it's a fairly large city of just under 30,000 people. The main area of the city has a lot of stores, cafes, restaurants, and a movie theatre.

war memorial

The Shepparton Art Museum (also known as SAM, just like the Seattle Art Museum!) is free and very enjoyable. There are two floors of unique and diverse collections: historical and contemporary Australian pieces, an Indigenous ceramic art collection, and a powerful exhibit by Bindi Cole - an Indigenous Australian activist who converted to Christianity, after imprisonment and a struggle with drug-addiction.

Shepparton is also known for its series of playful, colourful fibreglass cows, which are painted by local artists and displayed around the city. The appropriately titled "Moooving Art" celebrates and represents the strong local dairy industry. Dinosaur-cow is probably my favourite.

The city is full of other fascinating art pieces, including various sculptures, murals, and an awesome painted tunnel that leads to a beautiful walking/biking path.

There's also a Heritage Centre, which wasn't open during my visit, but it looks cool from the outside.

Shepparton was a lovely place to end my random travel adventures of the year. It's a great area for hanging out, going on walks, and of course - hanging out with fibreglass cows.

CK*

*It's for real now - I finally have an official document supporting my new name! Let the eternal paperwork changeover begin...

some new news!

We strive to make communication an important part of our relationship - so before we moved out here, Ben and I discussed many different scenarios. A lot can happen in a year or two, and we wanted to make sure we were on the same page about everything.

We talked about maybe becoming Australian permanent residents.

apparently "Amerstralia" is a popular meme.

We wrote out a pros/cons list of having a baby in Melbourne.

We even made a tentative game plan for how we would return to the US if there was a worldwide alien invasion, to live out the end of mankind's very existence with our dear families and close friends.

We discussed all of these grand scenarios, but for whatever reason, we did not once discuss the possibility of someone going back to school.

(You can probably see where this is going.)

A few months ago, I decided to apply (kind of on a whim) to the Masters in Journalism program at the University of Melbourne. My non-success at finding a job led to some long-term thinking, and I decided that a) I kind of like writing, and b) a lot of decent writing jobs in Melbourne require some kind of degree in journalism. The application process was surprisingly simple (and yet still frustratingly vague, as these things are), but I was able to gather all the correct paperwork, submit it, and wait.

About a month ago, I got my very first Australian letter of acceptance - I'm going to be a university graduate student!!

me at the "uni!"

I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment - it's been years since I've been in any sort of academic environment (I got my undergraduate degree in 2007), so I feel kind of rusty when it comes to anything school-related. Many things have changed, and it seems like almost everything is done online now. Graduate school is a huge expense, but my family is helping out immensely, which we're very grateful for. And this new development will definitely have an effect on our family-planning timeline. My mother had me right before she started her Master's, and while I was probably a spectacularly well-behaved baby, juggling motherhood with work and school is something I'd like to avoid, for now...

Also, I'll actually be an international student (and I say "actually" because I was sometimes mistaken for one during my undergrad years - oh the perks of being Asian!), which will be fun... and challenging. Even though it's still English, the language here is slightly different from what I'm used to, especially in the academic world. For example, in Australia the word "course" refers to the whole program, while in the States, a course is a single class. During one of my international orientation events, the instructor actually warned us that a few American students had accidentally withdrawn from their entire graduate program, while simply trying to drop one of their classes. Just some small adjustments to keep in mind!

Despite the nervousness, I'm definitely looking forward to the experience. It'll be great to finally start interacting with people again, and I'll hopefully have a chance to make some acquaintances, maybe even actual local friends! I'm also looking forward to feeling a renewed sense of purpose, to have a set goal to work towards, an answer to the ubiquitous "what do you do?" questions. And of course, I'm excited to learn.

Thank you to my family and friends for all the support, and especially Ben, who continues to be so encouraging and supportive. The next two years will be challenging for me - but I'm grateful for the opportunity to further my studies, and will work hard to make the most out of it!

CK

the fourth (and fifth) of july.

30 has arrived. Finally! I've been waiting to feel like an adult for ages, and now I do. And to celebrate my new found adulthood, I wore my brand new Pikachu t-shirt with pride while playing Mario Kart with my beautiful and loving wife. Ah yes, I think my thirties are going to be quite nice.

Before celebrating my first Australian birthday, our neighbourhood had a fireworks show for the 4th (and every Friday until the end of August). Since it really isn't my birthday without fireworks, we bundled up in our winter gear and braved the cold to sit by the waters edge and watch the show. It was definitely worth it. The fireworks lasted about 20 minutes and were primarily red, white and blue (in honour of 'Murica of course). They also had a DJ spinning songs about freedom and independence, to get everyone in the right spirit. It was pretty fun having a 4th of July fireworks for America while being in Australia, and it made me think about how fun it would be if America celebrated Australia Day with a BBQ on the beach in January! Perhaps I'll have to start the tradition someday...

After watching the fireworks we settled in to watch Late Night with Jimmy, and Candice baked me a cake (my second in 2 weeks!) that we enjoyed together. On a side note, sadly they don't have funfetti cake here, but cinnamon tea cake is just as good. 

cake #1

For my birthday, we had a relaxing morning enjoying a delicious brunch she prepared, then I opened presents from Candice. In addition to my Pikachu t-shirt I also got a "World's best 30 year old" mug and a little tray to place used tea bags that has two koalas cuddling on it. It was wonderful!

teatime.

For my birthday dinner, we found a southern restaurant with Jambalaya and corn bread, both of which I had been craving for months. The Jambalaya was a little more exotic than I'm used to as it had octopus and mussels, but it was delicious. Unfortunately I got sick shortly afterwards and felt crummy for the rest of the evening, but that's the price I sometimes have to pay to eat rich, spicy food. To finish off the day, Candice and I watched Mean Girls, because nothing says turning 30 like a high school comedy.

The other highlight of my weekend was being able to connect with family through FaceTime, and all the texts and Facebook messages from friends. I'm used to spending birthdays with all those I love in person, and it was difficult to be away from them, but I felt very celebrated by all those who reached out to me. So thank you!

To end, here are a few goals I've set for my 30th year: 

- visit the remaining states of Australia (I've been to 4 of the 7 so far)

- travel to New Zealand ("the Kortlevers are going to Isengard!")

- 3-star every race on 150cc in Mario Kart 8 (darn you Baby Rosalina!)
- make local friends!
- get a puppy?

BK

donald.

We recently had the chance to spend a few days in Donald, Victoria, a small town with some beautiful spots.

The town is located on the Richardson river, with various dirt and gravel walking paths.

Richardson River

war memorial

We stayed in a tavern on the main strip of town. It was very cold, and there were communal bathrooms (fortunately there weren't too many other guests to share with) - but the people who run the place were very friendly, and the food served at the tavern is quite delicious as well.

The main part of town has a few op shops, a post office, and some boutiques with fun souvenirs:

I've seen a few small Aussie towns with merchandise like this, pretty clever!

The Bullock's Head is one of Donald's most popular attractions: a tree with a growth on it in the shape of a bullock's head, naturally. 

Donald has been through some tough times - a significant period of drought in the 90's, and also some major flooding periodically since 1909. There are pictures of the water rising to the level of the bullock's head, which is pretty high.

there's even an accompanying legend!

Overall, Donald was a fun area to explore: a great little place with some beautiful scenery and friendly people.

CK