LOPPUSANAT AUSTRALIASTA

Even this trip comes to its end. We are facing the last days here at the Gold Coast before it is time to return to Sydney and Finland. It is once more a long way ahead, one week on the move before our last flight arrives to Helsinki early in the sunday morning 7th July.
Feelings are calm, relaxed, and awaiting. It is good time to think of some conclusions again.
We both, Virve and I, share quite the same feelings about that we got what we were looking for from this trip. Got perspective and some direction in life, cleared and opened our minds quite a bit.

Vilja has been a brave little traveler and she has grown so much during this 3 months which is a long time in her life! Something like 15%! She has learned to speak quite a lot, she can express herself already. She has learned even some English words even we didn't really put effort to this. Let's see for how long she pure natural way and with pure Australian accent answers 'hello' and 'yeah' when one speaks English to her. Or for how long she waves 'bye byes' when going for a toothbrush or just another room. If we would have moved here for good and she would stayed in a kindergarten for like a year, she'd end up learning both languages. I'm sure about it.
She has started to be more independent as well, playing with herself more, drawing, watching children's programs. At home she is in fact 'dry' already, this also happened during the time here. She has become more open, though still a careful little girl, but giving her cutest smiles to people more. And all that attention she collects! It is amazing.

When we first got to a plane in Helsinki I was afraid how the long flight will go with the little one. Now I'm not afraid to that anymore. For Vilja it seems not a big deal for entering to an aeroplane anymore, and we as parents, I think are grown too, to understand more about that little girl's mind and world!
Overall, I feel this time here has been the most valuable also for the relationship between the father and the daughter. I feel also that as a family, we are even closer and more compact than before . So, also this way, the trip has been a great success!

We are starting a new phase in life again, we are moving to Jokioinen, a little town between Forssa and Ypäjä! Keijo's gonna be a Kanta-Hämäläinen!! Really looking forward to that, to put our OWN stuff on display and use again, to use our OWN stuff, sleep in our OWN bed with our OWN sheets. In the end that matters too! I miss my guitar and records a lot too.

Anyway, some part of our hearts is staying also here in Australia. We felt it actually already when returning from New Zealand, felt like coming home. There's something special here that makes us feel good. But what it is? I tried to think of that and what I'm going to miss here.
For the biggest things that come to my mind are SUNSHINE and SMILING, FRIENDLY, HELPFUL PEOPLE. It is funny how that matters so much! (Maybe not in that order :))) I also will greatly miss the OCEAN, how magnificent that is, amazing and hypnotizing. I will miss the CLEANLINESS of the public parks and barbeque areas, the public PLAYGROUNDS for the kids, they are everywhere and they are in awesome condition, always. I will miss the fresh fruit, (mangos especially), I will always remember the first morning at the Mum's house in Sydney when we first arrived, and the taste of the mango Iita had bought for us.
Australia is the first country, outside Finland, that we both feel like we could actually move to and live in. Preferrably next to the ocean :)



AUSTRALIA IS

POPULATION OF AUSTRALIA: 21,6 million
BIGGEST CITIES: Sydney 4,4 million, Melbourne 3,9 million, Brisbane 2,0 million
CAPITAL: Canberra
STATES AND TERRITORIES: (visited) NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, QUEENSLAND, (not visited) TASMANIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, NORTHERN TERRITORY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
AREA: 7 692 024 m2
PRIME MINISTER: Julia Gillard (all the time on the news, very strong woman)

edit: Last night 26.6. Julia Gillard resigned after 3 years as her challenger and previous PM Kevin Rudd won the election in the parliament.

PRICES:

1 cup of coffee in a café = 2,45 €
breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast) in a café = 8,40 €
burger meal and a coke in Outback Jacks for example = 15,40 €
1 beer or a glass of wine in a bar = 4,20 €
6-pack of beer in liquorland = 9,00 €
1 litre milk = 0,70 €/l
12 free range eggs - 3,10 €
packet of toast = 1,40 €
1 kilo of apples = 2,00 €/kilo
1 cucumber = 0,70 €
500g minced meat (beef) = 2,50 €
movie ticket = 12 €
1 litre fuel = 1,39 €/l
nappies = 0,35 € / nappy