First half of my great adventure

I am back in Dunedin, New Zealand for Easter which seems a good time to stop and reflect on the first half of my stay in Australia. As regular readers know, I have taken a six month contract, working with Aged Care Queensland to implement the eMentoring grant they received from the Department of Health and Aging.

Appreciating what I have
It goes without saying that I miss my family very much, but at the same time there are certain advantages to living the single life, not least having total control over what I watch on TV, and not having to cook meat and two veg every night for my darling husband. But I have come to appreciate that my family are more than my husband and daughter - they are also my best friends.


In the meantime, I am making lots of new friends in Brisbane and finding the opportunities for learning, networking and growth far exceed to what I am used to. In the next couple of months I am invited to speak at three workshops about blogging and social media in education and work. I have become a very social animal, which Ellen finds impossible to believe because she knows me as being quite an unsociable, boring old f..t! Well....you know what they say...there's life in the old girl yet!

Five great things about Brisbane

• The wonderful warm weather - beats cold, damp Dunedin any day!
• Wonderfully friendly people who are very obliging and keen to learn and share.
  
• Public transport - I get around everywhere by bus and train.
• Lots of events, including social media events such as the Brisbane Social Media Club.
• Shops and the Brisbane Broncos!!!
  

Five worse things about Brisbane

• The amount of traffic on the roads -compared to Dunedin's idea of a traffic queue which is five cars lined up at the traffic lights.
• The very silly uniforms that boys wear who go to private schools - I can't believe boys would be seen wearing those hats!
• Corporate attitude to work-people need to lighten up.
• Fragmentation of everything-so many little projects all doing the same thing-needs to be greater communication and collaboration
• Corporate dress code. This is a good thing in some respects because I have been 'forced' to smarten up and buy new clothes. But at the same time, I miss the relaxed attitude of Dunedin to dress and image. At my grand old age I want to be myself, not forced into a uniform.

I have another three months in Brisbane and then I will be looking for a new job. I have no idea what I'll end up doing or where I'll end up. And where this leads us as a family is also up in the air. But I am loving this great adventure and looking forward to seeing where it takes me next.